James Ellis is an actor from Northern Ireland born on 15 March 1931 who has been a regular on the television screen for forty years. He attended Methodist College Belfast during his childhood.
His most famous role was that of Bert Lynch in Z Cars, rising from the rank of PC to Inspector over a period of sixteen years from 1962 to 1978.
His numerous other roles include parts on Doctor Who, Ballykissangel, Playing the Field , One By One and the cult sitcom Nightingales.
Ellis is also a writer of poems and prose and a translator. A selection of his adaptations from French was broadcast on the BBC in 2007.
Perhaps his finest performance as an actor was as Norman Martin in the acclaimed "Billy" trilogy by Graham Reid, the first play of which, "Too Late to Talk to Billy", was aired in 1982 on BBC1. This ground-breaking series of plays introduced a 22-year-old Kenneth Branagh in the role of Norman's son, the eponymous hero, to the viewing public, and included some fine ensemble playing from TV debutantes Brid Brennan,Tracey Lynch, and Aine Gorman, as his daughters. He has also contributed memorable cameos to series such as "Boys from the Blackstuff" by Allan Bleasdale.
James Ellis (16 September 1843 – 7 July 1930) was an Australian politician.
Ellis was born in Jersey and migrated to Victoria in 1854 and moved to New South Wales in 1857. He became a major ship-owner in Newcastle and acquired waterfront property in Pyrmont in Sydney. He married Maria Kramer in 1863 and they had one daughter and six sons.
In 1882, Ellis was elected as a member for Newcastle in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly and held the seat until 1889. He was apppinted to the New South Wales Legislative Council in 1891, but resigned in 1894 to successfully contest Newcastle West, which he held until 1895.
Ellis married Anne Johnson in 1922. He died in the Sydeny suburb of Woollahra.
James (Jamie) Ellis plays guitar with the indie rock group, Battle. He is the son of the journalist and author, Walter Ellis.
