- Born
- Died
- Birth nameJames Norval Harald Justice
- Nickname
- Jimmy
- Height6′ 2″ (1.88 m)
- James Robertson Justice was always a noticeable presence in a film with his large stature, bushy beard and booming voice. A Ph.D., a journalist, a naturalist, an expert falconer, a racing car driver, JRJ was certainly a man of many talents.
He entered the film industry quite late in life (37) after he was spotted serving as MC for a local music hall. He became a familiar figure on-screen after a succession of "larger than life" roles during the 40s and 50s, and particularly as Sir Lancelot Spratt in the "Doctor" film series.- IMDb Mini Biography By: Steve Crook <steve@brainstorm.co.uk> - His father was a successful Scottish lawyer and sent him to Marlborough College and wanted him to go on to varsity but James wanted his freedom and drifted in various jobs including working on a barge, selling insurance and freelance journalism. Enjoying the latter he went to Canada when 20 to try his luck as a journalist but the Wall Street Crash of 1929 put an end to that so he returned to England and joined Reuters where he became interested in politics and left to join the Spanish communists in their fight against the Falangists. When WWII broke out he returned to England and joined the Royal Navy eventually being invalided out in 1944.- IMDb Mini Biography By: tonyman5
- SpousesIrene von Meyendorff(June 29, 1975 - July 2, 1975) (his death)Dillys Ethel Hayden(February 13, 1941 - November 1968) (divorced, 1 child)
- Spoke 10 languages including Gaelic.
- His son James died at the age of four in 1949 when he drowned in a mill stream near the family home in Whitchurch, Hampshire.
- He was extremely proud of his Scottish family background, and appeared in many films about Scottish subjects.
- He claimed he was born on the Isle of Skye or in Wigtown, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, in 1905. His birth certificate shows he was born in the London borough of Lewisham in 1907.
- Appeared in four films with Gregory Peck; Captain Horatio Hornblower R.N. (1951), David and Bathsheba (1951), Moby Dick (1956), The Guns of Navarone (1961).
- Doctor in the House (1955) - £1,500
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