American actor (1894–1971)
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.
Helton was born in Manhattan. He began acting at the age of two, appearing invaudeville acts with his British-born father William Alfred "Alf" Helton.[ 3] [ 4] He was a cast member in the Broadway production ofJulie BonBon (1906).[ 2] Helton performed instock theater [ 5] and the Broadway playsThe Poor Nut andTo the Ladies .[ 6]
Helton joined the United States Army in World War I. Deployed to Europe with theAmerican Expeditionary Forces , he was awarded theDistinguished Service Cross for his duty with the77th 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 onPerry 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 comedyMiracle on 34th Street (1947), thefilms noir Criss Cross (1949),The Crooked Way (1949),The Set-Up (1949),Wicked Woman (1953), andKiss Me Deadly (1955), and the comic WesternButch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969).
Personal life and death [ edit ] 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 [ edit ] The Fairy and the Waif (1915) as The WaifThe Flower of Faith (1916) as Tom JudsonThe Master Mind (1920) as Younger brotherSilver Wings (1922) as John (play)Insinuation (1922) as JimmieThe Offenders (1922)Frankie and Johnny (1936) as Undetermined role (uncredited)Miracle on 34th Street (1947) as Drunken Santa Claus (uncredited)Call Northside 777 (1948) as William Decker, Mailman (uncredited)Let's Live Again (1948) as Mr. PresidentHazard (1948) as Beady RobbinsLarceny (1948) as Charlie JordanThat Wonderful Urge (1948) as Monroe Township Jail Drunk (uncredited)Chicken Every Sunday (1949) as Mr. Sawyer (uncredited)Criss Cross (1949) as FrankAlias Nick Beal (1949) as Lawyer (uncredited)The Set-Up (1949) as RedThe Crooked Way (1949) as PeteyLust for Gold (1949) as Barber (uncredited)Red, Hot and Blue (1949) as Mr. Perkins, Stage ManagerAbbott & Costello Meet The Killer, Boris Karloff (1949) as AbernathyThieves' Highway (1949) as Roadside Bar Manager (uncredited)My Friend Irma (1949) as Mr. ClydeFree for All (1949) as Joe HersheyThe Secret Fury (1950) as Justice of the Peace Roy T. Palmer (uncredited)Tyrant of the Sea (1950) as Crewman (uncredited)Harbor of Missing Men (1950) as 'Rummy' DavisWabash Avenue (1950) as Ship Captain (uncredited)Riding High (1950) as Pawnbroker (uncredited)Fancy Pants (1950) as Mayor Fogarty (uncredited)A Life of Her Own (1950) as Hamburger Proprietor (uncredited)Copper Canyon (1950) as 'Scamper' JoadThe Sun Sets at Dawn (1950) as Reporter, Feature SyndicateCyrano de Bergerac (1950) as BelleroseUnder Mexicali Stars (1950) as Nap WellingtonThree Guys Named Mike (1951) as Mr. Hawkins, Hotel ManagerInside Straight (1951) as Lawyer Anderson (uncredited)Night Into Morning (1951) as Drunk (uncredited)Never Trust a Gambler (1951) as Sunbeam Liquor Store Clerk (uncredited)Darling, How Could You! (1951) as Cabbie (uncredited)The Tall Target (1951) as Beamish, Passenger in Club Car (uncredited)Chain of Circumstance (1951) as FogelThe Family Secret (1951) as Charlie (uncredited)The Barefoot Mailman (1951) as Dewey Durgan (uncredited)The Stooge (1952) as Sam Robertson (uncredited)A Girl in Every Port (1952) as Drive-In ManagerThe Belle of New York (1952) as Presents Angela with Flowers (uncredited)I Dream of Jeanie (1952) as Mr. HorkerThree for Bedroom "C" (1952) as Alcoholic Train Passenger (uncredited)She's Back on Broadway (1953) as News Vendor (scenes deleted)Call Me Madam (1953) as Senator WilkinsScared Stiff (1953) as Man in Hotel Hallway (uncredited)Ambush at Tomahawk Gap (1953) as MarloweRide, Vaquero! (1953) as Storekeeper (uncredited)Vice Squad (1953) as Mr. Jenner (uncredited)Down Laredo Way (1953) as Judge SullyThe Affairs of Dobie Gillis (1953) as Mr. Hammersmith, Book Seller (uncredited)City of Bad Men (1953) as Old-Timer at Training Camp (uncredited)The Robe (1953) as Caleb - Wine Merchant (uncredited)How to Marry a Millionaire (1953) as Mr. Benton (uncredited)Wicked Woman (1953) as Charlie BorgGeraldine (1953) as Pop (uncredited)Lucky Me (1954) as Brown (uncredited)About Mrs. Leslie (1954) as Mr. HackleyA Star Is Born (1954) as William Gregory (uncredited)The Adventures of Hajji Baba (1954) as Kerbelai, Hajji's Barber Father (uncredited)White Christmas (1954) as Train Conductor (uncredited)20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954) as Coach DriverCrashout (1955) as Doctor Louis BarnesKiss Me Deadly (1955) as Doc KennedyJail Busters (1955) as Warden B.W. OswaldTrial (1955) as Youval (uncredited)No Man's Woman (1955) as Otto PetersonDiane (1956) as Court Jester (uncredited)Fury at Gunsight Pass (1956) as Peter BoggsTerror at Midnight (1956) as SpeegieThe Boss (1956) as Hotel Clerk (uncredited)Shake, Rattle & Rock! (1956) as Hiram, the Funeral DirectorThe Phantom Stagecoach (1957) as Mr. WigginsThe Vintage (1957) as Voice Dub for Berger (uncredited)This Could Be the Night (1957) as Charlie (uncredited)Spook Chasers (1957) as Mike ClancyThe Last Stagecoach West (1957) as Telegrapher (uncredited)Jailhouse Rock (1957) as Sam Brewster (uncredited)The Sheepman (1958) as Station Master (uncredited)The Proud Rebel (1958) as Photographer (uncredited)Rally 'Round the Flag, Boys! (1958) as Waldo Pike, the Plumber (uncredited)Ask Any Girl (1959) as Janitor in Meg Wheeler's Building (uncredited)Let No Man Write My Epitaph (1960) as Baldy (uncredited)Where the Boys Are (1960) as Fairview Motel Manager (uncredited)Ride the High Country (1962) as Luther Samson (uncredited)The Music Man (1962) as Train Conductor (uncredited)The Wheeler Dealers (1963) as Deke (uncredited)4 for Texas (1963) as Jonas AnselGet Yourself A College Girl (1964) as Senator's Chauffeur (uncredited)Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte (1964) as Funeral DirectorDear Brigitte (1965) as Kraft, Man at Computer Lab (uncredited)Zebra in the Kitchen (1965) as Mr. RichardsonThe Sons of Katie Elder (1965) as Mr. PeeveyDon't Worry, We'll Think of a Title (1966) as Diner Customer (uncredited)A Big Hand for the Little Lady (1966) as Kevin McKenzie (uncredited)The Green Hornet (1966) as GusThe Big Mouth (1967) as Sanitation Man (uncredited)Head (1968) as Heraldic MessengerButch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) as Sweetface (uncredited)The Day of the Wolves (1971) as The FarmerLegend of the Northwest (1978) as Doc GrahamTelevision appearances [ edit ] Dangerous Assignment (1952) (TV series) (Season 1 Episode 29: "The Red Queen Story") as MaxAdventures of Superman (1953) (Season 2 Episode 10: "The Face and the Voice") as HamletDeath 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 TravisAlfred 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 ClerkScience Fiction Theatre (1957) (Season 2 Episode 36: "Gravity Zero") as Professor John HusteadThe 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 BlalockLawman (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 MunsonLaw of the Plainsman (1960) (Season 1 Episode 23: "Dangerous Barriers") as Del MartinMr. Lucky (1960) (Season 1 Episode 21: "Big Squeeze") as Pop MarkelSugarfoot (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 BeaselyRawhide (1961) (Season 3 Episode 30: "Incident of the Wager on Payday") as BartenderLaramie (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 CyranoThe Twilight Zone (1963–1964) (2 episodes)The Fugitive (1964) (Season 1 Episode 22: "Angels Travel on Lonely Roads: Part 1") as HoboBewitched (1964)Honey West (1965) (Season 1 Episode 12: "A Million Bucks in Anybody's Language") as WileyPetticoat 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 BumDaniel 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 GusThe Girl from U.N.C.L.E. (1967) (Season 1 Episode 22: "The Furnace Flats Affair") as Mesquite SwedeThe Mothers-in-Law (1967) (Season 1 Episode 9: "How Do You Moonlight a Meatball?") as Dean RobertsThe Virginian (1967) (Season 6 Episode 13: "Execution at Triste") as StorekeeperBatman (1968) (Season 3 Episode 18: "Louie's Lethal Lilac Time") as GusGet Smart (1968) (Season 3 Episode 22: "Spy, Spy, Birdie") as A.J. PfisterLand of the Giants (1968) (Season 1 Episode 2: "Ghost Town") as AkmanThe Wild Wild West (1968) (Season 4 Episode 12: "The Night of Miguelito's Revenge") as ProprietorThe 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 WhartonMission: Impossible (1971) (Season 5 Episode 16: "The Missile") as DaileyCommercial appearances [ edit ] Mandom , Japanese Perfume Commercial (1976) as Hotel Doorman^ https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:2W9T-X41 [bare URL ] ^a b "Percy Helton" .Internet Broadway Database . The Broadway League. Archived fromthe original on March 4, 2020. RetrievedMarch 4, 2020 .^ "What's-His-Name Is Really Last of Leprechauns" .Valley Times . California, North Hollywood. March 15, 1969. p. 20. RetrievedMarch 4, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.^ https://www.familysearch.org/search/ark:/61903/1:1:2W9T-X41 [bare URL ] ^ "Juvenile Roles Were Specialty of Percy Helton" .The Philadelphia Inquirer . Pennsylvania, Philadelphia. April 21, 1935. p. 57. RetrievedMarch 4, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.^a b "Percy Helton Marries" .The New York Times . October 25, 1931. p. 27. RetrievedJune 28, 2024 .^ Obituary,"Percy Helton , Actor in 200 Films, Is Dead."The New York Times . September 14, 1971. Retrieved April 6, 2017. ^ Hopkins, John (October 1919)."The Fighting Actors of the A. E. F." Shadowland . p. 63. RetrievedJune 28, 2024 . ^ Ellenberger, Allan R. (May 1, 2001).Celebrities in Los Angeles Cemeteries: A Directory . McFarland. p. 216.ISBN 978-0-7864-5019-0 . RetrievedJune 28, 2024 .
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