Producer, actor and writer. Both working on stage or behind the camera. He started his career as an actor, appearing in several small plays before landing a role in
Greenwich Village Story (1963) - his only film role.
Beginning in 1964, he became a film producer with
The Strangler (1964). Other credits includes
The Boston Strangler (1968), the Oscar winning
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1969),
Myra Breckinridge (1970),
Travels with My Aunt (1972),
Ace Eli and Rodger of the Skies (1973),
Mame (1974) and
The Abdication (1974). By 1975, he returned to the theatre and producer Ebb/Kander's mega-hit "Chicago", the spectacular musical directed by Bob Fosse later turned into the Oscar winning film of 2002.
In 1986, he changed his name to James Hicks and began his screenwriting career with films such as
The Morning After (1986), directed by Sidney Lumet; the real-life drama
Chattahoochee (1989) and the suspenseful
Defenseless (1991).
From 1978 up until his death he was married to Michael Markgraf.
Cresson died on February, 2004.