PASSIONS
People, places and other things Tulsans love
Reaching for the stars A local doctor makes his film debut this summer. by DAVID HARPER
Dr. James Higgins plays the President of the United States in the summer release “Persecuted.” Photos of Higgins with various politicians and celebrities, along with their autographs, adorn the lobby of his Tulsa cardiology practice.
script, so it seems appropriate that he is now appearing in a film. The Tulsa cardiologist has a brief, but crucial, role in “Persecuted,” which is described on its website as a “powerful film on faith and freedom of speech.” Besides being one of the producers of the movie — set for release July 18 — Higgins plays the President of the United States. The casting seems suitable for a man whose waiting room is filled with photographs that chronicle his interactions with prominent politicians, sports stars and luminaries from the world of entertainment. “You learn so much by meeting with different people from different areas of life,” Higgins says. “Everyone’s done something you can learn from.” Higgins, now in his mid-60s, grew up in Wessington Springs, S.D., which, to hear him tell it, sounds like a real-life version of “Pleasantville.” He worked at his father’s grocery store, excelled at basketball and earned grades that gave him the opportunity to be the first in his family to go to college. At South Dakota State University he majored in electrical engineering, but a card game against a group of doctors led to a pivotal invitation to witness a gall bladder operation. “I couldn’t stand the sight of blood,” Higgins recalls of his attitude at the time. He says his “light-headed and sweaty” reaction to what he saw — and felt — during that surgery left him embarrassed ... and determined to observe another one. That literally put Higgins on the road to a career in medicine. He hitchhiked from South Dakota to the northeast in the early 1970s to interview at various prestigious medical schools before ultimately selecting the University of Rochester.
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TulsaPeople JULY 2014
The doctor says he tends to establish a quick rapport with seniors in particular “because everybody my age knows somebody who has a cardio problem.” In addition to travel, sports and medicine, Higgins' interests include aviation, real estate, politics and movies. He says his friendship with Gray Frederickson — whose production credits include “The Godfather” films and “Apocalypse Now” — led to his involvement with “Persecuted.” Frederickson knew of Higgins’ desire to be in a movie and suggested he audition for the film. Frederickson was pleased with Higgins’ natural talent on set and wanted him to help produce the film, Higgins says, a job that included making sure the film stayed on budget. Higgins says being in a movie gave him newfound respect for the people associated with the motion picture industry. It can take many hours to film a single 40-second scene, he says, a process that can put everyone through an emotional wringer. “It’s like my job,” he says of the movie business. “You’ve got to be meticulous.” Higgins says appearing in a movie was one of the things on his bucket list. A devoted goal-setter who says he only sleeps four hours a night, Higgins literally makes lists of things he wishes to accomplish. On a recent weekday, he was carrying one such list. It wasn’t lunchtime yet and nearly everything had been crossed off. “I love having goals and doing things I’ve never done before,” he says. tþ Evan Taylor
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The life story of Dr. James R. Higgins reads like a movie
Higgins says he quickly gravitated toward being a surgeon and subsequently found that cardiology — and the advances in the field at the time, such as pacemakers and internal defibrillators — tied in well with his electrical engineering background. He realized that the concepts of engineering were easily translated to the mechanics and circuitry of the heart when using such devices. This expertise allowed Higgins the opportunity to work with engineers to develop patented circuitry and devices and become a sought-after speaker on the subject. He practiced in St. Louis, San Francisco and San Antonio before coming to Tulsa in 1986. Higgins, who estimates he has presided over nearly 50,000 medical procedures, also has lectured all over the world, providing him many opportunities to interact with celebrities. Higgins says the key to forming friendships with prominent people is to take a laid-back approach. He cringes when he remembers a friend who was too gushing when meeting Hall of Fame pitcher Sandy Koufax, which sent the former Dodger quickly in the other direction.
TulsaPeople.com
Watch the “Persecuted” movie trailer.