Paul Birch (actor)
| Paul Birch | |
|---|---|
 Paul Birch in trailer for "Queen of Outer Space" (1958) | |
| Born |
Paul Lowery Smith January 13, 1912 Atmore, Alabama, U.S. |
| Died |
May 24, 1969 (aged 57) St. George's, Grenada |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1945–1967 |
| Spouse(s) |
(1) Margaret Farish, 1 child (2) Betsy Ross Smith, 3 children |
Paul Birch (born January 13, 1912, Atmore, Alabama – died May 24, 1969, St. George's, Grenada) was an American actor of stage, film, and television. He was a veteran of 39 films, 50 stage dramas, and numerous television series, including the Hallmark Hall of Fame (1951).
Early years
Birch was born Paul Lowery Smith in Atmore, Alabama. He attended Alabama Polytechnic Institute.[1]
Television
In the late 1950s, Birch starred, along with William Campbell, in the syndicated Canadian series, Cannonball (1958), a half-hour drama/adventure show about truckers. He also was a regular in The Court of Last Resort on NBC in 1957-1958.[1]
In the mid 1950s he appeared in magazine and TV ads as the first widely publicized "Cowboy" Marlboro Man.[2] He played Grant and Lee many times, so Birch may have died young as they did making it only to 57.
In 1959, Birch was cast as Sergeant Major Carmody, with Doug McClure as Corporal Jenkins, in the episode "The Face of Courage" of the NBC western series, Riverboat, starring Darren McGavin and Burt Reynolds. In the story line, amid the threat of Sioux attack, Carmody commanders the vessel, the Enterprise, while it is delivering military cargo to an Army outpost on the Missouri River. Joanna Moore appears in the episode as Kitty McGuire.[3]
He appeared as President Grant in the 1960 episode "Mr. Simpson" of ABC's Black Saddle western series starring Peter Breck as Clay Culhane, a gunfighter-turned-lawyer. He also portrayed President Grant in two episodes of The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin.
He also had a recurring role as Captain Carpenter, the boss of Lt. Phillip Gerard (Barry Morse) in the first two seasons of ABC's adventure/drama series The Fugitive, starring David Janssen.
Stage
Birch appeared on Broadway in a production of The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial (1954-1955).[4] He portrayed both Union Army General Ulysses S. Grant and Confederate General Robert E. Lee in several historical plays.
He was among the original members of the Pasadena Playhouse, the first actor to be one of that group's repertory players.[2]
Film
Birch appeared as the police captain with the megaphone in Rebel Without A Cause (1955), and was one of the first to be "disintegrated" in the original movie War of the Worlds (1953).
He starred in some low-budget science-fiction films in the 1950s, including The Beast with a Million Eyes (1955), Day the World Ended (1955), Not of This Earth (1957), and the cult classic Queen of Outer Space (1958). Birch also had small roles in It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963) and Dead Heat on a Merry-Go-Round (1967).
See Roger Corman issue.
Teaching
While he acted at the Pasadena Playhouse, he also was "employed full-time as an instructor and director working with students in the Playhouse College of Theatre Arts."[2]
Personal life
He was married twice and was survived by his second wife, the former Betsy Ross Smith (another source gives her name as Barbara)[2] and their three children, Don, Jennifer, and Michael. From his first marriage to Margaret Farish, he had a daughter, Cindy.
Death
Birch died of cancer May 24, 1969, at St. George's, Grenada. Survived by his widow and three children, he is buried in a cemetery outside St. George's.[1]
Selected filmography
- Man Without a Star (1955)
- Two Rode Together (1961)
- It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963) as a Santa Rosita Police Department Officer at the intersection (uncredited)
References
- 1 2 3 Aaker, Everett (2006). Encyclopedia of Early Television Crime Fighters. McFarland & Company, Inc. ISBN 978-0-7864-6409-8. Pp. 56-58.
- 1 2 3 4 Duncan, Ray (November 15, 1964). "Pasadena Playhouse Picks First Repertory Player". California, Pasadena. Independent Star-News. p. 61. Retrieved January 21, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ ""The Face of Courage", December 27, 1959". Internet Movie Data Base. Retrieved February 23, 2013.
- ↑ "Paul Birch". Playbill Vault. Retrieved 22 January 2016.
External links
- Paul Birch at the Internet Movie Database
- Paul Birch at AllMovie