Actor Timothy Olyphant plays James Stacy, the star of the 1960s CBS Western series Lancer, in Quentin Tarantino’s Once upon a Time in Hollywood.
James Stacy is the professional name of the actor known as Maurice William Elias, born in Los Angeles in December 1936 to a Lebanese-American father and a mother of Irish-Scottish descent.
Who is James Stacy?
Stacy made his big screen debut in 1957, playing the role of a reporter in the film Sayonara, starring Marlon Brando.
He also appeared as Alan Nichols in Lafayette Escadrille (1958), as Charles Byrant in Summer Magic (1963), and as Mickey in A Swingin’ Summer (1965).
He made his TV debut, playing the recurring role of Fred in The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet (1956–1963). Between 1964 and 1973, he appeared in various roles in the Western drama series Gunsmoke.
He also appeared in 1966 as Farley in the World War II action series Combat!
However, he was best known to TV audiences as Johnny Madrid Lancer on CBS’ Western TV series Lancer (1968-1970).
Stacy was hit by a drunk driver in 1973 while riding his motorkbike with his girlfriend Claire Cox in the Hollywood Hills.
Cox died in the accident, while he suffered injuries that resulted in the amputation of his left arm and leg.
In 1974, his wife ex-wife, the actress and singer Connie Stevens, organized a celebrity gala to raise money for his treatment.
The gala, attended by stars such as Frank Sinatra and Barbra Streisand, raised about $118,000. He also won $1.9 million from a lawsuit he brought against the bar that served the driver
He returned to acting in 1975, playing roles that designed to accommodate his disability. He played newspaper editor Harold Hellman in Posse (1975) and double amputee Vietnam veteran Kenny Briggs in the TV movie Just a Little Inconvenience (1977).
He played Denny in My Kidnapper, My Love (1980) and Bartender Ed in Something Wicked This Way Comes (1983).
He last film role was The Cyborg in F/X2 (1991). His last TV series role was Ed Rogosheskein in Wiseguy (1990).
He retired from acting in 1992. He was convicted for molesting an 11-year-old girl in 1996 and served six years in California prison, according to LA Times.
He died in September 2016 at 79.
Who is Timothy Olyphant?
Timothy Olyphant was born on May 20, 1968. After making his acting debut in the off-Broadway theater production The Monogamist in 1995, he ventured into film, appearing in various roles such as Mickey Altieri in Scream 2 (1997), Lieutenant Terrence Lukas in When Trumpets Fade (1998), Todd Gaines in Go (1999), Detective Drycoff in Gone in 60 Seconds (2000), Pete Moore in Dreamcatcher (2003), and Hollywood Jack in A Man Apart (2003).
He also appeared as Kelly in The Girl Next Door (2004), Fritz Messing in Catch and Release (2006), Thomas Gabriel in Live Free or Die Hard (2007), Agent 47 in Hitman (2007), Nick in A Perfrect Getaway (2009), and Sheriff David Dutten in The Crazies (2010)
Olyphant is probably best known for playing Sheriff Seth Bullock in HBO’s Deadwood (2004-2006) and Deputy Marshal Raylan Givens in FX’s Justified (2010-2015).
He has also appeared in popular TV shows and sitcoms, playing roles such as Danny Cordray in The Office (2010), Graham Logan in The Mindy Project (2013), and Joel Hammond in Santa Clarita Diet (2017-2019).