James Walter Hunt (December 4, 1939 – July 18, 2025) was an American film actor, most prominent as a child star who appeared in 35 pictures between 1945 and 1953.[1] He is perhaps best known for his role as David in Invaders from Mars (1953). In the 1986 remake of Invaders from Mars he plays the police chief.[2]
Life and career
Hunt was born in Los Angeles, California on December 4, 1939.[1] He mostly stopped acting when he became a teenager.[1] As an adult, he served in the U.S. Army and went on to work in sales in the aerospace industry.[1] However, he appeared in the 1986 remake of Invaders from Mars, and gave interviews about his acting career well into his later years.[1]
Hunt retired from acting at the age 14. After high school he attended college and served in the U.S. Army for three years as a codebreaker. He went on to work as a sales manager for a San Fernando Valley industrial supply and tool company that did business with aerospace firms.[1]
In 1963, Hunt married Roswitha Jager, whom he met while stationed in Germany during his military service. The couple had two daughters, one also named Roswitha who died over a decade before her parents,[1] and Alisa,[3] and two sons, Ron and Randy. Hunt also had a sister, Bonnie, and nine grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.[1]
Goldrup, Tom and Jim (2002). Growing Up on the Set: Interviews with 39 Former Child Actors of Film and Television. McFarland & Co. pp.130–137. ISBN1476613702.
Holmstrom, John (1996). The Moving Picture Boy: An International Encyclopaedia from 1895 to 1995. Norwich: Michael Russell, p. 216–217.
External links
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