Jim Byrnes (actor)
Jim Byrnes | |
|---|---|
 Byrnes at Japan Expo 2010 | |
| Born | James Thomas Kevin Byrnes September 22, 1948 St. Louis, Missouri, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, film, guitarist, TV, voice actor |
| Years active | 1966–present |
| Website | http://www.jamestbyrnes.com |
James Thomas Kevin Byrnes[1] OBC (born September 22, 1948) is an American blues musician, guitarist, and actor.
Life and career
Byrnes was born in St. Louis, Missouri. His mother was a homemaker, and his father was a municipal accountant.[1] In 1968 he was drafted and served in the Vietnam War for a year in the 196th Infantry Brigade. He has lived in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, since the mid-1970s. On February 26, 1972, he was struck by a passing car while he attempted to help move a stalled truck on the Island Highway North of Parksville, which injured his legs and forced them both to be amputated.[2]
Fifteen years to the day after the accident, he started appearing on Wiseguy as Daniel Burroughs, better known as Lifeguard. It was his first major role and lasted until 1990. Later, he starred in the fantasy television series Highlander: The Series as Joe Dawson, a member of a secret society known as the "Watchers." He reprised his role as Joe Dawson in Highlander: Endgame and Highlander: The Source, later installments of the Highlander film series, as well as providing voices for the anime Highlander: The Search for Vengeance. He starred in his own short-lived TV show, called The Jim Byrnes Show. He played a recruiting sergeant for the Union Army in an episode of "Copper" called "The Children of the Battlefield."
His other television roles include Higher Ground and cartoon voices in Beast Wars: Transformers, Beast Machines: Transformers, Shadow Raiders, Stargate Infinity, Dinosaur Train as Percy Paramacellodus, Colonel Nick Fury in X-Men: Evolution and as Duke Dermail in Gundam Wing. He appeared in the Taken mini series, which broadcast on the Sci-Fi Channel and an episode of Twilight Zone entitled "Harsh Mistress". He has also appeared on the Syfy series Sanctuary, appearing as the father of Helen Magnus, played by Amanda Tapping and as Shineoa San in an episode of Andromeda as well as the voice of Virgil Vox in nine additional episodes.
As a musician, Byrnes has won the Juno Award for Blues Album of the Year three times, for That River in 1996 and House of Refuge on Black Hen Music in 2007, and for Everywhere West in 2011.[3] Byrnes was also honoured at the 2006 Maple Blues Awards, as Male Vocalist of the Year.[4] The Canadian Folk Music Awards recognized him as the Contemporary Singer of the Year in 2006 and 2009.[5][6]
In 2018 Byrnes performed with the Sojourners at a concert organized by the North Island Concert Society.[7]
Discography
Solo
- Burning (1981) Polydor (vinyl)[8]
- I Turned My Nights Into Days (1987) Stony Plain Records (vinyl)[9]
- That River (1995) Stony Plain[10][11]
- Love Is A Gamble (2001) One Coyote Music[12]
- Fresh Horses (2004) Black Hen Music[13]
- House of Refuge (2006) Black Hen Music[14]
- My Walking Stick (2009) Black Hen Music
- Everywhere West (2011) Black Hen Music[15]
- I Hear the Wind in the Wires (2012) Black Hen Music
- St. Louis Times (2014) Black Hen Music
Compilation Inclusions
- Vancouver Seeds 2 (1981)
- Saturday Night Blues: 20 Years (2006) CBC[16]
Select filmography
Film
- Harmony Cats, as Frank Hay
- Highlander: Endgame
- Highlander: The Source
- Highlander: The Search for Vengeance as Doc/Rudy
Television
- Wiseguy, as the Lifeguard
- Highlander: The Series and Highlander: The Raven, as Joe Dawson
- Snow Queen as voice of the guardian Polar Bear of the Snow Queen's palace (TV film)
- Sanctuary, as Gregory Magnus
- Higher Ground as Frank, founder of a school for troubled teens
- Supernatural as Professor (episode: "Bugs")
- Travelers 2018
Animation/voice roles
- Beast Wars: Transformers - Inferno
- Beast Machines - Thrust
- Mega Man - Dr. Light, Sigma, Pharaoh Man, Air Man, Quick Man, Top Man, Gravity Man
- RoboCop: Alpha Commando - Mr. Brink
- Street Fighter - Guy
- King Arthur and the Knights of Justice - Merlin
- X-Men: Evolution - Nick Fury
- War of the Worlds: Goliath - Theodore Roosevelt
- Stone Protectors
- Ultimate Book of Spells
- My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic - Gladmane (episode: "Viva Las Pegasus")
- Slugterra - Viggo Dare
References
- ^ a b Jim Byrnes Biography and Filmography; www.filmreference.com.
- ^ "The Loss of His Legs Is No Handicap for Wiseguy's Jim Byrnes". People, May 21, 1990.
- ^ See Juno Award for Blues Album of the Year.
- ^ "2006 Maple Blues Awards Winners and Nominees". Toronto Blues Society. Retrieved 27 January 2017.
- ^ "Results 2006". Canadian Folk Music Awards / Prix de musique folk canadienne. Retrieved 27 January 2017.
- ^ "Results 2009". Canadian Folk Music Awards / Prix de musique folk canadienne. Retrieved 27 January 2017.
- ^ "Concert Society goes out on a high note". North Island Gazette, Hanna Petersen. Apr. 17, 2018
- ^ CD re-release 1998, Stony Plain Records, coupled with I Turned My Nights Into Days.
- ^ CD re-release, 1998, Stony Plain Records, coupled with Burning.
- ^ 1996 Juno Award for Blues Album of the Year.
- ^ Re-released 1997 on Band Together label, with the tracks in a different order.
- ^ Limited pre-release; no general release.
- ^ Contains six of the nine songs found on Love Is A Gamble; see Jim Byrnes detailed discography; www.jimbyrnes.org.
- ^ 2007 Juno Award for Blues Album of the Year.
- ^ 2010 Juno Award for Blues Album of the Year.
- ^ A compilation album of live performances from the Saturday Night Blues radio program on CBC Radio, hosted by Holger Petersen. Byrnes' "Blood In My Eyes" (also known as "I've Got Blood In My Eyes For You" and originally recorded on Fresh Horses) is included.
External links
- 1948 births
- Male actors from Vancouver
- American amputees
- American blues guitarists
- American male guitarists
- American expatriate male actors in Canada
- American male film actors
- American emigrants to Canada
- American male television actors
- American male voice actors
- American people of Irish descent
- Canadian people of Irish descent
- Juno Award for Blues Album of the Year winners
- Living people
- Male actors from St. Louis
- Musicians from Vancouver
- American military personnel of the Vietnam War
- Musicians from St. Louis
- 20th-century American male actors
- 21st-century American male actors
- 20th-century Canadian male actors
- 21st-century Canadian male actors
- 20th-century American guitarists
- 21st-century American guitarists
- 20th-century Canadian guitarists
- 21st-century Canadian guitarists
- Guitarists from Missouri
- Amputee musicians
- Amputee actors
- Canadian amputees
- Canadian blues guitarists
- Canadian male guitarists
- Canadian male film actors
- Canadian male television actors
- Canadian male voice actors
- Canadian Folk Music Award winners
- 20th-century male musicians
- 21st-century male musicians