It’s definitely a need to remind people of the older actors that have come and gone throughout the years, especially those that haven’t become humongous names that everyone knows. James Hampton does fit that description, but one can’t say that he was never successful since looking at his career the guy managed to show up in a large number of movies and TV shows over the course of his time in the business. Jerry played quite a few convincing roles but one of the best types he played was the calm and understanding type of character that wasn’t out to make trouble and might have sometimes felt like someone that didn’t understand the emotions of those around him but was eventually revealed to know all too well what he was talking about and what others were going through. Quite a few people will remember him in different ways, but those that stuck the most for those that were growing up from the 70s onward are easy to point out, at least from a personal perspective. It’s not hard to think of at least two movies that he was great in since he was given the chance to be the father figure that had a lot of explaining to do to his on-screen son at the time.
But before that, his time as Caretaker in the original version of The Longest Yard was kind of eclipsed by the version that Adam Sandler pushed through since Chris Rock put a different spin on the character while keeping things more or less the same in some regards. Caretaker was the guy that could get a person what they needed in prison, kind of like Red from The Shawshank Redemption, but with a slightly more witty sense of humor at times. This character was a lot of fun since he wasn’t a truly physical character but was there to do his part and be a part of the team all the same since he knew how to procure certain items and favors when they were needed. Chris Rock definitely brought new life to this character, but it was James that laid the groundwork since in the first movie he was the guy that made Caretaker important in the first place. That’s a big reason why Rock’s portrayal was so great since he didn’t deviate that much, just enough to accommodate the fact that while the character started out as a white man, the transition to him being a black man wasn’t that big of a deal. In fact, Rock improved on what James did and made the part of Caretaker more contemporary.
The part that a lot of fans probably remember him for the most would be Harold Howard from Teen Wolf and Teen Wolf Too since despite feeling as though he was the type of dad that didn’t really know what was going on, he knew very well. When his son Scott, played by Michael J. Fox, started turning into a werewolf, Harold understood that it was time to explain the history of their family and what it meant. It’s bad enough for a teen to go through puberty and to be uncertain of themselves at certain times in their life, but becoming a werewolf is the type of change that’s something that people might want to sit their kids down and explain in great detail before it happens, and especially after it happens. Harold returned to the second movie to advise his nephew Todd, played by Jason Bateman when it was established that his inner wolf was about to emerge as well. Both movies were pretty cheesy, but they were still a lot of fun at the same time since they brought forth a favored horror monster without having to get into the gory details that so many other movies were fond of using. Plus, the comedy of both movies at the time was appreciated since even if the sequel wasn’t quite as good, it still made roughly the same point, to be happy with who you were instead of who people wanted you to be. To say that Teen Wolf was one of his best movies isn’t really an insult since it’s more of an opinion, but it was a movie that helped to create a very strong memory of James since he did a particularly good job in it.
James ended up retiring from acting back in 2015, and whether it was due to Parkinson’s or not is hard to say, but he did pass away due to complications from the disease, which is saddening since there wasn’t much that could be done after a while. His former costar, Michael J. Fox, who also has Parkinson’s, has been doing everything he can to increase the awareness of the condition, and hopefully his efforts will pay off big in the years to come. Rest in peace James, your memory will last for a while to come.
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