EXCLUSIVE Beverly Hills, 90210 star, 70, who played iconic father is unrecognizable on rare outing... can you guess who?

Daily Mail​

5 days ago

He's best known for starring on the hit TV drama Beverly Hills, 90210 in the 1990s.
This actor was part of the show's main cast for its first five seasons and played the father of two of the show's biggest stars.
Prior to that breakout role, he had small roles in some of the biggest hits of the 1980s, including Big, Cocktail and Fatal Attraction.
Following his years-long stint on 90210, this actor has remained a prolific guest star on television.
Although he's rarely seen in public, he was spotted this week in photos obtained exclusively by DailyMail.com.
Can you guess who this film and television star is?
The rarely glimpsed actor is 70-year-old James Eckhouse.
Eckhouse was part of the primary cast of Beverly Hills, 90210 from its pilot episode up through its fifth season.
He starred as Jim Walsh, the father of Brandon (played by heartthrob Jason Priestly) and Brenda Walsh (portrayed by the late Shannen Doherty, who died after a long battle with cancer in July 2024).
Eckhouse formed a team with Carol Potter, who played his wife Cindy throughout that period.
The actor was spotted during a rare sighting this week when he stepped out in Los Angeles to run some errands.
He was pictured in a casual mauve T-shirt that looked as if it was splattered with paint, and he wore it with black sweatpants and matching trainers.
Eckhouse, with his distinguished balding head and salt-and-pepper hair, looked considerably different from his 90210 days, when he sported dark but receding hair.
But the actor still looked impressively trim and fit a quarter of a century after the series went off the air.
He starred as Jim Walsh, the father of Brandon (played by heartthrob Jason Priestly) and Brenda Walsh (portrayed by the late Shannen Doherty, who died after a long battle with cancer in July 2024)
He was pictured in a casual mauve T-shirt that looked as if it was splattered with paint, and he wore it with black sweatpants and matching trainers
But the actor still looked impressively trim and fit a quarter of a century after the series went off the air. Eckhouse formed a team on 90210 with Carol Potter, who played his wife Cindy throughout that period
Because he was the parent of two of the most high-profile characters on the show, much of the series revolved around their family, making Eckhouse an important source of stability.
He often conflicted with his mercurial son Brandon, though they maintained a loving relationship.
His character Jim also had a close connection to Dylan, who was played by the late Luke Perry.
He managed Dylan's business interests, but the two were sometimes at odds regarding how the younger character treated his daughter Brenda.
Eckhouse proved to be a particularly important presence on the show, even behind the camera, as he directed three episodes of 90210.
But his major stint on the series came to an end after season five.
Both he and Carol Potter were part of a storyline in which Jim received a promotion that was too good to pass up, which required them to move across the globe to work at his firm's office in Hong Kong.
Eckhouse and Potter still played a role on the series, but they were downgraded to special guest stars for appearances in seasons six through eight, and they were completely absent from the final two seasons.
Because he was the parent of two of the most high-profile characters on the show, much of the series revolved around their family, making Eckhouse an important source of stability. He often conflicted with his mercurial son Brandon, though they maintained a loving relationship
His character Jim also had a close connection to Dylan, who was played by the late Luke Perry. He managed Dylan's business interests, but the two were sometimes at odds regarding how the younger character treated his daughter Brenda
But his major stint on the series came to an end after season five. His character took a promotion with a move to Hong Kong, so he only appeared as a guest on seasons 6–8 and was absent on the final two seasons
Eckhouse appeared in few films while he was busy on 90210, and his output afterward was smaller, though he did score a small part in 2012's Marvel blockbuster The Avengers.
He was far more prolific as an in-demand guest star on TV, which appearances on shows in the 2000s including Chicago Hope, Dharma & Greg, Nash Bridges, Batman Beyond, Ally McBeal, Touched By An Angel, CSI, The West Wing, The Practice, Las Vegas, Boston Legal, Medium, Nip/Tuck.
He also had roles in the 2010s on The Good Wife, NICS and Chicago Med.
Eckhouse's longest-running stint on a show was for a rare soap opera turn on Days Of Our Lives in 2013, when he played Judge Sims for 10 episodes.
He most recently scored multiple television roles last year, and he already has another credit under his belt for 2025.