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Percy Helton

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Percy Helton
Helton in 1913
Born
Percy Alfred Michel[1]

(1894-01-31)January 31, 1894
Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
DiedSeptember 11, 1971(1971-09-11) (aged 77)
Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Resting placePierce Brothers Westwood Village Memorial Park and Mortuary
OccupationActor
Years active1896–1970
Spouse
Edna Eustace Helton
​
​
(m. 1931)​

Percy Alfred Helton (January 31, 1894 – September 11, 1971)[2] was an American stage, film, and television actor. He was one of the most familiar faces and voices in Hollywood of the 1950s.

Career

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Helton was born in Manhattan. He began acting at the age of two, appearing in vaudeville acts with his British-born father William Alfred "Alf" Helton.[3][4] He was a cast member in the Broadway production of Julie BonBon (1906).[2] Helton performed in stock theater[5] and the Broadway plays The Poor Nut and To the Ladies![6]

Helton joined the United States Army in World War I. Deployed to Europe with the American Expeditionary Forces, he was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his duty with the 77th Infantry Division's 305th Field Artillery.[7] During his time in the Army he was a member of the Argonne Players, a company of actors in the 77th Division who entertained other soldiers.[8]

Stage juvenile Helton (early 1900s)

A change in his voice altered Helton's career.[citation needed] He remained in acting but chiefly as a character actor in a wide range of films and television programs in the 1950s and 1960s. Among those programs were three guest appearances on Perry Mason, including the role of Asa Cooperman in the 1961 episode "The Case of the Pathetic Patient", as a pawn broker in the 1961 episode "The Case of the Torrid Tapestry", and as a hotel clerk in the 1965 episode "The Case of the Careless Kitten."

Films in which he performed include the comedy Miracle on 34th Street (1947), the films noir Criss Cross (1949), The Crooked Way (1949), The Set-Up (1949), Wicked Woman (1953), and Kiss Me Deadly (1955), and the comic Western Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969).

Personal life and death

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Helton married dancer Edna Eustace on October 24, 1931, in New York City.[6] He died on September 11, 1971, in Hollywood, California.[9]

Partial filmography

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Television appearances

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  • Dangerous Assignment (1952) (TV series) (Season 1 Episode 29: "The Red Queen Story") as Max
  • Adventures of Superman (1953) (Season 2 Episode 10: "The Face and the Voice") as Hamlet
  • Death Valley Days (1953-1958) (3 episodes)
    • (Season 1 Episode 17: "Little Oscar's Millions") (1953) as Little Oscar
    • (Season 4 Episode 8: "The Hangman Waits") (1955) as Alex Grant
    • (Season 7 Episode 6: "Big Liz") (1958) as Scrubby
  • The Life of Riley (1953-1956) (3 episodes) as Mr. Cox
    • (Season 2 Episode 10: "Riley's Burning Ambition") (1953)
    • (Season 2 Episode 13: "Riley the Worrier") (1953)
    • (Season 4 Episode 20: "Riley's Raffle") (1956)
  • The Lone Ranger (1955) (Season 4 Episode 18: "Dan Reid's Sacrifice") as Pete Travis
  • Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955–1961) (7 episodes)
    • (Season 1 Episode 2: "Premonition") (1955) as Gerald Eaton
    • (Season 1 Episode 24: "The Perfect Murder") (1956) as Lawyer
    • (Season 1 Episode 38: "The Creeper") (1956) as George the Janitor
    • (Season 2 Episode 16: "Nightmare in 4-D") (1957) as Charlie the Building Super
    • (Season 3 Episode 27: "Disappearing Trick") (1958) as Newspaperman
    • (Season 6 Episode 22: "The Horseplayer") (1961) as Morton
    • (Season 7 Episode 10: "Services Rendered") (1961) as Cyrus Rutherford
  • Father Knows Best (1957) (Season 3 Episode 24: "Trip to Hillsborough") as Desk Clerk
  • Science Fiction Theatre (1957) (Season 2 Episode 36: "Gravity Zero") as Professor John Hustead
  • The Adventures of Rin-Tin-Tin (1957-1959) (3 episodes)
    • (Season 3 Episode 16: "Higgins' Last Stand") (1957) as Conductor
    • (Season 4 Episode 24: "Wind-Wagon McClanahan") (1958) as Ichabod Pillajohn
    • (Season 5 Episode 22: "Pillajohn's Progress") (1959) as Ichabod Pillajohn
  • Maverick (1957–1960) (2 episodes)
    • (Season 1 Episode 14: "Comstock Conspiracy") (1957) as Mr. Venner
    • (Season 4 Episode 11: "Bolt from the Blue") (1960) as Bradley
  • Lassie (1959) (Season 6 Episode 14: "In Case of Emergency") as Jason Blalock
  • Lawman (1959–1961) (3 episodes)
    • (Season 2 Episode 7: "Shadow Witness") (1959) as Oren, the murder witness
    • (Season 3 Episode 7: "Dilemma") (1960) as Ellery Purvy
    • (Season 4 Episode 9: "The Cold One") (1961) as Thatcher
  • Gunsmoke (1959–1966) (5 episodes)
    • (Season 5 Episode 16: "Thick 'N' Thin") (1959) as Otie
    • (Season 7 Episode 29: "The Summons") (1962) as Duffer
    • (Season 9 Episode 31: "Trip West") (1964) as Arbuckle
    • (Season 11 Episode 18: "The Raid: Part 1") (1966) as Mr. Early
    • (Season 11 Episode 19: "The Raid: Part 2") (1966) as Mr. Early
  • Bonanza (1959–1967) (4 episodes)
    • (Season 1 Episode 5: "Enter Mark Twain") (1959) as Blurry Jones
    • (Season 4 Episode 21: "The Hayburner") (1963) as Lafe
    • (Season 5 Episode 11: "The Legacy") (1963) as Pete
    • (Season 8 Episode 20: "The Unseen Wound") (1967) as Bleeker
  • The Untouchables (1960) (2 episodes)
    • (Season 1 Episode 16: "The St. Louis Story") as Mr. Meyer
    • (Season 1 Episode 21: "The Unhired Assassin: Part 2") as Jocko Monaghan
  • The Texan (1960) (Season 2 Episode 29: "The Guilty and the Innocent") as Lem Munson
  • Law of the Plainsman (1960) (Season 1 Episode 23: "Dangerous Barriers") as Del Martin
  • Mr. Lucky (1960) (Season 1 Episode 21: "Big Squeeze") as Pop Markel
  • Sugarfoot (1960-1961) (2 episodes)
    • (Season 3 Episode 19: "Funeral at Forty Mile") (1960) as Doc Lever
    • (Season 4 Episode 7: "Angel") (1961) as John McTavish
  • Cheyenne (1961) (Season 6 Episode 6: "Retaliation") as Matthew Beasely
  • Rawhide (1961) (Season 3 Episode 30: "Incident of the Wager on Payday") as Bartender
  • Laramie (1961–1963) (3 episodes)
    • (Season 2 Episode 23: "Run of the Hunted") (1961) as Wes Snyder, Auctioneer
    • (Season 3 Episode 3: "Siege at Jubilee") (1961) as Clemson Frazer
    • (Season 4 Episode 21: "The Renegade Brand") (1963) as Opie
  • Perry Mason (1961–1965) (3 episodes)
    • (Season 4 Episode 23: "The Case of the Torrid Tapestry") (1961) as Pawnbroker
    • (Season 5 Episode 7: "The Case of the Pathetic Patient") (1961) as Asa Cooperman
    • (Season 8 Episode 24: "The Case of the Careless Kitten") (1965) as Hotel Desk Clerk
  • Mister Ed (1962–1965) (2 episodes)
    • (Season 2 Episode 21: "Bald Horse") (1962) as Dr. Evans
    • (Season 6 Episode 6: "Anybody Got a Zebra?") (1965) as Zoo Attendant
  • Hazel (1963) (Season 2 Episode 22: "Hazel's Day Off") as Cyrano
  • The Twilight Zone (1963–1964) (2 episodes)
  • The Fugitive (1964) (Season 1 Episode 22: "Angels Travel on Lonely Roads: Part 1") as Hobo
  • Bewitched (1964)
  • Honey West (1965) (Season 1 Episode 12: "A Million Bucks in Anybody's Language") as Wiley
  • Petticoat Junction (1965–1970) (2 episodes)
    • (Season 2 Episode 31: "The Chicken Killer") (1965) as Hinky Mittenfloss
    • (Season 7 Episode 23: "Last Train to Pixley") (1970) as Mr. Benton
  • The F.B.I. (1966) (Season 1 Episode 18: "The Sacrifice") as Bum
  • Daniel Boone (1966-1968) (2 episodes)
    • (Season 3 Episode 4: "Grizzly") (1966) as Mr. Stubbs
    • (Season 4 Episode 15: "The Scrimshaw Ivory Chart") (1968) as Jud
  • Green Acres (1966–1969) (3 episodes)
    • (Season 2 Episode 2: "Water, Water Everywhere") (1966) as Willie
    • (Season 3 Episode 15: "No Trespassing") (1967) as Ira Hatch
    • (Season 4 Episode 25: "The Milk Maker") (1969) as Luke Needlinger
  • The Jerry Lewis Show (1967)
  • Green Hornet (1967) (Season 1 Episode 20: "Ace in the Hole") as Gus
  • The Girl from U.N.C.L.E. (1967) (Season 1 Episode 22: "The Furnace Flats Affair") as Mesquite Swede
  • The Mothers-in-Law (1967) (Season 1 Episode 9: "How Do You Moonlight a Meatball?") as Dean Roberts
  • The Virginian (1967) (Season 6 Episode 13: "Execution at Triste") as Storekeeper
  • Batman (1968) (Season 3 Episode 18: "Louie's Lethal Lilac Time") as Gus
  • Get Smart (1968) (Season 3 Episode 22: "Spy, Spy, Birdie") as A.J. Pfister
  • Land of the Giants (1968) (Season 1 Episode 2: "Ghost Town") as Akman
  • The Wild Wild West (1968) (Season 4 Episode 12: "The Night of Miguelito's Revenge") as Proprietor
  • The Beverly Hillbillies (1968–1969) (6 episodes) as Homer Cratchit
    • (Season 7 Episode 9: "Bonnie, Flatt, and Scruggs") (1968)
    • (Season 7 Episode 14: "Christmas in Hooterville") (1968)
    • (Season 7 Episode 15: "Drysdale and Friend") (1969)
    • (Season 7 Episode 19: "Jed Clampett Enterprises") (1969)
    • (Season 7 Episode 21: "The Hired Gun") (1969)
    • (Season 7 Episode 22: "The Happy Bank") (1969)
  • Love American Style (1970) (Season 1 Episode 16: segment "Love and Those Poor Crusaders' Wives") as Wharton
  • Mission: Impossible (1971) (Season 5 Episode 16: "The Missile") as Dailey

Commercial appearances

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  • Mandom, Japanese Perfume Commercial (1976) as Hotel Doorman

References

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  1. ^ https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:2W9T-X41 [bare URL]
  2. ^ a b "Percy Helton". Internet Broadway Database. The Broadway League. Archived from the original on March 4, 2020. Retrieved March 4, 2020.
  3. ^ "What's-His-Name Is Really Last of Leprechauns". Valley Times. California, North Hollywood. March 15, 1969. p. 20. Retrieved March 4, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ https://www.familysearch.org/search/ark:/61903/1:1:2W9T-X41 [bare URL]
  5. ^ "Juvenile Roles Were Specialty of Percy Helton". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Pennsylvania, Philadelphia. April 21, 1935. p. 57. Retrieved March 4, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ a b "Percy Helton Marries". The New York Times. October 25, 1931. p. 27. Retrieved June 28, 2024.
  7. ^ Obituary, "Percy Helton, Actor in 200 Films, Is Dead." The New York Times. September 14, 1971. Retrieved April 6, 2017.
  8. ^ Hopkins, John (October 1919). "The Fighting Actors of the A. E. F." Shadowland. p. 63. Retrieved June 28, 2024.
  9. ^ Ellenberger, Allan R. (May 1, 2001). Celebrities in Los Angeles Cemeteries: A Directory. McFarland. p. 216. ISBN 978-0-7864-5019-0. Retrieved June 28, 2024.
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