A Natural Act - A Memoir

Jim McMullan never set out to be an actor. But a chance suggestion he meet Pulitizer Prize winning playright William Inge, while fresh out of college, led to a screen test, a contract with Universal Studios, and an acting career in both movies and television spanning forty years that included roles in more than twenty feature films and several high-powered television dramas.

 

"I never took an acting lesson," he said, relying instead on what he felt were his natural instincts for dramatic portrayal and character depiction. Among those he worked with were Jimmy Stewart, Robert Redford, Gene Hackman, Lindsey Wagner, Connie Selleca, Larry Hagman, Billy Dee Williams, James Caan and Slim Pickens.

 

In this memoir Jim tells us stories about some of the people he worked with and some of the roles he portrayed while pursuing a "natural" actor's career. He also describes the story behind publication of ACTORS AS ARTISTS, his and Dick Gautier's best selling book on the surprising painting talents of many of Hollywood's elite. In addition, Jim wrote eight other books (including HAPPILY EVER AFTER with wife, Helene) and created numerous three-dimensional pieces of sculpture.

 

Sadly, Jim did not live to see this book published. He passed away shortly after he completed taping his remembrances and writing an initial draft. But what's here establishes for all to see that "natural" can highlight an actor's life.