Editing Jim Backus (section)

{{Short description|American actor (1913–1989)}}
{{For|the former U.S. Congressman|Jim Bacchus}}
{{Use American English|date=September 2024}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2024}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = Jim Backus
| image              = Jim Backus The Jim Backus Show 1962.JPG
| alt                = Photo of Jim Backus from the television program The Jim Backus Show.
| caption            = Publicity still of Backus for ''[[The Jim Backus Show]]'', 1962
| birth_name         = James Gilmore Backus
| birth_date         = {{Birth date|1913|02|25|mf=y}}
| birth_place        = [[Cleveland]], Ohio, U.S.
| death_date         = {{Death date and age|1989|07|03|1913|02|25|mf=y}}
| death_place        = Los Angeles, California
| awards             = [[Hollywood Walk of Fame]]
| known_for          = ''[[Gilligan's Island]]''<br>''[[Rebel Without a Cause]]''<br>''[[Mr. Magoo]]''
| resting place      = 
| years_active       = 1948–1984
| occupation         = Actor
| spouse             = {{Plainlist|
* {{marriage|[[Betty Kean]]|1939|1942|reason=divorced}}
* {{marriage|[[Henny Backus]]<br>|1943}}
  }}
}}

'''James Gilmore Backus''' (February 25, 1913 – July 3, 1989) was an American actor. Among his most famous roles were [[Thurston Howell III]] on the 1960s sitcom ''[[Gilligan's Island]],'' the father of [[James Dean]]'s character in ''[[Rebel Without a Cause]],''<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Rieder|first=Howard|date=1969|title=Memories of Mr. Magoo|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/1225373|journal=Cinema Journal|volume=8|issue=2|pages=17–24|doi=10.2307/1225373|jstor=1225373|issn=0009-7101|url-access=subscription}}</ref> the voice of the near-sighted cartoon character ''[[Mr. Magoo]]'',<ref>{{Cite book|jstor=j.ctv12sdvgj.10 |chapter=Inside Magoo (1960) |last1=Cantor |first1=David |title=Body, Capital, and Screens |year=2020 |pages=181–204 |publisher=Amsterdam University Press |doi=10.2307/j.ctv12sdvgj.10 |s2cid=240850992 }}</ref> the rich Hubert Updike III on the radio version of ''[[The Alan Young Show]]'', and [[Joan Davis]]' character's husband (a domestic court judge) on TV's ''[[I Married Joan]]''. He also starred in his own show of one season, ''[[The Jim Backus Show]]'', also known as ''Hot Off the Wire''.

An avid golfer, Backus made the 36-hole cut at the 1964 [[AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am|Bing Crosby Pro-Am]] tournament. He was inducted to the [[Hollywood Walk of Fame]] in 1960.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://www.walkoffame.com/jim-backus|title=Jim Backus|website=Hollywood Walk of Fame|date=October 25, 2019 }}</ref>