Paul Robert Soles (August 11, 1930 – May 26, 2021) was a Canadiancharacter actor, voice artist and television personality. He voiced the title character inSpider-Man (1967), and portrayed Hermey in the 1964 television specialRudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer; Soles was one of the last surviving participants of the special's voice cast.

Soles first screen appearance was onCFPL in 1953, and he continued to perform over 60 years later, performing as of 2016 in the comedy web seriesMy 90-Year-Old Roommate on theCanadian Broadcasting Corporation's online comedy channel, CBC Comedy.^[1][2]

Soles was born in Toronto, the son of Lillian (Goodfellow) and Arthur L. Soles. His family were Jewish emigrants from Poland and Lithuania.^[3] He had two siblings.

Soles is the cousin ofBernard "Bunny" Cowan, and they both worked on the original 1960sSpider-Man animated series and the 1967 children's seriesMax, the 2000-Year-Old Mouse.^[1][4]

Soles was the voice of Hermey the misfit elf in Rankin/Bass'Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer from 1964. He also voiced Marvel superheroSpider-Man and various characters in theoriginal animated television series also from the 1960s, and he played "The Lawbreaker" on the CBC panel quiz showThis Is the Law in the 1970s, and played Costas Stavros on the Canadiansoap operaRiverdale. In 2001, Soles took over the role ofShylock the Jew in theStratford Festival of Canada production ofThe Merchant of Venice afterAl Waxman, who was originally scheduled to play the part, died.^[5] Soles played Stanley the pizza shop owner inThe Incredible Hulk (2008), and his other film appearances have included roles inTicket to Heaven (1981),Just the Way You Are (1984) andThe Gunrunner (1989) oppositeKevin Costner. He also played Danny, theMontreal Customs House janitor in the 2001 crime thrillerThe Score.

Soles won a 2006Gemini Award for his role in the television seriesTerminal City,^[6] and a 2017Canadian Screen Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Digital Production forMy 90-Year-Old Roommate.^[7] On the appointed evening of the awards ceremony, the ever-humble Soles was so overcome with emotion that he had to contain himself more than once on the way to the stage, resulting in another thunderous applause from the audience, before he accepted the trophy and gave his speech.

Soles also did voices on various animated television shows and films such asRudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,Rocket Robin Hood,The Smokey Bear Show,The Little Brown Burro,King of the Beasts,The Marvel Super Heroes, the originalSpider-Man cartoon,The Trolls and the Christmas Express,Take Me Up to the Ball Game,Willy McBean and His Magic Machine,Festival of Family Classics,JoJo's Circus,The Reluctant Dragon & Mr. Toad Show,Noah's Animals,Iron Man,The King Kong Show, andSpider-Woman.

Soles was also the narrator ofThe Wonderful Stories of Professor Kitzel, the voice of The Commissioner in the 2005 animated television seriesFunpak and has also supplied the voice of Dr. Reboux inthe 2005 animated film version of theJohanna Spyri novelHeidi.

Soles also voiced theAcademy Award-nominatedanimated documentaryThe Colours of My Father: A Portrait of Sam Borenstein.^[8]

In 2011, Soles started voicing the recurring character Maxwell Finnwich onDetentionaire and he voiced a character, Barnabas Dinklelot, in the 2017-2018 animated series,Mysticons.^[9]

He was the host of the short-livedCBC Television late-night comedy talk showCanada After Dark, and co-hosted the public affairs showTake 30 for 18 seasons with hosts such as Anna Cameron andAdrienne Clarkson. He also hosted theCFPL television game showTake Your Choice for one year in the early 1960s.^[6]

Paul Soles was also a producer of documentaries while he was an on-air talent atCFPL-TV inLondon, Ontario. He worked on a series called,The World Around Us, and travelled with film crews inGreat Britain in the early 1960s, filming many aspects of British life. He even got on a soap-box inHyde Park in London to speak his mind. Soles has worked with people like Dennis Goulden (a long-time documentarian who still produces television specials in the States) and Jim Plant and Tom Ashwell and Jon Boynton.

Soles died of natural causes in his sleep at his home inToronto, Ontario, on May 26, 2021, at the age of 90.^[10][11]

• 2006 -Terminal City - Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Supporting Role in a Dramatic Series - Winner^[12]

• Paul Soles atIMDb
• Entry at thecanadianencyclopedia.ca
• Paul Soles discography atDiscogs

• 1930 births
• 2021 deaths
• 20th-century Canadian male actors
• 21st-century Canadian male actors
• Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series Canadian Screen Award winners
• Canadian male soap opera actors
• Canadian male stage actors
• Canadian male voice actors
• Canadian people of Lithuanian-Jewish descent
• Canadian people of Polish-Jewish descent
• Canadian television talk show hosts
• Jewish Canadian male actors
• Male actors from Toronto

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• Short description matches Wikidata
• Use dmy dates from January 2019
• Use Canadian English from May 2013
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• Articles with unsourced statements from May 2021