Jim Beaver

Originally from Laramie, Wyoming, the United States, born on August 12, 1950, James Norman "Jim" Beaver, Jr. has made his mark as not only an actor but as a screenwriter as well. He was born to Dorothy Adell and James Norman Beaver, Sr. Jim along with his sisters went to Irving High School but transferred and graduated from Fort Worth Christian Academy in 1968. During his school days, other than performing in a few school plays Beaver didn’t exhibit any interest at all in the field of acting. He rather had a great zeal in the art of writing and had published some stories for school anthologies. In his college days, in a tiny role in ‘The Miracle Worker’, he made his theatrical debut. Beaver also started writing, and when got over with his premier book, John Garfield, he was still studying. Beaver also pursued Oral Communications, and in 1975 graduated with flying colors.

In October 1972, Jim was first seen on-stage, in ‘ Rain Rain is a Hindi thriller Drama. The series is dir >> Read More... ’, at the Oklahoma Theatre Center. He made New York City his new home in 1979 and worked steadily on stage while simultaneously trying his hands on playwriting. In 1983 he shifted again, and this time to Los Angeles, California and became a film archivist. Then, he was offered membership of Hollywood’s reputable Theatre West company. Later, he played the role of Bruce Willis This guy was always summoned and well paid by prod >> Read More... companion in ‘In Country’, a Vietnamese drama by Norman Jewison. This show took an upward flight in his career. Later, he got opportunities to appear in several popular films such as ‘Silver’, ‘Sister Act’, ‘Bad Girls’, ‘Adaptation.’, ‘The Life of David Gale’ and ‘Magnolia’. Beaver starred in ‘John from Cincinnati’ in 2006 while parallelly playing his parts on ‘Big Love’ and ‘Supernatural’. He played a role in ‘Harper's Island’, a drama series that aired on CBS. He has played the part of Lawson, the ammunition dealer on the criminal drama series titled ‘Breaking Bad’. Beaver has also appeared as a Sheriff on FX's ‘Justified’ for three seasons.

In 2007, he was collectively nominated with the entire star cast for his work in Deadwood. In 2013, he received yet another nomination in the category of the Best Guest Performer at the Critics' Choice TV Award for his work in Justified.

During his college days, Beaver married Debbie Young, in 1973. However, the couple separated soon. He remarried in 1989 actress Cecily Adams and together had their daughter, Madeline in 2001.

Another Version of this Story…

An American stage, film and TV actor, James Norman Beaver, Jr. was born on August 12, 1950. He is also a playwright, screenwriter and film historian. He has a French and English heritage from his father and Scottish, German and Cherokee heritage from his mother.

James Beaver, known widely around as Jim Beaver, is descendent of a senator, governor and three-time U.S. Attorney General, John J. Crittenden. He had three sisters, all of them younger than him named Denise, Renee and Teddlie, and the four of them attended Irving High School in Texas. Beaver graduated from the Fort Worth Christian Academy in the year 1968. After graduation, he got himself associated with the United States Marine Corps. He contributed to the Marine Corps Base Twentynine Palms, Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton and was later transferred to the 1st Marine Division near Da Nang, South Vietnam in 1970. He worked as a radio operator and as supply chief for the division communications company. He played a role in the Marine Reserve until 1976. Beaver also got associated with a corn-chip dough mixer for Frito-Lay Company. In 1975, Beaver graduated with a degree in Oral Communications.

Beaver made his first stage performance in the play, Rain, in 1972 while his was studying college. He worked a lot around the theater to support himself until he was finally given a chance to write the first play in a three-part series for Actors Theatre of Louisville. For his work, he was twice a finalist in the theater’s national Great American Play Contest. He also worked as a columnist, critic and feature writer for the magazine, Films in Review. Between his acting works, Jim made it a habit of researching upon the actor, George Reeves George Reeves was born 5th January 1914, in the Wo >> Read More... , to whom he's writing a biography. Beaver was seen in some box-office hits including Bad Girls, Adaption, Magnolia and The Life of David Gale. In 2006, he joined the cast of the drama John from Cincinnati occurring in HBO and acted as Bobby Singer on Supernatural. He later acted Sheriff Shelby Parlow on three seasons of Justified. Following which, he had been offered a starring role in Guillermo del Toro’s ghost story flick, Crimson Peak.

Beaver wrote a book, Life’s That Way, which is a memoir of his wife, who died of lung cancer. The book was listed out by Barnes & Noble for Discover Great New Writers program and was later bought by Putnam/Penguin Publishers in 2007. Beaver received the Best Actor Award at the 2010 New York Film and Video Festival. He was awarded the Lifetime Merit Award of the Idllywild International Festival of Cinema in 2014.

Beaver married Debbie Young in 1973 and got a divorce in 1976. Later on in 1989, he married Cecily Adams, who was an actress and a casting director. The couple gave birth to a girl named Madeline. Cecily Adams died of lung cancer on March 3, 2004, which motivated Jim to write a memoir to her.