James lived his early years in Cambridge, Massachusetts, then his family moved to Wilmington, Ma., where he excelled in Sports in high school. Back in Boston he took a acting class at the Jennie Lielheim's puppet theatre in Brighton, Ma., just outside of Boston. Then he bought a house on Lake Toho in Kissimee, Florida, when Universal first opened up. After several year's there, he realized that if he wanted to take his acting career seriously he needed to move to Hollywood. Which he did, and through a friend enrolled in The William Alderson Studio, and studied with Bill himself, director of the Neighborhood Playhouse in New York, for 20 years.