James Elward

James Elward (November 22, 1928 – August 30, 1996) was an American actor, playwright, screenwriter, and author born in Chicago, Illinois to Daisyann Lenert Elward and Joseph Francis Elward. He was the brother of Paul Elward. After earning a bachelor's degree from The Catholic University of America in Washington in 1950, he went on to build a career that spanned stage, screen, and print across several decades.

Elward appeared on Broadway in 1955 in Finian's Rainbow. His stage work extended well beyond Broadway, as he was active in summer stock for forty years at The Barnstormers Theatre in Tamworth, New Hampshire. He also wrote plays that were produced in New York and London, among them Best of Friends, which received its first production in London in 1970 and became his most critically acclaimed stage work. His other plays include Mary Agnes Is Thirty Five, Passport, and The River. In 1991, Elward helped organize Mystery Stage, Inc., a New York City group dedicated to fostering stage performances in the mystery genre.

Before establishing himself as a playwright and novelist, Elward worked as a screenwriter, with credits that include The Young Marrieds and Strange Paradise. He also wrote for television, contributing to soap operas during the 1960s and 1970s, including The Secret Storm, The Guiding Light, and Dr. Kildare. He additionally wrote and produced the soap opera The Young Marrieds.

Elward published novels under both his own name and the pseudonym Rebecca James. Under his own name, his titles include Ask for Nothing More (1984), Monday's Child Is Dead (1995), and Public Smiles, Private Tears (1982), co-written with Helen Van Slyke. The latter, a story about a woman's rise in the world of retail fashion, appeared on the New York Times hardcover fiction best-seller list for fourteen weeks in 1982, reaching seventh place, and its 1983 paperback edition climbed to fifth place on the Times mass-market paperback best-seller list. Under the Rebecca James pseudonym, he published three novels for Doubleday: Storm's End (1974), The House Is Dark (1976), and Tomorrow Is Mine (1979).

Elward resided in New York City for much of his career. His archives are held at the University of Wyoming's American Heritage Center. He died on August 30, 1996, and his death was noted by The New York Times Book Section.