Luke Miller
I knew Jim from childhood but, being a few years younger, I really didn’t hang out with him much until I was in my late teens. He was a lot of fun to be around with a quiet, understated sense of humor. One thing we really enjoyed was filming comedy skits with a Super 8 movie camera. Jim was at his funniest portraying the portly detective Frank Cannon attempting to solve a murder case with Joe Friday but unable to keep his mind off the fridge. His best line: “Why am I always the heavy?” Of course, Jim wasn’t heavy at all. He was fit as a fiddle and was quite athletic too.
After Jim moved to California, we stayed in touch with Christmas cards but didn’t see each other again until I visited the state on a cross-country car trip with another friend. Jim was a gracious host and took us to the Orange County Fair, where he spotted an exhibit boasting “the world’s longest shark!” Jim absolutely KNEW it was a scam but he wanted to see it anyway and figured what’s a buck to get in? Sure enough, on the wall was a shriveled shark skin so puny it appeared to be a joke. We all had a big laugh, so I guess Jim's insistence on seeing the exhibit wasn't a total loss.
Although Jim wasn’t easy to get to know on a deep level, he was someone you'd gladly welcome into your home or spend an afternoon knocking around town with. Some of my fondest memories were making snarky remarks about really bad movies we were watching—either on TV or at the theater—and then continuing to joke about scenes later. Sometimes years later, in fact.
Rest well, Jim!