James MacArthur Dies. James MacArthur who played Danno in the original 'Hawaii Five-0' the role now played by Scott Caan on the CBS remake dies. He passed away early this morning. He was 72. No place or cause of death was immediately known.
James MacArthur was born in 1937 and was adopted by renowned actress Helen Hayes and scribe Charles MacArthur, best known for writing plays like The Front Page and Twentieth Century. James was raised alongside their biological daughter, Mary, until her premature death from polio in 1949 at the age of 19. Some who knew Charles MacArthur believed that event helped bring on his own death in 1956, at the age of 60.
MacArthur was most famous for his role as Detective Danny "Danno" Williams on 'Hawaii Five-0,' which often ended episodes with the phrase "Book 'em, Danno." He was in 11 seasons of the show, 1968 to 1980, as well as the 1997 pilot for a revamped 'Hawaii Five-0' starring Gary Busey (if you can imagine that), Russell Wong, and Steven Flynn. He played the same character, but Danno had become governor of Hawaii.