Actor. He is best remembered for his portrayal of the stern Mr. Gilder in "The Power of God" (1942). Born James Chambers, he was raised within a prominent family. After working in stock companies for several years he was discovered by director Robert Florey while attending a casting call for bit players. Impressed by his dark good looks, articulate voice, and professionalism, he arranged for him to begin a career in the film industry beginning with him having a supporting role under his supervision in "The Florentine Dagger" (1935). From there, he would go on to enjoy a successful career as a notable character actor appearing in over 200 features; often typecast as white-collared workers, lawyers, executives, husbands, fathers, clergymen, aristocrats, landlords, neighbors, chauffeurs, servants, retail clerks, reporters, detectives, constables, lawyers, eccentrics, and patriarchs. He appeared in such feature films as "Sky Parade" (1936), "Midnight Court" (1937), "Flash Gordon's Trip to Mars" (1938), "Union Pacific" (1939), "His Girl Friday" (1940), "Prairie Pioneers" (1941), "Reap the Wild Wind" (1942), "Phantom of the Opera" (1943), "Step Lively" (1944), "Mildred Pierce" (1945), "Two Sisters from Boston" (1946), "The Sea of Grass" (1947), "Panhandled" (1948), "Caught" (1949), "Three Secrets" (1950), "Lorna Doone" (1951), "Skirts Ahoy!" (1952), "All I Desire" (1953), "The Miami Story" (1954), "East of Eden" (1955), "The Peacemaker" (1956), and "Gunman's Walk" (1958). During the advent of television, he became an even more familiar face appearing in various guest spots on such syndicated sitcoms as "Boston Blackie," "Schlitz Playhouse," "Your Favorite Story," "Hopalong Cassidy," "Adventures of Wild Bill Hickock," "Public Defender," "Fireside Theatre," "Captain Midnight," "Willy," "The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show," "Medic," "The Life of Riley," "Crossroads," "Science Fiction Theatre," "Big Town," "The Millionaire," "Dragnet," and "Panic!". During his career, he was an honorary member of Actors Equity, had been a member of the Screen Actors Guild, was a supportive of the Motion Picture and Television Fund, had been an active member of the Hollywood Democratic Committee, was a regular parishioner of the Unitarian church, had been a chairman for his local charters of the American Red Cross and the Audubon Society, was a theatrical instructor for the Pasadena Playhouse, and he was an executive editor for the Associated Press. Upon his 1958 retirement, Chambers, who never married nor had any children, spent the final years of his life dividing time between his homes in California and New Jersey, along with being a generous benefactor for several libraries and state parks, until his death from the complications of undisclosed causes.