James Whitmore

James Allen Whitmore Jr. (October 1, 1921 – February 6, 2009) was an American film, theatre, and television actor. During his extensive career, Whitmore won a Tony, Grammy, Golden Globe, and an Emmy, and was nominated for two Academy Awards. He is one of only 78 performers to win three of the four EGOT honors. 2Early life and military service Born in White Plains, New York, to Florence Belle (née Crane) and James Allen Whitmore, Sr., a park commission official, Whitmore attended Amherst Central High School in Snyder, New York, for three years, before transferring to the Choate School in Wallingford, Connecticut, on a football scholarship. He went on to study at Yale University, but he had to quit playing football after severely injuring his knees. After giving up football, he turned to the Yale Dramatic Society and began acting. While at Yale, he was a member of Skull and Bones, and was among the founders of the Yale radio station (the student-run WOCD-AM, later renamed WYBC-AM). Whitmore planned on becoming a lawyer and graduated with a major in government from Yale University. When World War II broke out, he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps Reserve while finishing his degre