Jim Greenleaf was an American actor who appeared as Donald in Season 4's Gotta Run, Part 2.
Biography[]
James 'Jim' Greenleaf attended Palmdale High School in California, USA, graduating in 1974.[1] He applied and received a full scholarship to the University of Idaho to study Theater. Unfortunately he broke his leg severely enough and had to quit college to heal and rehabilitate himself and couldn't afford to return to College. As a result he switched tracks and joined the Navy as a journalist. After his honorable discharge he rebuilt his plans for a future as an actor so he moved to Hollywood to pursue the next "stage" of his life.[2]
His career burgeoning in Hollywood he again suffered a serious physical set back, after being involved in terrible car accident that led to his family being told initially that he had been pronounced dead at the scene. His revival was near miracuolous, though it took two years of surgery and rehabilitation in the hospital, to complete a remarkable recovery, with Jim Greenleaf learning to walk again.[2]
He had three children, daughters Leslie Lucy and Amy Greenleaf and son Jimmy Greenleaf. Latterly was married to Marva Greenleaf, and
Career[]
Jim's first appearance on TV was on the Gong Show, where he performed a skit of a ping pong match in slow motion. It brought him to the attention of legendary TV producer Norman Lear, who called him, and gave him a lead role in his show "All the Glitters". The show didn't run but he made his mark and began to be cast in movies and in guest starring roles on TV, and by the age of 25, people began to recognize him wherever he went.[2]
A well known celebrity on his way to becoming one of the most sought out comedy Actors in the 80's, starring in hit TV shows like Laverne and Shirley, The Greatest American Hero and The Fall Guy along with appearing in movies like Elvis (1979) and in Ron Howard's directorial debut Night Shift (1982). In 1981 he voiced the part of Weatherman on NBC's Sunday Morning Cartoon, The Kid Super Power Hour with Shazam! and Hero High.[3]
Filmography[]
| Year | TV Series | Episode(s) | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1977 | All That Glitters | 1 episode | Jeremy Stockwood |
| 1977-1978 | The Fitzpatricks | 4 episodes | Shrapnagle |
| 1978 | James at 16 | 6 episodes | Schwartz |
| 1981-1982 | Laverne & Shirley | Young at Heart
An Affair to Forget |
Lyle Nowicki |
| 1982 | The Greatest American Hero | Captain Bellybuster and
the Speed Factory |
Cabbie |
| 1982 | Mork & Mindy | Gotta Run: Part 2 | Donald |
| 1983 | The Powers of Matthew Star | Swords and Quests | Herb |
| 1986 | The Fall Guy | The Last Chance Platoon | Slatkin |
| Year | Movie | Role | |
| 1979 | Elvis | 2nd Reporter | |
| 1980 | Gorp | Fat Solowitz | |
| 1981 | Liar's Moon | Mike Miller | |
| 1981 | Carbon Copy | Basketball Boy | |
| 1981 | Evilspeak | Ox | |
| 1982 | Tag: The Assassination Game | Swanson | |
| 1982 | Night Shift | Frat Boy #4 | |
| 1983 | Joysticks | Jonathan Andrew McDorfus | |
| 1983 | The Vals | David - Beer Bong President | |
| 1983 | Surf II | Fat Boy #2 | |
| 1984 | Toy Soldiers | Tom | |
| Year | TV Movie | Role | |
| 1980 | Marilyn: The Untold Story | ||
| 1982 | Pigs vs. Freaks | Blatz | |
| 1983 | The Young Landlords | Bubba | |
Mork & Mindy[]
Jim appeared as Donald, an eager but exhausted and famished guest at the Hidden Hills Health Farm in Arizona, aiming to lose weight, and in the group that Mork & Mindy infiltrate when hiding out from Kalnik in Gotta Run, Part 2.