James R. Blakemore III, an accomplished show drummer who performed on "The Tonight Show" and was a fixture at the old Monroeville Holiday House, died Sunday in Naples, Fla., from complications related to liver and heart ailments. He was 69.

Mr. Blakemore, who moved to Florida in 1986, had been ill for more than a year, according to his brother-in-law, Bill Kuhn.

Mr. Blakemore grew up in Overbrook and was a 1957 graduate of Carrick High School. Following graduation, Mr. Blakemore began his career as a professional musician, working such hot spots as the Hurricane and Crawford Grill in the Hill District.

For about eight years, he was the house drummer at the Holiday House, backing up national acts like Vic Damone, Diahann Carroll, the Mills Brothers, Phyllis Diller, Milton Berle, Totie Fields, Tiny Tim and Professor Irwin Corey.

Vocalist Sandy Staley remembered meeting Mr. Blakemore in 1960 while she was performing at Paris After Dark, a restaurant along Route 51 near Brookline.

"He came in and introduced himself," said Mrs. Staley. "We sat and talked and eventually began working together."

Mrs. Staley said she and Mr. Blakemore went on to work at the Surfside 4 in McKeesport and the New Era, an after-hours club in Oakland.

"He was a human metronome," she said. "Whatever the tempo was supposed to be is how it ended. He was a terrific show drummer and could read music with the best of them."

After leaving the Holiday House, Mr. Blakemore spent two years touring with Buddy Greco. While the band was performing at the London Palladium, he was hired by Grammy award-winning vocalist Jack Jones, a musical relationship that lasted more than 30 years.

With Mr. Jones, Mr. Blakemore performed on "The Tonight Show" with Johnny Carson more than a dozen times.

"Jimmy traveled all over the world but he never changed," Mrs. Staley said. "He was the same great guy at age 69 as he was at 20."

Mr. Blakemore is survived by his wife, Judy; two sons, James and Randall, both of Naples; and two sisters, Catherine Fedor of Vestal, N.Y., and Mary Dudenhoeffer of Hickory, Miss.

A memorial service was held yesterday at Unity of Naples Church in Florida.