James Wheaton (January 11, 1924 - June 9, 2002), was an
American motion picture and
television actor. He may be best known as the
voice actor "OMM" in
George Lucas's
THX 1138, a role for which he was chosen over
Orson Welles. Wheaton also appeared in
Trouble Comes to Town and
Sanford and Son.
In the early 1950s, he moved from his native Mississippi to Los Angeles, where he found work in local radio productions. His big break came when he was selected to join the Bishop's Company, a repertory theatre company which toured the United States. As the only African-American member of the group, he was given the opportunity to play a wide range of roles, which was rare for black actors at the time. One of his best known roles with the company was as "Scratch" in "The Devil and Daniel Webster." Later, he would become a leading actor with the Ebony Showcase Theatre in Los Angeles. His role as "J.B. Mongoose" in the play, "Carnival Island" was so popular, that he was soon appearing on television.
During the late 1960s and 1970s, Wheaton appeared on some of the most popular television programs of the day including
Room 222,
Kojak,
Good Times, and the final episode of
Ironside. He had a recurring role as Nelson B. Davis, "The Friendly Undertaker", on
Sanford and Son. Other feature film credits included
Black Belt Jones and lastly,
Gun Crazy with
Drew Barrymore. He also reteamed with
Bill Cosby in
A Piece of the Action, which also starred and was directed by
Sidney Poitier.
[Credits, Movie Database, Retrieved on 2007-08-18.]