Tall, rugged James Craig's illustrious career as an MGM contract player flourished in the 1940s, largely owing to his striking physical and vocal resemblance to the studio's top leading man, Clark Gable, who was serving in the U.S. Army Air Forces at the time.
Craig's journey to stardom began at the Rice Institute, where he initially studied to become a physician. However, a stint in the movie capital persuaded him to trade in his stethoscope for a script, and he soon found himself tutored by thespian Cyril Delevanti in 1934.
Craig's early days in the industry were marked by humble beginnings as an extra, but his time spent living in Texas had gifted him with a drawl tailor-made for a western hero. As he transitioned to James Henry Meador, it seemed he might land a role in the melodrama Craig's Wife (1936). Although he didn't secure a part, he was cast in low-budget second-feature westerns for the first two years of his Hollywood tenure.
Craig's breakthrough arrived when he was loaned to RKO to star alongside Ginger Rogers in Kitty Foyle (1940). He then enjoyed critical success as farmer Jabez Stone in The Devil and Daniel Webster (1941) and scored high-profile parts in a couple of other A-grade features: the caliph in Kismet (1944),and as Halverson in Our Vines Have Tender Grapes (1945).
However, Craig's success was short-lived, as Clark Gable's return from the war led to a return to low-budget horse operas for Craig. He went on to work in episodic television for several years in the 1960s before calling it quits and turning his talents towards a lucrative career in real estate.
