Editing James MacArthur (section)

==Early life==
{{More citations needed|section|date=February 2021}}
MacArthur was born in Los Angeles, and was adopted by playwright [[Charles MacArthur]] and his wife, actress [[Helen Hayes]].<!-- Leave birthplace as "Los Angeles". See discussion on Talk page. --> He was raised in [[Nyack, New York]] along with his elder sister, the MacArthurs' biological daughter [[Mary MacArthur (actress)|Mary]], who died of polio in 1949.<ref name="chi"/> He was educated at [[Allen-Stevenson School]] in New York and later at the [[Solebury School]] in [[New Hope, Pennsylvania]], where he starred in basketball, [[American football|football]] and baseball.{{Citation needed |date=July 2024}} 

In his final year at Solebury, MacArthur played guard on the football team, captained the basketball team, rewrote the school's constitution, edited the school paper, played [[Ebenezer Scrooge|Scrooge]] in a local presentation of ''[[A Christmas Carol]]'' and was president of his class, the student government and the drama club. He also dated fellow student and future actress [[Joyce Bulifant]], whom he married in November 1958 and divorced nine years later.{{Citation needed |date=July 2024}} 

MacArthur was raised among people of literary and theatrical talent. [[Lillian Gish]] was his godmother, and his family's guests included [[John Steinbeck]], [[John Barrymore]], [[Harpo Marx]], [[Ben Hecht]], [[Beatrice Lillie]] and the humorist [[Robert Benchley]].{{Citation needed |date=July 2024}}