---
name: "James L. White"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/james-l-white"
roles: ["Writer"]
born: "15 November 1947"
died: "23 July 2015"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 1
average_as: "writer"
average_over: 1
updated: "2026-09-20T07:19:16.263926+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# James L. White

Writer. Born 15 November 1947 in Mount Sterling. Died 23 July 2015.

## Details

- **Work:** Writer
- **Born:** 15 November 1947, Mount Sterling
- **Died:** 23 July 2015
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_L._White_(screenwriter), https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q20808917, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1343803/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/18597

## Biography

James L. White was an American screenwriter. He was born on 15 November 1947 in Mount Sterling, Kentucky, and died on 23 July 2015 in Santa Monica, California.

White wrote the original screenplay and story for the 2004 biographical film *Ray*, directed by Taylor Hackford and starring Jamie Foxx as Ray Charles. It was his only produced feature screenplay. He received the Satellite Award for Best Original Screenplay and a BAFTA nomination for Best Original Screenplay for the film.

White credited actor Sidney Poitier with securing his first screenwriting assignment in 1992 on the unproduced thriller *Red Money*. At the time of his death he was developing biopics on Bessie Smith and Dinah Washington.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, latimes.com, variety.com.*

## On Fi1m (1)

- *Ray* (2004), Fi1m 70, Screenplay, Story — [page](https://film.one/film/ray.md)

## Complete filmography (1)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *Ray* (2004), Screenplay, Story — Fi1m 70, [page](https://film.one/film/ray.md)

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/james-l-white