James M. Breen | Film-set worker, 52

James M. "Jimbo" Breen, 52, who acted and worked in movies, died Thursday of cancer at his home in Willistown.

Mr. Breen worked as a greensman, responsible for providing foliage and other greenery used as backgrounds on sets, on several M. Night Shyamalan films, including The Sixth Sense, Signs and Unbreakable. He had speaking parts in The Happening and Lady in the Water. Mr. Breen worked on other movies as a carpenter. He also was an estate manager in Chester County.

Mr. Breen, who grew up in Drexel Hill and graduated from Upper Darby High School in 1973, began working in the entertainment industry as a carpenter building stage sets for Quinlan Co. He toured Latin America in 2003 as a stagehand for the Philadelphia Orchestra.

At other times, he was a lifeguard for the Wildwood Crest Beach Patrol and tended bar at Jim's in Drexel Hill.

Family members described Mr. Breen as a fun-loving guy and the life of the party. He was an avid hunter and outdoorsman and played ice hockey for the Olympia Otters in an amateur men's league.

He is survived by his mother, Veronica Donoghue; sisters Susan M. Quin and Joann Iuliano; his companion, Meghan Curran; and two nephews.

A Memorial Mass will be said at 11 a.m. tomorrow at St. Bernadette Lourdes Roman Catholic Church, 1035 Turner Ave., Drexel Hill. Friends may call at the church at 9:30 a.m. Burial is private.

Memorial donations may be made to the American Cancer Society, 1615 West Chester Pike, West Chester, Pa. 19382.