'Hawaii Five-0'' Actor James MacArthur Was Adopted by Helen Hayes: A Look Back at His Tragic Death

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It's been 14 years since actor James MacArthur died of natural causes at only 72 years old. Best known as Danny “Danno” Williams on the original TV adaptation of Hawaii Five-0 (the famed crime-adventure series, CBS, 1968-1980), MacArthur was the adopted son of acting legend Helen Hayes. This is his story.

A Closer Look

Born in Los Angeles on December 8, 1937, James MacArthur was adopted by the iconic star Helen Hayes, and her husband, writer Charles MacArthur (who with Ben Hecht penned the legendary stage comedies The Front Page and Twentieth Century).

The son MacArthur was raised with his parents’ biological daughter, Mary, on their family's sprawling estate in Nyack, New York. Despite all the frills and luxuries that such a privileged life might provide, certain challenges still arose. As MacArthur revealed to McCall’s magazine in 1956 (and republished on his official website): “I think my mother is a great actress and the sweetest, gentlest and most generous woman I ever met. But she’s vague at times and often impractical and sometimes does strange things She knows practically nothing about handling money.”

MacArthur was athletic but preferred more artistic endeavors. While on vacation during his Harvard years in the late 1950s and early ’60s, he appeared on the big screen in beloved Walt Disney movies like Third Man on the Mountain, Kidnapped, and Swiss Family Robinson. In 1961, he made his initial splash on Broadway (opposite Jane Fonda) in Invitation to a March, a comedy for which he received the Theatre World Award for Best New Actor.

Additional Broadway and film performances followed including 1965's The Battle of the Bulge and Hang ‘Em High, released in 1968.

That same year, MacArthur was cast in his benchmark role as Detective Dan Williams on Hawaii Five-0, which costarred Jack Lord. Lord played Lt. Steve McGarrett who, concerning the given criminal at hand, frequently instructed MacArthur's Williams to "Book 'em, Dano."

Off-Screen

James MacArthur was married three times, and divorced twice. He met his first wife, Joyce Bulifant while attending high school at Solebury School in New Hope, PA. They were married from 1958 to 1967, and she later became best known for playing Gavin MacLeod's wife on The Mary Tyler Moore Show. He was married to his second, actress Melody Patterson, from 1970-1975, and she was best known for her role on the classic TV sitcom F-Troop. For the last quarter of his life, MacArthur was married to Helen Beth Duntz.

MacArthur had four children and seven grandchildren. He named his elder daughter Mary, after his elder sister (the biological daughter of Helen Hayes and Charles MacArthur), who died of polio in 1949.

MacArthur's godmother was another famous actress: Lillian Gish.

The Last Swan Song That Never Swam

Shortly before he died, James MacArthur was planning a cameo appearance on the rebooted Hawaii Five-0, but the details were not finalized in time.