1882 - 1959

Seine schauspielerische Laufbahn begann nach dem spanisch-amerikanischen Krieg 1898 beim Liberty Theater in Oakland, das von seinen Eltern geleitet wurde. In den nächsten Jahren folgten weitere Auftritte, u.a. in Road Shows, ehe seine Laufbahn durch seine freiwillige Meldung für den 1. Weltkrieg unterbrochen wurde. 

Nach dem Krieg setzte er seine Laufbahn fort und begann auch, erste Stücke wie "Is Zat So?" zu schreiben. Weitere Stücke waren "The Fall Guy", "The Shannons on Broadway" sowie die Filmvorlage zu "The Broadway Melody" (29). Zudem verfasste er für viele Filme die Dialoge.

Seine Haupttätigkeit blieb aber die Schauspielerei, im Speziellen der Film. Sein Filmdebüt feierte er mit "Polly of the Follies" (22), es folgten "The Count of Ten" (28), "The Flying Fool" (29) und "Fairways and Foul" (29).

Ab den 30er Jahren trat James Gleason in zahlreichen Filmen auf, darunter "The Swellhead" (30), "Big Money" (30), "The Big Gamble" (31), "Lady and Gent" (32), "The Crooked Circle" (32), "The Devil Is Driving" (32), "Orders Is Orders" (33), "Search for Beauty" (34), "Murder on the Blackboard" (34), "The Big Game" (36), "The Higgins Family" (38) und "The Covered Trailer" (39).

In den 40er Jahren folgte der Höhepunkt seiner Laufbahn, wo er sich mit eindrücklichen Rollen ins Bewusstsein des Publikums spielte. Dazu gehören die Filme "Meet John Doe" (41), "Here Comes Mr. Jordan" (41) - wofür er für einen Oscar für die beste Nebenrolle nominiert wurde, "My Gal Sal" (42), "Tales of Manhattan" (42), "Arsenic and Old Lace" (44) mit Cary Grant, "The Clock" (45), "Lady Luck" (46), "The Bishop's Wife" (47), "Tycoon" (47) und "The Life of Riley" (49).

In den 50er Jahren nahm das Fernsehen eine immer bedeutendere Rolle ein und auch James Gleason trat schon bald öfters in TV-Produktionen als Kinofilmen auf.
Zu seinen letzten Filmen gehören "The Yellow Cab Man" (50), "What Price Glory" (52), "The Story of Will Rogers" (52), "Suddenly" (54), "The Night of the Hunter" (55), eine Episode der Serie "Climax!: The Fifth Wheel" (56), "Star in the Dust" (56), "Man in the Shadow" (57) und "The Last Hurrah" (58).

James Gleason war mit der Schauspielerin Lucille Gleason verheiratet.
 

Weitere Filme mit James Gleason (Darsteller):
The Broadway Melody (29) Meet the Missus (29) The Garden of Eatn' (29) The Shannons of Broadway (29) Oh, Yeah! (29) Don't Believe It (30) Puttin' on the Ritz (30) Dumbbells in Ermine (30) The Matrimonial Bed (30) Her Man (30) Beyond Victory (31) It's a Wise Child (31) A Free Soul (31) Sweepstakes (31) Where Canaries Sing Bass (31) Slow Poison (31) Suicide Fleet (31) Doomed to Win (31) Rule 'Em and Weep (32) Fast Companions (32) High Hats and Low Brows (32) Blondie of the Follies (32) Off His Base (32) The All-American (32) Penguin Pool Murder (32) Lights Out (32) Hoop-La (33) Billion Dollar Scandal (33) Rock-a-Bye Cowboy (33) Clear All Wires! (33) Mister Mugg (33) Alias the Professor (33) Gleason's New Deal (33) The Meanest Gal in Town (34) Change of Heart (34) Helldorado (35) Murder on a Honeymoon (35) West Point of the Air (35) Swellhead (35) Hot Tip (35) We're Only Human (35) Murder on a Bridle Path (36) The Ex-Mrs. Bradford (36) Yours for the Asking (36) Don't Turn 'em Loose (36) The Plot Thickens (36) Forty Naughty Girls (37) Manhattan Merry-Go-Round (37) Army Girl (38) My Wife's Relatives (39) Should Husbands Work? (39) On Your Toes (39) Money to Burn (39) Grandpa Goes to Town (40) Earl of Puddlestone (40) Affectionately Yours (41) Tanks a Million (41) Nine Lives Are Not Enough (41) A Date with the Falcon (41) Babes on Broadway (41) Hay Foot (42) The Falcon Takes Over (42) Footlight Serenade (42) Manila Calling (42) Crash Dive (43) A Guy Named Joe (43) Once Upon a Time (44) The Keys of the Kingdom (44) This Man's Navy (45) A Tree Grows in brooklyn (45) Captain Eddie (45) The Hoodlum Saint (46) The Well-Groomed Bride (46) Home, Sweet Homicide (46) The Homestretch (47) Down to Earth (47) Smart Woman (48) The Dude Goes West (48) The Return of October (48) When My Baby Smiles at Me (48) Bad Boy (49) Take One False Step (49) Miss Grant Takes Richmond (49) Key to the City (50) Riding High (50) The Jackpot (50) Joe Palooka in the Squared Circle (50) Two Gals and a Guy (51) Come Fill the Cup (51) Joe Palooka in trople Cross (51) I'll See You in My Dreams (51) We're Not Marrie¨d! (52) Serie "Racket Squad: His Brother's Keeper" (53) Forever Female (53) Serie "The Ford Television Theatre: Sweet talk Me, Jackson" (53) Hollywood Thrill-Makers (54) Serie "The Colgate Comedy Hour: Let's Face It" (54) Serie "The Life of Riley: Chicken Ranch" (55) Serie "The Eddie Cantor Comedy Theater: The Big Bargain" (55) Serie "Screen Directors Playhouse: Rookie of the Year" (55) The Girl Rush (55) Serie "Damon Runyon Theater: The Big Umbrella" (55) Serie "Damon Runyon Theater: Dog About Town" (55) Serie "Cheyenne: The Travelers" (56) Serie "The Ford Television Theatre: Try Me for Size" (56) Serie "The Millionaire: The Charles Hartford Simpson Story" (56) Serie "Alfred Hitchcock Presents: Kill with Kindness" (56) Spring Reunion (57) Serie "Alfred Hitchcock Presents: The End of Indian Summer" (57) Loving You (57) Serie "Cavalcade of America: Shark of the Mountain" (57) Serie "Leave It to Beaver: The clubhouse" (57) Serie "The Restless Gun: The child" (57) The Female Animal (58) Serie "Playhouse 90: No Time at All" (58) Man or Gun (58) Rock-a-Bye Baby (58) Once Upon a Horse… (58) Money, Women and Guns (59) 

Drehbuch: 
Is Zat So? (27) The Broadway Melody (29) The Flying Fool (29) High Voltage (29) The Garden of Eatin' (29) The Shannons of Broadway (29) His First Command (29) Don't Believe It (30) Puttin' on the Ritz (30) The Swellhead (30) Wammy (30) Dumbbells in Ermine (30) The Fall Guy (30) Rain or Shine (30) What a Widow! (30) Three Hollywood Girls (31) Beyond Victory (31) Dommed to win (31) Orders Is Orders (33) The Bowery (33) Change of Heart (34) The World Moves On (34) Swellhead (35) Murder in the Fleet (35) Two-Fisted (35) Goodbye Broadway (38) 

Regie: 
Off His Base (32) Hot Tip (35)