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Paul Birch (actor)

American actor (1912–1969) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Paul Birch (actor)
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Paul Birch (born Paul Lowery Smith; January 13, 1912 – May 24, 1969) was an American actor. He appeared in 39 movies, 50 stage dramas, and numerous television series, including the Hallmark Hall of Fame (1951).

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Early life

Birch was born Paul Lowery Smith in Atmore, Alabama. He attended Alabama Polytechnic Institute.[1]

Career

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Birch as President Ulysses S. Grant with Lee Aaker as Rusty and Rin-Tin-Tin, 1956

Television

In the late 1950s, Birch starred with William Campbell in the syndicated Canadian series Cannonball (1958), a half-hour drama/adventure show about truck drivers. He was also a regular in The Court of Last Resort on NBC (1957-58).[1]

Birch appeared in “Torn Flag”, a 1958 episode of the western series The Restless Gun. In the mid-1950s, he appeared as the first widely publicized "Cowboy" Marlboro Man in magazine and TV ads.[2]

In 1959, he 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 storyline, amid the threat of Sioux attack, Carmody commandeers 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]

Birch also appeared as President Ulysses S. Grant in the 1960 episode "Mr. Simpson" of ABC's Black Saddle western series starring Peter Breck. He portrayed President Grant in two episodes of The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin. Birch 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. [citation needed] Paul Birch reprised his portrayal of U.S.Grant in "Wagon Train" S4 E9 "The Colter Craven Story" (1960). He appeared as Sgt. Bart Huntington in a 1961 episode of "Wagon Train", “Path of the Serpent”.

Stage

Birch appeared on Broadway in a production of The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial (1954-55).[4] In several historical plays, he portrayed both Union Army General Ulysses S. Grant and Confederate General Robert E. Lee.[citation needed]

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 The War of the Worlds (1953).

In the 1950s, he starred in some low-budget science-fiction films, 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).

Teaching

While he acted at the Pasadena Playhouse, he was also "employed full-time as an instructor and director working with students in the Playhouse College of Theatre Arts."[2]

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Personal life

Birch was married twice, first to Margaret Evelyn Farish, with he had a daughter named Cindy, whose son is actor Ned Luke (born 1958).[5] He was survived by his second wife, the former Betsy Ann Ross Smith,[2] and their three children, Don, Jennifer, and Michael.

Death

Birch died of cancer at age 57 on May 24, 1969, at St. George's, the capital of the Caribbean island of Grenada. Survived by his widow and three children, he is buried in a cemetery outside the capital.[1]

Selected filmography

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See also

References

External links

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