04/16 James Whitmore Jr., Black Sheep Squatdron, NCIS, Blue Bloods

James Allen Whitmore III (born October 24, 1948), better known by the name James Whitmore, Jr., is an American actor best known for his role as Captain Jim Gutterman on the television program Baa Baa Black Sheep (later known as Black Sheep Squadron), and (since the 1980s) a television director. He is the son of actor James Whitmore.

Born in Manhattan, New York, Whitmore has had recurring guest-starring roles on the TV series The Rockford Files and Hunter. He also appeared in two episodes of Magnum, P.I. and an episode of Battlestar Galactica before directing many episodes of series by Donald Bellisario, the creator of Magnum and a writer on Galactica.

Whitmore has a unique distinction of occasionally acting in the episodes he directs, such as three episodes of Quantum Leap ("8 1/2 Months," "Trilogy, Pt. 1" and "Mirror Image"). In that series as well as several others, he played different characters in each appearance, rather than recurring roles.

In addition to directing episodes of shows for Bellisario (Quantum Leap, Tequila and Bonetti, JAG, NCIS, and NCIS: Los Angeles), Whitmore directed episodes of more than one series for Joss Whedon. Whitmore directed the final episodes of two different series (Dawson's Creek and the aforementioned Quantum Leap). After Leap, Whitmore would again direct Scott Bakula in episodes of Star Trek: Enterprise and Mr. and Mrs. Smith. He would also direct David Boreanaz in both Angel and Bones. The Pretender reunited Whitmore with much of the same writing staff as Leap.