Local Actor James Andelin Passes Away

By Rob Christopher in Arts & Entertainment on Jan 2, 2007 6:58PM

We've always been very skeptical of that old saying that death comes in threes. The sad fact of the matter is that people are dying all the time. Even a cursory browse of the Invitational Celebrity Dead Pool ought to be enough to convince. But alas it's one of those myths that seems to die hard.

Last Wednesday actor James Andelin passed away at the age of 89. For much of his life he had lived in Lakeview on West Wellington. He had been in the voiceover business for many years, including a stint doing radio ads for the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe railroad during the 1960's.

Probably most Chicagoist readers would recognize him from his role as Sven in Grumpier Old Men. In fact it's said that his co-star Jack Lemmon went out of his way to compliment him. Andelin also had parts in The Babe, Rookie of the Year and Field of Dreams.

He would often help actors attempting to to break into the voiceover business by recording their demo tapes in his basement studio. There is an online guest book and obituary available for viewing.