Leading man James Wainwright excelled in school, particularly in his art classes, but upon landing an art scholarship at Carnegie University, he abruptly switched gears and joined the Marines. After his discharge, he held down a variety of jobs before finding his true niche in the theater. Polishing his craft at the Actors Studio, Wainwright headed to Hollywood at age 30.
At first cast as brutish villains, he was humanized somewhat in a recurring role on TV's Daniel Boone. In 1972, he landed the starring role of Bureau of Missing Persons investigator Frank Dain on the weekly actioner Jigsaw. James Wainwright has since been seen in character parts in films, and as mad scientist Simon Quaid in the 1980 TVer Beyond Westworld. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide. 