James Marshall Thompson was an American actor, born in Peoria, Illinois, on November 27, 1925. James was married to Barbara Long, they had a child, and he remained with her until his death. He's known for Clarence, the Cross-Eyed Lion (1965), Words and Music (1948) and It! the Terror from Beyond Space (1958). He made his directorial debut in A Yank in Viet-Nam (1964), in which he also starred in. He died in 1992 of congestive heart failure at the age of 67.