James Wheaton first made a name for himself on the stage. First, as a member of the Bishop's Company, a repertory theatre group which toured the United States, and later with the Ebony Showcase which was based in Los Angeles. After NBC aired an adaptation of "Carnival Island," an Ebony Showcase production, on their affiliate KNBC in Los Angeles, Wheaton began to find work in television and film. He made his major film debut as OMM, the narrator in "THX 1138" (1971), the debut feature of director George Lucas. Throughout the 1970s, he appeared in some of the most popular series of the period including "Sanford and Son," "Good Times," "Kojak," and "Ironside." In 1999, "Masks Before the Altar," a memoir about his experiences with the Bishop's Company was published. He was working on a one man show based on the poetry of Langston Hughes at the time of his death.