Sonny Jim Gaines

Sonny Jim Gaines is variously credited as Sunny Jim Gaines and as J.E. Gaines (as a playwright).

Sonny Jim Gaines (born September 10, 1927-died September 2, 2006) was a veteran character actor who worked on TV 1970’s through the early 2000’s and headed the Black Actors Guild..

Born James E. Gaines in North Carolina, Sonny Jim, was raised in New York City. He was a well known stage and TV actor, though his television work is better documented on the Internet, with multiple appearances in series such as Sanford and Son, Good Times, Baretta and Law and Order. Gaines also had roles in several films which included the 1973 blaxploitation flick Five On The Black Hand Side, I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings, The Distingushed Gentleman opposite Sheryl Lee Ralph and the film’s star, Eddie Murphy, the Oscar nominated 1992 biopic Malcolm X, which starred Denzel Washington, with whom he also appeared in the 1993 film The Pelican Brief with Julia Roberts.