James Colburn, Your co-Host

​[2-15-19]

     James, a California native, who earned his Bachelor’s degree in Music Performance from the University of California at Santa Barbara, also holds a Master's degree in Religious Studies with a Theology Emphasis from Mount St. Mary's in Los Angeles, CA; he is currently working on a doctorate through Pittsburgh Theological Seminary.

     He began his training in design in Los Angeles in 1974; and later, with landscape designer Ronald Joseph Ferris, founded Greenleaf Landscape & Design, still in operation today. 

     In 1980 James formed the firm Natural Selection Inc., a large L. A. art, antiques and import showroom catering to celebrities, entertainers, architects, contract specifiers and interior designers.

     From 1978, concurrently, he pursued a successful career in Hollywood as a film and television Set Decorator. He is a life-long member of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. During his decades in the Industry, he has worked at Universal Studios, Columbia Studios, Warner Bros., New World Productions, Lorimar, Paramount Studios, Sony Studios, The Hollywood Studios, Glen Larson Productions, Castle Rock, Amblin, Spelling, 20th Century Fox, and other film production companies.

     His many credits include Full House, Valerie, The Hogan Family, Fathers and Sons, Hart to Hart, House Calls, Half-Nelson, The Pursuit of Happiness, Baryshnikov in Hollywood, Cold Steel and Neon, the Love Boat Special, Canterbury Tales, Real Life, The Sid Caesar Show, Fathers & Sons, Walter, The 25th Man, Anything But Love, the sci-fi series "V," Spielberg’s Amazing Stories, Glitter, Beggarman Thief, Walter, Perfect Strangers, and others including many pilots and commercials; earning an Emmy nomination for the television series Good Time Harry,  in 1981.

      At the age of 52, weary of a career meant "for the young and tireless," he answered a long-time call to ministry, completed post-graduate studies, and was ordained a Christian Orthodox priest. For nearly two decades in the mountains above Los Angeles, he managed St. Helena's Retreat Camp adjacent to the Angeles National Forest; additionally during this period, he served as assistant pastor of a small Arabic-speaking community of Middle-Eastern Christians and immersed himself in Orthodox studies.

     Retired from parish service in 2013, James moved to the Midwest to be closer to his remaining family – all Midwesterners.

     Fascinated by Victorian architecture, he was drawn to Manistee by the landmark 1894 James Dempsey Mansion, on Lake Michigan’s spectacular Northwest Coast. After extensive refurbishing, James opened The Dempsey Manor Inn and Victorian House Museum in the Summer of 2014.  Today, this French twin-towered Neo-Renaissance home is a 29-room castle-like chateau which James has given a three-fold mission. It serves as an historic museum open to the public for educational tours; as an over-night venue giving visitors a first-hand experience of Victorian life enjoyed by the very wealthy few; and as a unique setting for personal and spiritual growth workshops continuing his priestly ministry.   

     James, a concert and musical-theater performer in early life, has recently taken to the stage again as a local actor and singer for the Manistee Civic Players at Manistee's opulent 1904 Ramsdell Theater, the first performance stage for locals-turned-Hollywood celebrities Toni Trucks (Barbershop, Dream Girls, Music & Lyrics, and currently the CBS series SEAL TEAM); and Academy and Emmy Award actor James Earl Jones. 

     Over three production seasons in Manistee, James has enjoyed performing the roles of the villainous banker, Henry Potter, in the musical It's a Wonderful Life; Manolo, a lusty Spaniard in the female version of The Odd Couple; and Sam Katz, a Jewish widower who encounters three grieving but zany Jewish widows, in the comedy The Cemetery Club.

     Now living surrounded by the Great Lakes, James remarks “The character of this land is a sensory feast for me, glacier-carved and at its edge lapped by an immense emerald-shaded fresh-water inland sea. Cries of seagulls and the scurrying of sandpipers along broad sugar-white beaches remind me of my Pacific Coast childhood.  No matter the day's troubles,  a walk or a drive into the ever-awesome natural beauty of this country picks you up and gently sets you down in a good space. Every season transforms the landscape into a unique work of art never beheld before -- nor ever again. Never are two summers, springs, falls or winters the same.

     “These experiences are shaped in the context of a rich folk culture, a unique frontier history, the multi-ethnic traditions Michiganders have preserved, and the satisfying warmth of human connection the small town of Manistee has made possible." 

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