More on James Clancy
Born May 1, 1912 in Oakland, California, Clancy began his theatrical career by traveling
with the stock companies at age 16. He started college in 1930, enrolling in the newly
formed Speech and Drama Department. Jim Clancy was soon touted in the Campus Newspaper
as “the best student ever turned out by the Drama Department.” Clancy received his
Bachelor’s degree in 1935 and was made a member of the faculty one year later. While
teaching at SJSU he simultaneously attended graduate school and received his Masters
Degree from Stanford University. His successful academic career was interrupted by
WWII during which he became a Captain in the U.S. Army Air Corps Intelligence.
Returning from the European campaign in 1946, he resumed one of the most intense and
productive academic careers seen at SJSU, or any university. For several years he
was the editor of the Educational Theatre Journal and received a prestigious Ford
Foundation in 1959 for outstanding work in theatre.
In 1949 he married Stella Pinoris, a drama student who had received her degree the
previous year. The new Clancy family quickly grew with the birth of three children
(Patrick, Steven, and Elena). Following his tenure at San Jose State, Dr. Clancy held
positions at University of Iowa, Stanford University, Dartmouth (in connection with
the opening of the Hopkins Center for the Arts) and Cornell. While at both Dartmouth
and Cornell, he started two Equity summer theatre companies, which are still operating
today. He retired in 1977, but continued to teach and direct at universities in Kansas
City and Austin, Texas. He returned to California where he occasionally taught and
directed at Santa Clara University, UC Santa Cruz, UC Davis and SJSU. Jim Clancy's
theatrical legacy at SJSU includes 32 roles as an actor and an astonishing 65 productions
as a director.
Gallery
A sampling of photos from SJSU Clancy productions are displayed below.
The Three Sisters
Blood Wedding
The Caucasian Chalk Circle
Duchess of Malfi
Eurydice
Green Grow the Lilacs
Hamlet
King Lear
Medea
Nights of Wrath
Clancy at rehersal
Trickery of Scapin
He Who Gets Slapped
Our Town
Volpone
Jim and Stella
