Reina James Reina James Reina James (born 1947) is a British author. She has written two novels, the first of which won the Society of Authors’ McKitterick Prize in 2007. James was born in 1947, shortly after her parents arrived in the UK from South Africa. Her father was the actor Sid James. During her teenage years she played in a folk group before marrying and starting a family. In her late 20s she appeared in the stage play "John, Paul, George, Ringo … and Bert" by Willy Russell, and later appeared in Russell's musical "Blood Brothers". Having worked since the 1980s
Jimmy James (comedian) and they married in 1921; they had one son, James Casey junior. Although James appeared on stage as a convincing drunk, often with a cigar or cigarette in his mouth, he was teetotal and did not smoke off stage. His weaknesses were gambling and his famed generosity which may account for his declared bankruptcies in 1936, 1955 and 1963. James was last on stage in 1964, retiring that year. He died in Blackpool of pulmonary congestion on 4 August 1965 following a heart attack and is buried in Oxbridge Cemetery, Stockton-on-Tees. Interviewed by Marty Feldman in the late 1960s, comedian