James Wheaton (January 11, 1924 – June 9, 2002), was an American motion picture, stage, and television actor. Wheaton's credits include THX 1138, Trouble Comes to Town and Sanford and Son. In the early 1950s, he moved from his native Mississippi to Los Angeles, where he found work in local radio productions. His big break came when he was selected to join the Bishop's Company, a repertory theatre company which toured churches in the United States." Wheaton appeared in their first production, Christopher Fry's "The Boy with a Cart," which premiered at the Vermont Square Methodist Church in Los Angeles on January 11, 1953." As the only African-American member of the group, he was given the opportunity to play a wide range of roles, which was rare for black actors at the time. One of his best