How did James Douglass West die? Child actor who served in the US Army dies aged 93
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: James Douglass West, who spent a decade writing for Lassie and appeared as a child actor with Roddy McDowall and Natalie Wood, has died. He was 93.
His son, Daniel West, told The Hollywood Reporter that West died on Sunday at his Studio City residence from natural causes. West wrote the original screenplay for the 1959 musical 'Hey Boy! Hey Girl!', featuring married couple Keely Smith and Louis Prima, as well as the 1963 Western film, 'California', starring Jock Mahoney.
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At the age of 8, he was offered a contract by MGM
West was born in Redwood City, California, on July 17, 1929. He was offered a contract by MGM after making an appearance on stage in Paul Osborn's 'On Borrowed Time', and at the age of eight, he and his mother, Hazel, relocated to Hollywood.
As a child, his first film appearances were marked in movies like 'The Way of All Flesh' (1940), 'On the Sunny Side' (1942), and 'Happy Land' (1943). West began attending Los Angeles City College when he was only 14 years old and then started working for screenwriter Jack DeWitt at Monogram Films.
After serving with the US army in Korea twice, he returned to acting for a brief period of time and played a DJ in 'Our Very Own (1950)', reported The Hollywood Reporter. The media outlet also reported that although DeWitt received credit, West actually created the screenplay for the 1952 film Battles of Chief Pontiac, which starred Lex Barker and Lon Chaney Jr.
West joined the writing crew of CBS' Lassie in 1963
West joined the writing crew of CBS' 'Lassie' in 1963 after working for writer-producer Charles Marquis Warren on NBC's 'The Virginian' for approximately a year as a story editor. He collaborated on the writing of the well-liked two-part episode of NBC's 'The Wonderful World of Disney' in 1974 'Two Against the Arctic', which followed the journey of two lost children battling for their survival.
In 1980, West stopped writing for TV and started his own medical transmission business, which he operated until he turned 80. Geri, his 47-year-old wife, passed away in 2007.
