James Eckhouse: Jim Walsh from Beverly Hills 90210

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

James Eckhouse is an American actor best known for his role as Jim Walsh, the father of Brandon and Brenda in the popular 90s television series Beverly Hills 90210. He also directed 3 episodes of the show.

Early years

James Cauer Eckhouse was born on February 14, 1955 in Chicago. In 1972 he graduated from New Trier High School in Winnetka, a we althy village 26 kilometers from Chicago. In the same year he entered the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. However, in 1976, James dropped out to focus entirely on his acting career.

The beginning of a creative career

James Eckhouse arrived in Los Angeles in July 1988, just in time for the writers' strike, and was therefore out of work for several months. And then, about two years later, he got a call asking him to audition for a new series called The Class of Beverly Hills. James decided that he failed the interview because he portrayed a rather grumpy character. But he was called again - as it turned out, this was exactly the character needed.

After the second audition between Carol Potter (already approved for the role of CindyWalsh as an actress) and Aaron Spelling had the following dialogue:

- I don't know. There is something about this guy. Spelling said.

- Well, Aaron, it's because he's Jewish. Potter replied.

James Eckhouse jokes that this is the reason he got the role.

Working at Beverly Hills 90210

The atmosphere on set was perfect and very fitting for the show. The series was filmed in warehouses in a small industrial area. Spelling renovated all the premises and turned them into a film set.

James Eckhouse recalls: "The site was like a student dorm. I felt like I was back in college. It was great. There was a very long hallway with old little lockers crammed in randomly stuffed with different things. This is what our dressing room looked like. Back then it seemed like it should be."

It was originally supposed to be a family show. But the producers quickly realized that they would not earn much on a project of this format, and turned the series into a soap opera about beautiful youth. However, looking back on the show now, Eckhouse is proud to have been a part of it: "Something great was that the teenagers spoke in a rather adult way about their problems, which are no different from what I see now: sex, love, alcohol, drugs, everything was shown more or less in an adult way."

The series "Beverly Hills 90210" was successful because it had a direct dialogue with the viewer. It didn't matter to the youth of America whether the show was liked by the critics or not, whether it was high quality or low quality. They just felt connected to the project.

Career after Beverly Hills 90210

After the fifth season, James Eckhouse left the series as his contract expired. Over the following years, he led a rather active acting life.

James has appeared on a number of popular television shows such as Without a Trace, Dharma & Greg and C. S. I. Don't forget about cinema. Some of James Eckhouse's most famous films are True Values, A Cinderella Story, and Guess Who? He also often starred in video films (products that were released directly to video, without being shown on television or in cinemas). One of these is "Extreme Cinema".

From the latest works of Eckhouse, you can name roles in the following films: "The Avengers", "Masters of Sex" and "Castle".

Private life

James Eckhouse is an ethnic Jew who lives and works in Los Angeles. He has been married to Sheila Kelicher Walsh for more than thirty years, with whom he raised two sons: James Gabriel (Gabe) and John Alexander (Zander). Gabe graduated from Deep Springs College and is currently at Berkeley. Zander followed in his father's footsteps and is currently studying filmmaking at NYU and co-starring in the TV series Puffies.