James Whitmore - Wikipedia

James Allen Whitmore Jr. (October 1, 1921 – February 6, 2009) was an American film, theatre, and television actor.[1] During his career, Whitmore won three of the four EGOT honors: a Tony, a Grammy, and an Emmy. Whitmore also won a Golden Globe and was nominated for two Academy Awards.

Born in White Plains, New York, to Florence Belle (née Crane) and James Allen Whitmore, Sr., a park commission official,[2] Whitmore attended Amherst Central High School in Snyder, New York, for three years,[3] before transferring to the Choate School in Wallingford, Connecticut, on a football scholarship. He went on to study at Yale University, but he had to quit playing football after severely injuring his knees.[4] After giving up football, he turned to the Yale Dramatic Society and began acting.[5] While at Yale, he was a member of Skull and Bones,[6] and was among the founders of the Yale radio station (the student-run WOCD-AM, later renamed WYBC-AM).[7] Whitmore planned on becoming a lawyer and graduated with a major in government from Yale University. When World War II broke out, he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps Reserve in 1942 while finishing his degree, which he awarded in 1944.[8] In the Marines he trained at Parris Island and Quantico, Virginia and Officers Candidate School, and was commissioned a second lieutenant. After further training he was assigned to the 4th Marine Division on Saipan in July 1944. While at Tinian he contracted amoebic dysentery and was hospitalized. He served on guard duty at the Panama Canal Zone until his discharge in March 1946.[9][10]