A native New Yorker James Luisi attended St Francis College in Brooklyn Heights on a basketball scholarship He served in the Army during the Korean War He then played one season 195354 with the Baltimore Bullets in the National Basketball Association His acting career began on the stage with early parts coming in the Broadway musicals Sweet Charity and Zorba His early movies were minor though his beefcake appeal was evident in 1973s I Escaped from Devils Island 1973 in which he rarely wore a shirt Most of his later work was on TV In 1976 he shared a best actor daytime Emmy for playing George Washington in a daytime drama special titled First Ladies Diaries Martha Washington 1975 Also in 1976 he started his fourseason role as Jim Rockfords James Garner nemesis Lt Chapman in The Rockford Files 1974 In 1983 he played the cop in charge of some streetgangmembersturnedundercoveragents in the shortlived series The Renegades 1983 which provided a boost for Patrick Swayze who played one of the gang members Along with guest spots on numerous TV shows Luisi also appeared in the soap operas Days of Our Lives 1965 and Another World 1964 In the 1990s he returned to acting in and directing stage work in the Los Angeles area Stricken with cancer he passed away on 7 June 2002 and is survived by his wife of 41 years the former Georgia Phillips
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