James Luisi

James Luisi was an American actor and professional basketball player, born in East Harlem, New York City. He earned a basketball scholarship to St. Francis College and was drafted by the Boston Celtics in 1951, and after serving in the army during the Korean War he played a season with the Baltimore Bullets. He went on to train at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and to take Broadway roles, among them the original 1966 staging of Sweet Charity. On television he was best known as Lt. Doug Chapman in The Rockford Files, a part he played across 23 episodes and returned to in two 1996 movies. He shared a Daytime Emmy for his portrayal of George Washington in First Ladies Diaries: Martha Washington. His films included Norma Rae (1979), Star 80 (1983) and The Hidden (1987), and he also worked on the soap operas Santa Barbara and Days of Our Lives. He died in 2002.