James Reynolds (actor)
Encyclopedia
James Reynolds is a long-time American
dramatic television actor
.
Reynolds orignated the character of Abe Carver
on the long running NBC dramatic serial Days of our Lives
in 1981. He has been on contract with the show since 1981 with only two short breaks in 1991 and 2003 where he still appeared as a recurring character. He is the only actor to play the role of Abe Carver. Before appearing on Days of our Lives, he had previously appeared in the short lived 1979 CBS
series Time Express
.
After serving as stalwart police commander Abe Carver
on Days of our Lives for nine years, Reynolds moved to the new series, Generations in 1991 to play powerful business tycoon Henry Marshall, replacing actor Taurean Blacque
in the role. He was rewarded for his powerful portrayal with an Emmy nomination as Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series. With the subsequent demise
of that series, Reynolds was invited to return to Days where he was promoted in rank to Chief
and named the top law enforcement official in Salem
, the mythical community
which is home to Days of our Lives.
language|English]] and History
. With a small student body, there was never any shortage of extracurricular activities and, in addition to performing in many school plays, he became very active in sports, playing football
, basketball
, and track
.
Following graduation from high school
, Reynolds joined the Marines
. After
. In high school, the subjects he enjoyed most were nglish boot camp
he was assigned to the Information Service Office where, first stationed in Hawaii
, he became a reporter for the service newspaper, The Windward Marine. Later he was sent to Vietnam
and served for almost a year with a variety of units in and around Chu Lai
, adding battlefield reporting to his combat duties.
Returning to the States
, Reynolds enrolled in Topeka
's Washburn University
, majoring in prelaw and journalism
. Advised that the best place on campus to meet girls was the theater department, he began auditioning and performing in plays. In addition to his improved social life, Reynolds reaped another unexpected benefit—he discovered a passion for acting. He went on to appear not only in regular campus productions of musicals
and dramatic plays
, but with local theater groups as well.
Dwight Eisenhower, Amelia Earhart
, Langston Hughes
, Barry Sanders
, and many others.
Deeply committed to his charitable
work, Reynolds has been involved in more than 300 fund raising events in the last ten years. He annually hosts a "Bowl-a-thon" in Los Angeles to benefit the National Asthma Center and a celebrity basketball game in South Pasadena
for the city's schools.
His son Jed is a student at the University of California, Santa Barbara
.
James is listed in Who's Who in Entertainment, Who's Who Among African-Americans, Who's Who in Business, and Who's Who International.
Reynolds is an active sportsman, enjoying basketball
and racquetball
on his days off. He, his wife Lissa Layng Reynolds and son Jed reside in Los Angeles
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
dramatic television actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
.
Reynolds orignated the character of Abe Carver
Abe Carver
Mayor Abraham Washington "Abe" Carver is a fictional character on the long-running American soap opera Days of our Lives. Actor James Reynolds has played the character since he originated it on the series in 1981. The character was created by head writer Pat Falken Smith. Abe is the husband of...
on the long running NBC dramatic serial Days of our Lives
Days of our Lives
Days of our Lives is a long running daytime soap opera broadcast on the NBC television network. It is one of the longest-running scripted television programs in the world, airing nearly every weekday in the United States since November 8, 1965. It has since been syndicated to many countries around...
in 1981. He has been on contract with the show since 1981 with only two short breaks in 1991 and 2003 where he still appeared as a recurring character. He is the only actor to play the role of Abe Carver. Before appearing on Days of our Lives, he had previously appeared in the short lived 1979 CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
series Time Express
Time Express
Time Express is a short-lived American fantasy TV series, broadcast April–May 1979 on CBS and later syndicated. The series was created by Ivan Goff and Ben Roberts who had both previously been involved in the creation of Charlie's Angels...
.
After serving as stalwart police commander Abe Carver
Abe Carver
Mayor Abraham Washington "Abe" Carver is a fictional character on the long-running American soap opera Days of our Lives. Actor James Reynolds has played the character since he originated it on the series in 1981. The character was created by head writer Pat Falken Smith. Abe is the husband of...
on Days of our Lives for nine years, Reynolds moved to the new series, Generations in 1991 to play powerful business tycoon Henry Marshall, replacing actor Taurean Blacque
Taurean Blacque
Taurean Blacque is an American television and stage actor, best known for his role as Detective Neal Washington on the series Hill Street Blues...
in the role. He was rewarded for his powerful portrayal with an Emmy nomination as Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series. With the subsequent demise
Demise
Demise, in its original meaning, is an Anglo-Norman legal term for a transfer of an estate, especially by lease...
of that series, Reynolds was invited to return to Days where he was promoted in rank to Chief
Chief of police
A Chief of Police is the title typically given to the top official in the chain of command of a police department, particularly in North America. Alternate titles for this position include Commissioner, Superintendent, and Chief constable...
and named the top law enforcement official in Salem
Salem (Days of our Lives)
The town of Salem is the setting for the U.S. soap opera Days of our Lives. It is located in the Midwestern United States, though the state is never mentioned. It was built and named in 1802, since Salem celebrated its 200-year birthday in 2002. Originally set in New England, the vague setting was...
, the mythical community
Community
The term community has two distinct meanings:*a group of interacting people, possibly living in close proximity, and often refers to a group that shares some common values, and is attributed with social cohesion within a shared geographical location, generally in social units larger than a household...
which is home to Days of our Lives.
language|English]] and History
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
. With a small student body, there was never any shortage of extracurricular activities and, in addition to performing in many school plays, he became very active in sports, playing football
High school football
High school football, in North America, refers to the game of football as it is played in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both of these nations....
, basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
, and track
Track and field
Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...
.
Following graduation from high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
, Reynolds joined the Marines
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
. After
Early career
Reynolds was born in Oskaloosa, KansasOskaloosa, Kansas
Oskaloosa is a city in and the county seat of Jefferson County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 1,113. Oskaloosa is part of the Topeka, Kansas Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:...
. In high school, the subjects he enjoyed most were nglish boot camp
United States Marine Corps Boot Camp
United States Marine Corps Recruit Training, commonly known as "boot camp", is a program of initial training that each recruit must successfully complete in order to join the United States Marine Corps...
he was assigned to the Information Service Office where, first stationed in Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
, he became a reporter for the service newspaper, The Windward Marine. Later he was sent to Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
and served for almost a year with a variety of units in and around Chu Lai
Chu Lai
Chu Lai is a sea port, urban and industrial area in Dung Quat Bay, Núi Thành district, Quang Nam province of Vietnam. The city is served by Chu Lai Airport.-Vietnam War:...
, adding battlefield reporting to his combat duties.
Returning to the States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Reynolds enrolled in Topeka
Topeka, Kansas
Topeka |Kansa]]: Tó Pee Kuh) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Shawnee County. It is situated along the Kansas River in the central part of Shawnee County, located in northeast Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was...
's Washburn University
Washburn University
Washburn University is a co-educational, public institution of higher learning in Topeka, Kansas, USA. It offers undergraduate and graduate programs, as well as professional programs in law and business. Washburn has 550 faculty members, who teach more than 6,400 undergraduate students and...
, majoring in prelaw and journalism
Journalism
Journalism is the practice of investigation and reporting of events, issues and trends to a broad audience in a timely fashion. Though there are many variations of journalism, the ideal is to inform the intended audience. Along with covering organizations and institutions such as government and...
. Advised that the best place on campus to meet girls was the theater department, he began auditioning and performing in plays. In addition to his improved social life, Reynolds reaped another unexpected benefit—he discovered a passion for acting. He went on to appear not only in regular campus productions of musicals
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
and dramatic plays
Play (theatre)
A play is a form of literature written by a playwright, usually consisting of scripted dialogue between characters, intended for theatrical performance rather than just reading. There are rare dramatists, notably George Bernard Shaw, who have had little preference whether their plays were performed...
, but with local theater groups as well.
Personal
One of Reynolds' greatest honors is being named to the Kansas Historical Society's list of famous Kansans, a list that includes such notables as PresidentPresident
A president is a leader of an organization, company, trade union, university, or country.Etymologically, a president is one who presides, who sits in leadership...
Dwight Eisenhower, Amelia Earhart
Amelia Earhart
Amelia Mary Earhart was a noted American aviation pioneer and author. Earhart was the first woman to receive the U.S. Distinguished Flying Cross, awarded for becoming the first aviatrix to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean...
, Langston Hughes
Langston Hughes
James Mercer Langston Hughes was an American poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist. He was one of the earliest innovators of the then-new literary art form jazz poetry. Hughes is best known for his work during the Harlem Renaissance...
, Barry Sanders
Barry Sanders
Barry Sanders is a former American football running back who spent all of his professional career with the Detroit Lions in the NFL. Sanders left the game just short of the all-time rushing record...
, and many others.
Deeply committed to his charitable
Charity (practice)
The practice of charity means the voluntary giving of help to those in need who are not related to the giver.- Etymology :The word "charity" entered the English language through the Old French word "charité" which was derived from the Latin "caritas".Originally in Latin the word caritas meant...
work, Reynolds has been involved in more than 300 fund raising events in the last ten years. He annually hosts a "Bowl-a-thon" in Los Angeles to benefit the National Asthma Center and a celebrity basketball game in South Pasadena
South Pasadena, California
South Pasadena is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 25,619, up from 24,292 at the 2000 census. It is located in in the West San Gabriel Valley...
for the city's schools.
His son Jed is a student at the University of California, Santa Barbara
University of California, Santa Barbara
The University of California, Santa Barbara, commonly known as UCSB or UC Santa Barbara, is a public research university and one of the 10 general campuses of the University of California system. The main campus is located on a site in Goleta, California, from Santa Barbara and northwest of Los...
.
James is listed in Who's Who in Entertainment, Who's Who Among African-Americans, Who's Who in Business, and Who's Who International.
Reynolds is an active sportsman, enjoying basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
and racquetball
Racquetball
For other sports often called "paddleball", see Paddleball .Racquetball is a racquet sport played with a hollow rubber ball in an indoor or outdoor court...
on his days off. He, his wife Lissa Layng Reynolds and son Jed reside in Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
.
Feature filmography
- C.H.O.M.P.S.C.H.O.M.P.S.-Plot:A young inventor - Brian Foster creates a robotic dog for use as part of a home protection system. C.H.O.M.P.S. is an acronym for "canine home protection system." Ralph Norton is his boss who he constantly argues with. Norton's daughter Casey and Foster develop a relationship...
(1979) - The Magic of LassieThe Magic of LassieThe Magic of Lassie is a 1978 Wrather Corporation film. It features James Stewart in one of only two musical film roles that he played . Mickey Rooney and Alice Faye also make cameo appearances in the film...
(1978) - Fun with Dick and JaneFun with Dick and Jane (1977 film)Fun with Dick and Jane is a 1977 American film starring George Segal and Jane Fonda as an upper-middle-class couple who lose their jobs, fall through the cracks of society in the United States and then become high-class thieves to get back all they lost. The comedy was directed by Ted Kotcheff and...
(1977) - Mr. MajestykMr. MajestykMr. Majestyk is a 1974 American action film directed by Richard Fleischer and starring Charles Bronson. The film is based on a novel written by Elmore Leonard.-Plot:...
(1974)