‘Unforgiven’ actor Anthony James dies at 77, fans pay tribute to the creepy villain: ‘A '70s character staple’

Anthony James was good at being bad. Best known for his work in Oscar-winning films like 'In The Heat of the Night' and 'Unforgiven', Anthony reportedly died of cancer on May 26 at the age of 77 in Massachusetts.

Born Jimmy Anthony, he reversed his name as he found another actor with that name. His official obituary reads, "He was always himself but he couldn’t go with just one name. He needed two – his own, Jimmy Anthony, and another, Anthony James, because there was some other actor who was Jimmy Anthony. He needed a stage name. What’s in a name? What’s in two? Turns out, quite a lot."

A popular character actor, he was known for his stellar performances as "creepy, sleazy, oily" Western villains in films and television. His appearance contributed to his roles, as his IMDb biography describes as “tall and lanky, with a rough, pockmarked face, a lean, stringy build, greasy dark hair and an extremely edgy, intense screen presence.” 

Spanning a career of five decades, he dedicated himself to acting and later took up his other artistic pursuits like writing and painting. Apart from his roles in films like 'Bonnie and Clyde', 'Guess Who's Coming to Dinner', 'Blue Thunder', 'Nightmares' and 'The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear', he also guest-starred on shows like 'Hawaii Five-O', 'The Rookies', 'Charlie's Angels', 'Holmes & Yoyo', 'The A-Team', 'Quincy', 'M.E.; Star Trek: The Next Generation' and 'Beauty and the Beast'.

The obituary further reads, "The tall skinny boy played tight end on his high school football team, won first prize for a drawing that showed his extraordinary gift for rendering emotion, and he began to dream, like millions of other boys and girls dream, of being a movie actor. That his dream came to fruition in movies and TV Jimmy attributed, as he attributed everything else – to luck, chance and – as the child of Greek parents – fate.

"Quoting the great Laurence Olivier, Jimmy liked to remind us that actors are all about Look at me!, Look at me!, Look at me! When his actor role model, Marlon Brando, was asked by someone who’d never heard of him what it was he did for living, Brando replied, I make faces. Jimmy liked that story. A real friend, he said, was someone who could listen to his stories again and again. We never tired of them, not for 50 years."

Sad to hear the news, fans paid him a tribute on Twitter. "Sad to hear of the passing of #AnthonyJames; few knew his name, but you sure as hell never forgot his face. He's the skivvy murderer from IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT; the uber-creepy hearse driver from BURNT OFFERINGS; and the saloon owner in UNFORGIVEN. Farewell and well done, sir," one said and another said, "He was like Billy Drago, perfect looks for playing a creep or a heavy, and he did it so well."

"Actor-painter #AnthonyJames, who died Tuesday at 77, and his Greek mother Marika, who sold her possessions and moved with him from South Carolina to L.A. so he could pursue acting. At 26, he was cast in “In the Heat of the Night”. He devoted his life to her. She passed in 2008," one Twitter user posted and another said, "He’s in one of my favorite scenes ever shot (below): meeting his end via Clint Eastwood’s whip in HIGH PLAINS DRIFTER. Eastwood also shot him dead in UNFORGIVEN. He joked that he got to kill him in two of his films. #RIP #AnthonyJames."

Reminiscing his old movies, several movie-buffs spoke about his iconic presence on the big screen. "That is where I remember him from, Naked Gun 2 1/2 when he is about to commit the murder and breaks out in song lol," one wrote and another said, "RIP, #AnthonyJames This was a truly memorable turn."

"Very sad, #AnthonyJames was a '70s character staple for sure," a fan said.

"After retiring and moving to New England, Anthony focused on his painting. Galleries in Boston, New York, Santa Fe, San Francisco and Japan sold more than a hundred of his paintings. Gorgeous creations they are, many of them multi-layered with Greek letters and bits of text over delicate washes of white or blue or brown," his obituary says.

Anthony never married. He spent his life taking care of his mother, Marika. He is survived not by siblings or children, but by his many friends and donations in his memory would be appreciated to St Jude Children's Research Hospital and the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA).