James Allen Whitmore Jr. (October 1, 1921 – February 6, 2009) was an American film, stage, and television actor. Over his career, Whitmore received three of the four EGOT awards: the Tony, the Grammy, and the Emmy. Whitmore also received a Golden Globe and was nominated for two Academy Awards. After World War II, Whitmore appeared on Broadway as a sergeant in the play Command Decision. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer signed Whitmore to a contract, but his role in the film adaptation was played by Van Johnson. His first major picture for MGM was Battleground, in a role turned down by Spencer Tracy, to whom Whitmore bore a noticeable physical resemblance. For this role he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor and won the Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor. Among his other major films were Angels in the Outfield, The Asphalt Jungle, The Next Voice You Hear, Above and Beyond, Kiss Me, Kate, Them!, Oklahoma!, Black Like Me, Guns of the Magnificent Seven, Tora! Tora! Tora!, and Give 'Em Hell, Harry!, a one-man show for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of former U.S. President Harry S. Truman. In Tora! Tora! Tora! he played Admiral William F. "Bull" Halsey.

In the 1950s, Whitmore appeared in many television anthology series. He was cast as the father of Emil Capaun in the 1955 episode "The Good Thief" of the ABC religious anthology series Crossroads. Other roles followed in Jane Wyman Presents: The Fireside Theatre, Lux Video Theatre, Kraft Television Theatre, Studio One in Hollywood, Schlitz Playhouse, Daytime Theatre, and Ford Television Theatre. In 1958 he starred in "The Gabe Carswell Story" of the NBC series Wagon Train with Ward Bond. Whitmore has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6611 Hollywood Boulevard. The ceremony took place on February 8, 1960.