James Joseph Sloyan was born on February 24, 1940 in Indianapolis, Indiana; his family moved to Europe when he was a young boy, living in Rome, Capri, Milan, Switzerland, and Ireland.
When he was 17, his family moved back to the United States and settled in upstate New York, where he managed a theater. He received a scholarship to the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and after two years he went to work for Joseph Papp at the New York Shakespeare Festival.
In 1962, he was drafted into the United States Army; after four years he returned to the NYSF and performed in 28 plays and choreographed all the onstage fights. He also appeared in the original off-Broadway stage version of “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest”.
