Personal Info
Known For:
Acting
Birthday:
April 11, 1907
Place of Birth:
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
Social Media
Paul Douglas
Biography
Paul Douglas (April 11, 1907 – September 11, 1959) was an American actor.
Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania as Paul Douglas Fleischer, Douglas began his career as a stage actor. He made his Broadway debut in 1936 as the Radio Announcer in Doty Hobart and Tom McKnight's Double Dummy at the John Golden Theatre. In 1946 he won both a Theatre World Award and a Clarence Derwent Award for his portrayal of Herry Brock in Garson Kanin's Born Yesterday.
Douglas began appearing in films in 1949. He may be best-remembered for two baseball comedy movies, Angels in the Outfield (1951) and It Happens Every Spring (1949). He also played Richard Widmark's police partner in the thriller Panic in the Streets, frustrated newlywed Porter Hollingsway in A Letter to Three Wives, Sgt. Kowalski in The Big Lift, businessman Josiah Walter Dudley in Executive Suite and a con man turned monk in When in Rome. In 1950, Douglas was host of the 22nd annual Academy Awards. Douglas also worked on radio as the announcer for The Ed Wynn Show and he was the first host of NBC Radio's "Horn & Hardart Children's Hour!". In April 1959 Douglas appeared as Lucy Ricardo's television morning show boss in the "Lucy Wants a Career" episode of The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour.
Douglas was originally cast in the 1960 episode of The Twilight Zone called "The Mighty Casey", a role written for him by Rod Serling, based on his character in Angels in the Outfield, but Douglas died the same week after production of the episode had been completed. His role was taken over by Jack Warden, and most of the episode was refilmed several months later.
He was married five times, last to actress Jan Sterling from 1950 until his death. They had a son, Adams Douglas (1955–2003).
Paul Douglas died on September 11, 1959 of a heart attack in Hollywood, California at the age of 52. Film director Billy Wilder and co-writer I.A.L. ('Izzy') Diamond had just offered him the role of Jeff Sheldrake in the movie The Apartment that went to Fred MacMurray instead. Wilder later said: "I saw him and his wife, Jan Sterling, at a restaurant, and I realized he was perfect, and I asked him right there in the parking lot. About two days before we were to start, he had a heart attack and died. Iz and I were shattered."
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Known For
Filmography
| Year | Movie | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Barbara Stanwyck: Straight Down The Line | Self (archive footage) |
| 1959 | The Mating Game | Pop Larkin |
| 1958 | The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial | |
| 1958 | Fortunella | Professore Golfiero Paganica |
| 1957 | This Could Be the Night | Rocco |
| 1957 | Beau James | Chris Nolan |
| 1956 | The Gamma People | Mike Wilson |
| 1956 | The Solid Gold Cadillac | Edward L. McKeever |
| 1956 | The Leather Saint | Gus MacAuliffe |
| 1955 | Joe Macbeth | Joe MacBeth |
| 1954 | Executive Suite | Josiah Walter Dudley |
| 1954 | The 'Maggie' | Calvin B. Marshall, the American |
| 1954 | Green Fire | Vic Leonard |
| 1954 | Calling Scotland Yard: Falstaff's Fur Coat | Commentator |
| 1953 | Never Wave at a WAC | Andrew McBain |
| 1953 | Forever Female | Harry Phillips |
| 1952 | Clash by Night | Jerry D'Amato |
| 1952 | We're Not Married! | Hector Woodruff |
| 1952 | When in Rome | Joe Brewster |
| 1951 | Angels in the Outfield | Guffy McGovern |
| 1951 | Fourteen Hours | Police Ofcr. Charlie Dunnigan |
| 1951 | The Guy Who Came Back | Harry Joplin |
| 1951 | The Screen Director | Self (archive footage) (uncredited) |
| 1951 | Rhubarb | Man on Park Bench (uncredited) |
| 1950 | Panic in the Streets | Capt. Tom Warren |
| 1950 | The Big Lift | MSgt. Henry "Hank" Kowalski |
| 1950 | Love That Brute | E.L. 'Big Ed' Hanley |
| 1950 | You Can Change The World | Self |
| 1949 | A Letter to Three Wives | Porter Hollingsway |
| 1949 | It Happens Every Spring | Monk Lanigan |
| 1949 | Everybody Does It | Leonard Borland aka Logan Bennett |
| 1943 | Margin for Error | Policeman at Front Desk (uncredited) |
| 1939 | Filming the Fleet | Self, Narrator |
| 1939 | Conquering the Colorado | Narrator |
| 1938 | Saturday Night Swing Club | Master of Ceremonies |
| Year | TV Show | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 7 Days | Panelist |
| 2005 | Blue Water High | |
| 1958 | Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse | |
| 1957 | The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour | Paul Douglas |
| 1957 | Suspicion | Vince Polito |
| 1956 | The Dinah Shore Chevy Show | Self |
| 1956 | Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre | Sheriff Jonas Sutton |
| 1956 | Adventure Theater | Host |
| 1955 | Alfred Hitchcock Presents | Bill Fleming |
| 1955 | The 20th Century Fox Hour | |
| 1955 | Playwrights '56 | |
| 1954 | Climax! | Dr. Merle Gardner |
| 1954 | Climax! | Lieutenant Todd Thoman |
| 1953 | The Oscars | Self |
| 1951 | Hallmark Hall of Fame | Harry Brock |
| 1951 | Schlitz Playhouse of Stars | Frank Parisi |
| 1950 | The Colgate Comedy Hour | Self |
| 1950 | Lux Video Theatre | Rick Blaine |
| 1950 | Your Show of Shows | |
| 1950 | What's My Line? | Self |
| 1948 | Studio One | Paul Kadsoe |
| 1948 | The Ed Sullivan Show | Self |
| 1948 | Studio One | Captain McCaffrey |
| 1946 | Hour Glass |