Biography for
Jay C. Flippen More at IMDbPro »

Date of Birth

6 March 1899, Little Rock, Arkansas, USA

Date of Death

3 February 1971, Los Angeles, California, USA (in surgery)

Height

6' (1.83 m)

Mini Biography

Jay C. Flippen could probably be characterized these days as one of those distinctive faces you know but whose name escapes you while viewing old 50s and 60s movies and TV. His distinctive bulldog mug, beetle brows, bulky features, and silver-white hair were ideally suited for crimers and rugged adventure, while his background in vaudeville and minstrel shows helped him obtain roles in occasional fluffy slapstick and light musical comedy. Flippen was already a veteran performer on radio and the Broadway stage by the time he focused on film. He could be counted on to provide his patented gruff and bluster in many an actioneer whether playing a sheriff, prison warden, military high-ranker, bartender, or farmer. Moreover, his characters supported James Stewart in several of his standard vehicles, including Winchester '73 (1950), Bend of the River (1952), Thunder Bay (1953), The Far Country (1954), Strategic Air Command (1955), The Restless Breed (1957), Night Passage (1957), and Firecreek (1968). Dogged by illness but determined in later years, he continued his career in a wheelchair following a leg amputation. He was married for 25 years to screenwriter Ruth Brooks Flippen, whose work included a couple of Gidget movies. He died at age 72 of an aneurysm caused by a swollen artery.

IMDb Mini Biography By: Gary Brumburgh / gr-home@pacbell.net

Spouse

Ruth Brooks Flippen

(March 1947 - 3 February 1971) (his death)

Trivia

Entombed at Westwood Memorial Park, Westwood, California - Corridor of Memories (Five crypts to the right of Marilyn Monroe)

Can be seen in his wheelchair, minus his right leg, in the party scene at Jim Backus' house in the movie Mooch Goes to Hollywood (1971) (TV) , which was filmed shortly before his death. The great character actor is having a good time in his brief cameo, and obviously is beloved by the other guests.

The actor lost a leg to diabetes in the late 60's.