Eddie Jemison

American film and television actor (born 1963)

Eddie Jemison

Eddie Jemison in 2019

Born|

Edward Francis Jemison, Jr.

(1963-11-25) November 25, 1963 (age 61)

New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.

Occupation| Actor
Years active| 1995–present
Spouse| Laura Lamson
Children| Daisy (daughter), Jasper (son)

Edward Francis Jemison, Jr. (born November 25, 1963)[1] is an American film and television actor. He is known for his roles as Livingston Dell in the Ocean's film trilogy and Mickey Duka in The Punisher, as well as the television series Hung, iZombie and Chicago Med.

## Early life

[edit]

Jemison was born in New Orleans, Louisiana,[1] the son of Rosalie (née Centanni)[2] and Edward Francis Jemison, Sr.[2][3] and is of Irish and Italian descent. He was raised in Kenner, Louisiana, and attended a Catholic secondary school, Archbishop Rummel High School.[4] He graduated from Louisiana State University where he was a member of the Delta Chi fraternity.[5]

## Career

[edit]

As an actor in films, Jemison's major breakthrough was the Ocean's franchise, a series of movies in which he played Livingston Dell.[6][7] He made his directorial debut in 2013 with an independent film called King of Herrings, starring himself and longtime friends Joe Chrest and John Mese, who both also came out of LSU's theatre department.[8][9] Jemison's wife, Laura Lamson, co-starred in the film as well.[8]

### Television career

[edit]

In the mid-1990s, before launching a film career, he starred in a series of Bud Light commercials with the tagline "Yes, I am".[7][10][11] This catchphrase, "Yes, I am," has stuck to Jemison over the years, to the point that he became a little weary of being the "Yes, I am" guy.[4] Other major commercial credits for Jemison included a Wheaties commercial with basketball star Michael Jordan and an appearance alongside football star Joe Montana.[12] Online, Jemison starred in the web series Self Storage.[13] Jemison has also appeared on Late Night with David Letterman.[14]

## Filmography

[edit]

### Film

[edit]

Year  | Title  | Role  | Notes

|
|
|

1996  | Schizopolis | Nameless Numberhead Man  | Uncredited
2001  | Ocean's Eleven | Livingston Dell  |
2003  | Bruce Almighty | Bobby  |
2004  | The Punisher | Mickey Duka |
Ocean's Twelve | Livingston Dell  |
2006  | Rampage: The Hillside Strangler Murders | Kantor  |
2007  | Waitress | Ogie Anhorn  |
Ocean's Thirteen | Livingston Dell  |
On the Doll | Mr. Garrett  |
Nancy Drew | Adoption Clerk  |
2009  | Ingenious | Bean  |
Bob Funk | Ron Funk  |
All About Steve | Psychiatrist with Crossword Puzzle  | Uncredited
The Informant! | Kirk Schmidt  |
2010  | Miss Nobody | Joshua Nether  |
2013  | Coffee, Kill Boss[15] | Henry Wood  |
King of Herrings | Ditch  |
2014  | Veronica Mars | JC Borden  |
2015  | Undertaking | Roy Maynard  | Short film
2016  | War Dogs | Hillsdale Home Mgr  |
2017  | Amelia 2.0 | Max Parker  |
2022  | For Prophet | Mayor Kevin Owens  |
Nope | Buster  |

### Television

[edit]

Year  | Title  | Role  | Notes

|
|
|

1996  | Early Edition | Bystander  | 1 episode
2002  | The Guardian | Mall Lawyer  | 1 episode
2002  | Six Feet Under | Casket Salesman  | 1 episode
2002, 2004, 2010  | CSI: Crime Scene Investigation | Vincent / Mr. Dorsey / Craig Lifford  | 3 episodes
2003  | Strong Medicine | Walter Shenckman  | 1 episode
2003, 2011  | CSI: Miami | Parker Boyd / Arnold Wilkins  | 2 episodes
2004  | Judging Amy | Colton Gerard  | 1 episode
2005  | ER | Lysander Martin  | 1 episode
2006  | The Closer | Elvis Presley | 1 episode
2006, 2018  | NCIS | Terry Spooner  | 2 episodes
2009  | Medium | Willem Wittmar  | 1 episode
2009  | Criminal Minds | Ray Campion  | 1 episode
2009–2011  | Hung | Ronnie Haxon  | Main role, 21 episodes[16]
2010  | Justified | Stan Perkins  | 1 episode
2012–2013  | Franklin & Bash | Robbie Ambriano  | 2 episodes
2013  | Grey's Anatomy | Stan Grossberg  | 2 episodes
2013  | Behind the Candelabra | Assistant Director  | Television film
2013  | Crossing Lines | Gerald Wilhoit  | 2 episodes
2015  | Newsreaders | Fitz Bagley  | 1 episode
2015  | Rizzoli & Isles | Elliot Dutton  | 1 episode
2015  | Masters of Sex | Hand Massager Salesman  | 1 episode
2015–2019  | iZombie | Stacey Boss  | Recurring role, 19 episodes[16]
2017  | Legion | The Greek  | 2 episodes
2017–2018  | Chicago Med | Stanley Stohl  | Recurring role, 12 episodes[16]
2023  | Magnum P.I. | Nolan Pierce  | 1 episode
2023  | Goosebumps | Ephraim Biddle  | 1 episode
2024  | 9-1-1 | Ship Doctor  | 2 episodes

### Theatre

[edit]

Month/Year  | Venue  | Title  | Role  | Notes

|
|
|
|

July 1987  | Tulane Center Stage (New Orleans, LA)  | Loot by Joe Orton | Hal[17] |
September 1988  | Northlight Theatre (Evanston, IL)  | Talking to Myself by Studs Terkel[18] | Stud Terkel[19] |
October 1989  | Northlight Theatre  | The Butter and Egg Man by George S. Kaufman | "a Big Apple newcomer"[20] | Chicago Sun Times review[21]
November 1989  | Goodman Theatre (Chicago)  | A Christmas Carol[22] |  |
September 1990  | Victory Gardens Theater | T Bone N Weasel by Jon Klein  | Weasel[23] |
February 1991  | Wisdom Bridge Theatre (Chicago)  | Only Kidding by Jim Georghan  | Jerry Goldstein[24][25][16][26] |
September 2000  | Chicago Shakespeare Theater | The Two Gentlemen of Verona | Proteus[27][16][26] |
| National Jewish Theatre  | Wizards of Quiz[16][26] |  |
2017  | Looking Glass Theatre  | Life Sucks[16][26] |  |
2019  | Brooks Atkinson Theatre (New York, NY)  | Waitress | Ogie  | Reprising his role in the film version[28]

### Awards and nominations

[edit]

Year  | Award  | Category  | Nominated work  | Result

|
|
|
|

2002  | MTV Movie & TV Awards | Best On-Screen Team  | Ocean's Eleven | Nominated
2007  | Teen Choice Awards | Choice Movie Chemistry  | Ocean's Thirteen | Nominated
2013  | New Orleans Film Festival | Best Narrative Feature  | King of Herrings | Won
Best Louisiana Narrative Feature  | Nominated
Louisville International Festival of Film  | Best Feature[29] | Nominated
2014  | Phoenix Film Festival | Best Picture – Feature Film  | Nominated
Dan Harkins Breakthrough Filmmaker Award  | Won
Gwinnett Center International Film Festival  | Best Actor  | Coffee, Kill Boss | Won
2022  | Faith in Film – Film Festival  | Best Ensemble Cast (shared with the cast)[30] | For Prophet | Won
Canadian International Faith & Family Film Festival  | Best Supporting Actor  | Nominated

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b "Eddie Jemison". Playbill. Retrieved 2025-03-23.
2. ^ a b "Edward Jemison (Sr.) Obituary". NOLA. Times-Picayune. April 15, 2008. Archived from the original on April 11, 2023. Retrieved 11 April 2023.
3. ^ "Edward Francis Jemison". Ancestry Search. Retrieved 2025-03-23.
4. ^ a b Daffin, Melinda (17 July 2019) [Original version 29 March 2017]. "8 more celebrities who went to New Orleans high schools". Times Picayune (New Orleans).
5. ^ He is pictured in DELTA CHI (LSU chapter) in the LSU yearbook (Gumbo) for 1984.
6. ^ Eddie Jemison at IMDb
7. ^ a b Holleman, Joe (July 20, 2008). "The king of ads - Inbev has acquired more than just beer - decades of clever marketing have made Anheuser-Busch ... The king of ads". Newsbank. St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved 19 April 2023. "The first of the recent "catch phrase" ads, the commercials featured a pathological liar who would make any claim just so he could get his hands on some Bud Light. For example, the obviously white man - played by Eddie Jemison, who has gone on to star as techno-thief Livingston Dell in the George Clooney/Brad Pitt "Ocean's 11" trilogy - is asked if he is Dr. Lee, an Asian man for whom a reception stocked with Bud Light, is being held. The man replies, "Yes, I am.""
8. ^ a b "An interview with Eddie Jemison by Michael Clawson — Phoenix Film Fes…". 2023-04-10. Archived from the original on 2023-04-10.
9. ^ "Interview with a Wild Son - by Ashley Rovira". 2023-04-10. Archived from the original on 2023-04-10.
10. ^ Baron, David (October 7, 1994). "Reach for the Stars: Who's Who at the Fest". Newsbank. Times Picayune. Retrieved 10 April 2023. "Eddie Jemison, the "Yes I am" guy in the Bud Light ads, star of "One Way Glass" (Canal Place, 7pm, Fri.)"
11. ^ "Lee Family Reunion". YouTube. User: incubator2008. October 13, 2009. Retrieved 10 April 2023.
12. ^ McGehee, Ted (January 19, 1992). "LSU Theater grads making a go of it *** Locally trained actors ply their trade in New York and Los Angeles". Newsbank. Baton Rouge Advocate. Retrieved 19 April 2023. "While the footlights provide satisfaction, Jemison says TV commercials are paying the rent. His best-known work to date is the Wheaties commercial with Michael Jordan. The diminutive, curly-haired Jemison provides a comic foil for Jordan, as he taunts the Chicago Bulls basketball star at a practice gym, challenging him to a game of one-on-one. "Come on Michael. You and me. Right now," Jemison's character squeaks, casually flipping the ball up in the air. Jordan looks down at Jemison and deadpans the camera. As it turns out, his challenge to Jordan is for a game of basketball tiddly-winks, free inside specially marked boxes of Wheaties. A similar commercial involving Jemison and San Francisco 49ers quarterback Joe Montana is also running."
13. ^ "Self Storage Episodes, Extras, Cast". Sparkk. Archived from the original on 10 April 2023. Retrieved 10 April 2023.
14. ^ Late Show with David Letterman: Video Special (1995) at IMDb
15. ^ "Eddie Jemison Interview". YouTube. Austin, TX. October 24, 2013. Retrieved 10 April 2023.
16. ^ a b c d e f g Robinson, Mark (January 23, 2019). "AN OGIE OF THE SCREEN AND STAGE: EDDIE JEMISON JOINS WAITRESS". Broadway Direct. Archived from the original on January 25, 2022. Retrieved 10 April 2023.
17. ^ Dodds, Richard (July 30, 1987). "Orton's "Loot" can still both shock, amuse". newsbank. Times-Picayune (New Orleans). Retrieved 19 April 2023.
18. ^ Pixler, J. (1988, September 2). `Dzuma' focuses on plague of communism. Chicago Sun-Times, p. 9. Available from NewsBank: America's News – Historical and Current: https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/document-view?p=AMNEWS&docref=news/0EB36DFA0FC9CFA9. Quote: "The seven-member cast includes Sills' Compass-Second City-Story Theatre cohorts Severn Darden and Warren Leming, and upstarts Dennis Cockrum (American Blues Theatre's 'Bad Moon'), Christopher Holloway (of DePaul University and the Piven Theatre Workshop) and Eddie Jemison in his acting debut."
19. ^ Weiss, H. (1988, September 4). `Talking to Myself,' a mosaic of memoriesStuds Terkel recalls past in present tense. Chicago Sun-Times, p. 6. Available from NewsBank: America's News – Historical and Current: https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/document-view?p=AMNEWS&docref=news/0EB36DFAB1E2AE43. Quote: "Playing Terkel will be Eddie Jemison, a 24-year-old actor and recent graduate of Louisiana State University, who will be making his Chicago debut."
20. ^ Pixler, J. (1989, October 6). Theaters travel to fantasy land in season openers. Chicago Sun-Times, p. 19. Available from NewsBank: America's News – Historical and Current: https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/document-view?p=AMNEWS&docref=news/0EB36E7DEB5BC234.
21. ^ Weiss, Hedy (October 12, 1989). "'Butter and Egg Man' leaves a soggy mess". Newsbank. Chicago Sun Times. Retrieved 10 April 2023. "Then there's Jemison, the slight, wonderfully graceful, endlessly animated young actor who played Studs Terkel so memorably in an otherwise forgettable show at Northlight last season. Jemison has a face that sparkles like Italian Christmas lights. And he brings precisely the right kind of deft comic energy to his role that should have marked the entire production. He dances, while nearly everyone else plods. He can even wear a top hat with style."
22. ^ Weiss, Hedy (November 30, 1989). "Goodman's soaring 'Christmas Carol' is a feast of warmth". Newsbank. Chicago Sun Times. Retrieved 10 April 2023. "and Eddie Jemison, who has a touch of comic madness in him, proves once again that there are no small parts."
23. ^ Weiss, Hedy (September 21, 1990). "'T Bone N Weasel' is amusing but thin". Newsbank. Chicago Sun Times. Retrieved 10 April 2023. "Weasel, with a scuzzy little beard and a polyester print shirt, is illiterate poor white trash. Yet as played by that most enchanting comic actor Eddie Jemison (best known for his portrayal of the young Studs Terkel two seasons ago at Northlight), his mind seems to be working a hundred miles a minute."
24. ^ Weiss, Hedy (February 1, 1991). "Top bananas turn 'Only Kidding!' into comic delight". Newsbank. Chicago Sun Times. Retrieved 10 April 2023. "(Eddie Jemison, whose usual manic energy is here fused with a startling streak of nastiness)"
25. ^ Weiss, H. (1991, February 2). Top bananas make a comic delight of `Only Kidding!'. Chicago Sun-Times, p. 23. Available from NewsBank: America's News – Historical and Current: https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/document-view?p=AMNEWS&docref=news/0EB3733294C4318B.
26. ^ a b c d "Eddie Jemison". Lookingglass Theatre. Archived from the original on April 10, 2023. Retrieved 10 April 2023.
27. ^ Weiss, Hedy (September 19, 2000). "The Two Gentlemen of Verona". Newsbank. Chicago Sun Times. Retrieved 10 April 2023. "Eddie Jemison as Proteus' remarkably rubber-faced and earthy philosopher-clown"
28. ^ McPhee, Ryan. "Waitress Movie's Eddie Jemison Steps Into the Broadway Musical February 11". Playbill. Archived from the original on November 13, 2022. Retrieved 10 April 2023.
29. ^ "Catch all 137 films this weekend at the Louisville International Festival of Film". Louisville.com. 7 October 2013. Retrieved July 11, 2024.
30. ^ "2022 Schedule of Events". Faith in Film. Retrieved July 11, 2024.

## External links

[edit]

* Eddie Jemison at IMDb

Authority control databases

International|

* ISNI
* VIAF

National|

* Germany
* United States
* Israel