James Guy Usher was born on May 9. 1883 of 1885* in Mason City, Cerro Gordo County, Iowa to William Berard Usher and Mary S. Sullivan (from Wisconsin and Massachusetts respectively).

He went to school in Emmetsburg, Iowa (1897). Until 1899, he was part of the Mason Stock Company, Reno, Nevada. Thereafter trying to specialize in "leads" and "heavies."

On January 9. 1904 Guy (son of W. Usher) married for the first time to Estella Ma(r)y Cozad, in Council Bluffs, Pottawattamie, Iowa.

In 1906 James Guy Usher performed in several stock companies. "Miss Josephine Deffrey & Co." and "The Eckhardt's Ideals" were practically the same large Eastern repertoire company who brought A Fight For Honor, and the border drama The Great Northwest to the podium. Among the clever performers were Oliver Eckhardt, James Guy Usher, Frank Howard, Melvin Mayo, Win. Cornelius, Miss Georgia Nichols, Ella Morton and Sara Drummond (Sep 1906 - Apr 1907).

In June 1908 he joined the Lillian Mason stock company in Reno and in 1909 he was a part of the Ed Redmond Company and The Girton Company at Eureka. In The James Post Musical Comedy Company he played Michael O'Brien, Jr in Mr Murphy in Paris which opened the summer season on May 4th 1909 in The Garrick, San Diego and the following week, on May 12.  he played May The Best Man Win. Reportedly nothing funnier had ever been seen than the boxing match in the second act with Guy Merkel as Spider Kelly and Guy Usher as Bulldog Regan. The company closed with The New Motorman (June 2. 1909) cast as the superintendent of the road,  Guy did full justice to the part.

On May. 28 1909 Guy married Nina Theresa Shaw (aka Nina Guilbert)** in Arcata, Humboldt, California. The would have two children together (1910 and 1912).

Performing several plays in Long Beach The Girton Company was seen for weeks in August 1909. The Merchant of Venice (Aug. 21.) was a beautiful production and among the company's members were both James Guy Usher and Nina Gilbert. Early September Guy closed his engagement with The Girton Company to accept an engagement with the Belasco Theatre in Los Angeles. At Belasco he played in Classmates (Sep 25. 1909), The County Chairman (Sep 30. 1909), and The Regeneration (6 nov 1909).

James Guy had ambitions of writing an opera. Whilst working for the Belasco stock company he collaborated with William T. Kahler, a young composer, in writing an opera, for which friends of the authors confidently predicted great things. The name was kept secret and we don't know if this work was ever finished (Nov-Dec 1909).

The W.J. LeMoyne Stock Company resumed February 19. 1910 at the Walker Theatre, Los Angeles. Mr. LeMoyne had been ill but headed the cast once more. The balance of the company included Guy Usher, Chester Stevens,... W.M. Porter.

Dora Thorne was performed in March 1910 at The Jose Theatre, San Jose by The Ed Redmond company. Described as a new member Guy "proved to be a splendid actor". On June 25. 1910 a newspaper reported a rift at the Jose Theatre were half of the Ed Redmond company moved over to the Garden Theatre under direction of actor, director Al Hallett. Hallett joined with Eugene Mockbee and opened in the Garden Theatre on July 4th with many actors of the Redmond company including James Guy Usher.

The farce comedy Is Matrimony a Failure? made it's debut on April 7, 1911 at the Diepenbrock Theater. The play was a radical departure from anything the McRae Stock Players had yet attempted. It tells of the experience of a group of inhabitants of the fictitious valley of Rosedale, who discover a flaw that invalidates their marriage contracts, are called upon to decide whether they will have the ceremonies legally performed at once, or whether they will stock to the freedom so suddenly thrust upon them. The play required twenty-two characters. Margaret Oswald, John C. Livingstone, Charles King, Sherman Bainbridge, James Guy Usher, Alice Meyer, Nina Gilbert and several others were among the cast.

A newspaper reported on May 7. 1911 that James Guy Usher, who severed his connection with the Diepenbrock Theater, Sacramento accepted an engagement to play "heavy leads" at the Empire theater in Fresno and gave a dinner at the Hotel Land just prior to his departure, having as his guest a few of his close friends, including Mr. and Mrs. Clisbee and Mr. and Mrs. Mason.

He appeared as John Travers, the friendly lawyer in the comedy The Marriage of Kitty (1911) with Max Figman, Lolita Robertson, Phyllis Gordon, Louise Glaum. (Sep. 1911, Los Angeles)

By the end of 1912 James was appearing in the "Bailey & Mitchell Stock Company" featuring Guy Hitner and Clara Beyers. They performed a stirring play of the West Arizona (The Seattle, Dec 24.), and Get Rich Quick Wallingford, a modern comedy, dramatized from the story by Randolph Chester (The Seattle, Jan. 6. 1913).

Together with Huron L. Blyden, James Guy appeared for the first time with the Princess players (Warda Howard, John Lorenz) in Our New Minister, a rural comedy (Princess, Tacoma, Jul.20. 1913). The Players had their home base at The Princess Theatre, Tacoma and this play was the beginning of a series of performances: Madame X (Jul .27 1913),  The Woman's Way (Aug 9. 1913), and Miss Howards own version of Sappho (Aug 16. 1913).

"Miss Warda Howard and her company" brought The Girl In the Taxi, the New York success by Anthony Mars. The story tells of a young married woman who has just taken her seventh husband. Neil McKinnon, as the youth, has his first, opportunity in a lead role, and shows marked ability. Frederick Harrington is the comical seventh husband, and James Guy Usher, as the youth's father, is clever. Others who have leading parts are Miss Ethel Tucker, Miss Gilbert, George Zucco, .T. Will Pike, Miss Helen Rice, Ollie Cook, Arthur Weiland, Guy K'Burg, James Mott, and Miss Dorcas Matthews (The Princess, Tacoma, Aug 18. 1913). Other performances included Kindling (Sep 6.), When Knighthood was in Flower (Sep 13.)

In 1913 James kept changing stock company switching to the "Pantages company" where he worked with Dorothy Davis Allen in The Redemption (Pantages, Tacoma, Nov 24. 1913). Whilst in 1914 he worked with "The Metropolitan Players", headed by Florence Malone with Dwight A. Meade, Auda Due, Florence Spencer, Max Steinle, Nina Guilbert, Marie Van Tassel, Leslie Wallingford, Will T. Lloyd, Byron Aldenn and Oliver J. Eckhardt. The latter was the art director selected by Miss Malone to stage the plays in which she appeared.

Two new members of The Fletcher players, Miss Nina Gilbert and Mr. James Guy Usher, made their local debut in Over-Night.  Miss Gilbert proved herself to be an actress of exceptional talents and took the role of "Elsie Darling' in a splendid manner, while Mr. Usher was quite at home in the role of "Percy Darling." The story of the play itself is centered around a huge blunder in which two young married couples are interchanged on their honeymoon. (Vancouver, Dec 1913)

Again in Vancouver James Guy Usher was seen in Winchester (The Imperial, Vancouver, Jan 15. 1914).

The Avenue Players were well cast in The Littlest Rebel (The Seattle, June 6. 1914). Jimsy Mullaly, a clever child actress, assumed the title role and both James Guy Usher and Nina Guilbert were part of the cast. The company, to be known as the Metropolitan Players, opened on June 14th with several new members, James and Nina were retained. The Butterfly on the Wheel was the bill for the opening at the Metropolitan, to be followed by When Knighthood was in Flower.

In Sep 1914 manager Donnellan put together the "Frank Rich Musical Comedy company" with Miss Genevieve Blinn. Verne Layton, Guy Usher, Nina Gilbert. Mike Hooley, Jimmy Norton, Dave Williams, Florence Spencer, Marie Van Tassell and Bud Wallace.