Brion Howard James (February 20, 1945 – August 7, 1999) was an American character actor.
James spent his early years in Beaumont, California, where his parents, Ida Mae and Jimmy James, owned and operated a movie theater. After graduating from high school in 1962, James attended San Diego State University as a Theater Arts major.
James was good friends with actor Tim Thomerson, as both served together as cooks in a tank company while in the Army Reserve in California. After their service, they both went to New York to break into acting. Migrating to New York, James immersed himself in the theater scene.
In 1975, James landed a small role in the made for TV movie, The Kansas City Massacre. James' career began to take a sharp upturn in the early 1980s with several sharply defined character roles in films such as Southern Comfort and 48 Hrs. His only starring role was in the low-budget 1989 supernatural horror film The Horror Show.
James died in 1999 from a heart attack in Malibu, California. He appeared in five feature films which were released following his death. The last of these was Phoenix Point (2005).