James Stacy


Maurice William Elias, known professionally as James Stacy, was an American film and television actor. He is perhaps best known for starring in the late 1960s TV western Lancer.
In 1973, Stacy was hit by a drunk driver while driving his motorcycle, resulting in the amputation of his left leg and arm and the death of his girlfriend. He returned to acting in 1975 before retiring in 1992.

Early life

Stacy was born Maurice William Elias on December 23, 1936, in Los Angeles to an Irish-Scottish waitress and a Lebanese-American bookmaker.

Career

Stacy made his film debut in Sayonara in 1957, and his television debut in Highway Patrol. He had a recurring role as "Fred" in The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet from 1958 to 1963. During the 1960s he made guest appearances in television shows, including multiple episodes of Gunsmoke, Hazel, The Donna Reed Show, Have Gun - Will Travel, Combat!, and Perry Mason in the 1964 episode 'The Case of the Simple Simon' and the series finale "The Case of the Final Fade-out" in 1966.
Stacy is perhaps best remembered as a star of the western series Lancer, along with Andrew Duggan, Wayne Maunder, and Paul Brinegar. Lancer aired on CBS from 1968 to 1970. Stacy played the character "Johnny Madrid Lancer", a former gunslinger, the son of Duggan's character, Murdoch Lancer. Stacy also acted in several motion pictures from the 1950s through the 1970s, including a minor part in the musical South Pacific.

Motorcycle accident

On September 27, 1973, Stacy was taking Claire Cox for a ride on his motorcycle in the Hollywood Hills when a drunken driver struck them. As results of the accident, she died and Stacy lost his left arm and leg. Stacy's ex-wife, actress and singer Connie Stevens, organized a 1974 celebrity gala to raise money for his expenses. The gala, whose attendees included Frank Sinatra and Barbra Streisand, raised $118,000 for his expenses. In 1976, he won a $1.9 million lawsuit against the bar that had served the drunk driver.

Comeback

After his recovery, Stacy appeared in roles created to accommodate his disability. His comeback film was the 1975 Kirk Douglas Western Posse, in which he was cast as newspaper editor "Harold Hellman", a part Douglas had written for him. In 1977, he starred in the TV movie Just a Little Inconvenience, playing a double-amputee Vietnam veteran. The role earned him his first Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama or Comedy Special. In 1980, Stacy starred in and produced the TV movie, My Kidnapper, My Love. His brother, Louie Elias, a character actor and stuntman, wrote the screenplay, based on the novel by Oscar Saul, to accommodate Stacy's disability. Elias was also the associate producer. He also played Ed, the Bartender in the film Something Wicked This Way Comes.
Other television appearances included Hotel, Cagney & Lacey, and Highway to Heaven. His last TV role was in five 1990 episodes of the cop series Wiseguy, playing "Ed Rogosheske".

Personal life

Marriages

Stacy was married twice. He married actress and singer Connie Stevens on October 12, 1963, in Hollywood. They were divorced in November 1966. Stacy's second marriage was to actress Kim Darby in 1968. They had a daughter, Heather, before divorcing in 1969.

Arrest and conviction

In November 1995, Stacy pleaded no contest to a charge of molesting an 11-year-old girl. On December 7, 1995, he failed to appear for sentencing in Ventura County Superior Court and was arrested the next day in a Honolulu, Hawaii, hospital after having fled California. He attempted suicide by jumping off a cliff. After recovering, Stacy waived extradition and returned to California. On March 5, 1996, he received a six-year prison sentence. The prosecutor in the case initially said she believed Stacy might have been eligible for probation for the molestation, but his post-arrest behavior, coupled with two arrests in June 1995 for prowling at the homes of other girls, led her to seek a prison sentence. He served his sentence at the California Institution for Men at Chino.

Death

On September 9, 2016, Stacy died of anaphylactic shock in Ventura, California, after being administered an antibiotic injection at the office of Dr. Cedric Emery.
He was 79 years old.

Portrayal

Stacy is portrayed by Timothy Olyphant in the 2019 Quentin Tarantino film Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.

Filmography

YearTitleRoleNotes
1956–1963The Adventures of Ozzie and HarrietFred19 episodes
1957Highway PatrolYoung Man in CarEpisode: "Female Hitchhiker"
1962ShannonCracker CoeEpisode: "The Jungle Kid"
1962Have Gun – Will TravelJohnny TullyEpisode: "Man in an Hourglass"
1962The Donna Reed ShowDanny
Steve		2 episodes
1962CheyenneLuther JamesEpisode: "Showdown at Oxbend"
1963HazelEpisode: "The Baby Came C.O.D."
1964–1966Perry MasonScott Everett
Barry Conrad		2 episodes
1964–1973GunsmokeVarious roles5 episodes
1965Mister RobertsEpisode: "Just Getting There Is Half the Fun"
1966Baby Makes ThreeDr. Peter CooperTV movie
1966The MonroesPerry HutchinsEpisode: "Ride with Terror"
1966Combat!FarleyEpisode: "The Bankroll"
1968PremiereAndrew BassEpisode: "The Freebooters"
1968Cimarron StripJoe BravoEpisode: "The Judgment"
1968–1970LancerJohnny Madrid Lancer51 episodes
1971Paper ManJerryTV movie
1972Love, American StyleSegment: "Love and the Alibi"
1972Heat of AngerGus PrideTV movie
1972Medical CenterNeilEpisode: "Cycle of Peril"
1972The Streets of San FranciscoPeter ForrestEpisode: "Whose Little Boy Are You?"
1972Marcus Welby, M.D.Phil DarrowEpisode: "Jason Be Nimble, Jason Be Quick"
1972Episode: "Starting Over Again"
1973OrdealAndy FolsomTV movie
1977Just a Little InconvenienceKenny BriggsTV movie
1980My Kidnapper, My LoveDennyTV movie
1985HotelJeremy HaleEpisode: "Saving Grace"
1986Cagney & LaceyTed PetersEpisode: "The Gimp"
1987Highway to HeavenJoe MasonEpisode: "The Hero"
1990WiseguyEd Rogosheske5 episodes
1990Matters of the HeartGlen HarperTV movie