Paul Hurst
Born
October 14, 1888
Died
February 27, 1953 (64 years old)
Known For
Acting
Place of Birth
Traver, California, USA
Paul Hurst (October 15, 1888 - February 27, 1953) was an American character actor of prodigious output who also directed and wrote silent films. Much of his early work was in low budget western films. A native of central California, Hurst had a first-hand knowledge of Western lore, growing up surrounded by the multi-million acre Lux & Miller ranches which ran cattle throughout the state. Visiting San Francisco as a young man, Hurst became involved in amateur theatricals and thereafter traveled to Los Angeles to join in the emerging film industry there. He began appearing in films as early as 1912, most of them Westerns. By 1916, he was directing them as well (some sources report that he served in the First World War as a member of the French Foreign Legion, but the dates of his film projects make this story highly suspect).
In the early 1920s, Hurst wrote several scenarios for films he directed and appeared in. He proved adept at working as a director for some of the cheapest producers along Gower Gulch, where movies were normally shot on location in a week or less and where stunt men were often the highest paid folks on the set. Within a few years, he focused all of his energies into acting, notably becoming one of the few successes to emerge from Hollywood's Poverty Row. Hurst quickly became one of the more prolific and familiar characters in American movies. With his blocky build and squinty demeanor, and with a raspy voice that enhanced his memorability once sound pictures came in, Hurst played villains and cops and comedy sidekicks in more than 250 films. His most famous role was that of the deserter shot dead on the stairway of Tara by Vivien Leigh in Gone with the Wind (1939). Hurst was the sidekick to Monte Hale in a number of B-Westerns. Former Gower Gulch veteran John Wayne hired Hurst for Big Jim McLain (1952) knowing that Hurst was ill with terminal cancer. In 1953, at the age of 64, due to his health problems, Paul Hurst committed suicide.
Date of Death: 27 February 1953, Hollywood, California (suicide)
Known For
The Sun Shines Bright
Jimmy Bagby
1953
Toughest Man in Arizona
1952
Big Jim McLain
Mr. Lexiter
1952
Million Dollar Pursuit
Ray Harvey
1951
The Missourians
John X. Finn
1950
The Old Frontier
Skipper Horton
1950
The Vanishing Westerner
Waldorf Worthington
1950
Pioneer Marshal
Huck Homer
1949
Ranger of Cherokee Strip
Sheriff Jug Mason
1949
San Antone Ambush
Happy Daniels
1949
South of Rio
Andy Weems
1949
Outcasts of the Trail
Doc Meadowlark
1949
Law of the Golden West
Otis Ellis
1949
Prince of the Plains
Sheriff Hank Hartley
1949
Gun Smugglers
Sergeant Hasty Jones
1948
Yellow Sky
Drunk (uncredited)
1948
Son of God’s Country
Eli Walker
1948
The Arizona Ranger
Ben Riddle
1948
Heart of Virginia
Whit Galtry
1948
Who Killed Doc Robbin?
Jailer
1948
California Firebrand
Chuck Waggoner
1948
Madonna of the Desert
Pete Connors
1948
Under Colorado Skies
Lucky John Hawkins
1947
Angel and the Badman
Frederick Carson
1947
The Plainsman and the Lady
Al
1946
Death Valley
Sergeant Dailey
1946
In Old Sacramento
Stagecoach Driver
1946
The Virginian
1946
Murder in the Music Hall
Hobarth
1946
Dakota
Captain Spotts
1945
Midnight Manhunt
Murphy
1945
Steppin' in Society
Cookie
1945
Scared Stiff
Sheriff
1945
The Big Show-Off
Herbert Trafagan, aka "The Devil", a wrestler
1945
Something for the Boys
Defense Plant Foreman (uncredited)
1944
Girl Rush
Muley
1944
Barbary Coast Gent
Jake Compton
1944
Summer Storm
Orloff
1944
The Ghost That Walks Alone
Sheriff Slim Carson
1944
The Sky's the Limit
Dock Foreman (uncredited)
1943
Coney Island
Louie
1943
The Ox-Bow Incident
Monty Smith
1943
December 7th
World War I Ghost Soldier
1943
Hi'ya, Chum
Archie Billings
1943
Calaboose
Ed the bartender
1943
Night in New Orleans
Sergeant Casper Riordan
1942
Sundown Jim
Broderick
1942
Dudes Are Pretty People
Two-Gun
1942
Pardon My Stripes
Feets
1942
Ellery Queen and the Murder Ring
Page
1941
This Woman Is Mine
Second Mate Mumford
1941
The Parson of Panamint
Jake Waldren
1941
Caught in the Draft
Sgt. Burns
1941
The Great Mr. Nobody
Michael O'Connor
1941
Petticoat Politics
Slats O'Dell
1941
Virginia
Thomas
1941
Tall, Dark and Handsome
Biff Sage
1941
Tugboat Annie Sails Again
Pete
1940
Goin' Fishin'
1940
Spring Parade
Headwaiter
1940
The Westerner
Chickenfoot
1940
South to Karanga
Slats
1940
They Drive by Night
Pete Haig (uncredited)
1940
Torrid Zone
Daniels
1940
Edison, the Man
Sheriff
1940
Star Dust
Mac, Amalgamated Lab Tech
1940
Castle on the Hudson
Guard (uncredited)
1940
Remember?
Policeman
1939
Gone with the Wind
Yankee Deserter
1939
Glove Slingers
Chuck Brenner
1939
Heaven with a Barbed Wire Fence
Empire State Building Guard
1939
On Your Toes
Variety Club Bartender
1939
Bad Lands
Curly Tom
1939
Quick Millions
Sheriff
1939
Each Dawn I Die
Garsky
1939
It Could Happen to You
Sandy
1939
Broadway Serenade
Reynolds, a Drunk
1939
Cafe Society
Bartender
1939
Topper Takes a Trip
Charlie - the Bartender
1938
Secrets of a Nurse
Arlington Bysshe 'Slice' Cavanaugh
1938
The Last Express
Asst. Dist. Atty. Springer
1938
Hold That Co-ed
Slapsy
1938
My Lucky Star
Louie
1938
Prison Break
Soapy
1938
Josette
A. Adolphus Heyman
1938
Alexander's Ragtime Band
Bill Mulligan
1938
In Old Chicago
Mitch
1938
Island in the Sky
Happy
1938
Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm
Florabelle's Father
1938
No Time to Marry
Sergeant
1938
Second Honeymoon
Dennis Huggins
1937
Ali Baba Goes to Town
Captain
1937
The Lady Fights Back
Maloney
1937
Danger – Love at Work
NYC policeman
1937
Wife, Doctor and Nurse
Bill
1937
Wake Up and Live
McCabe
1937
She's No Lady
Cop
1937
You Can't Have Everything
Truck Driver (uncredited)
1937
The Legion of Missing Men
Muggsy
1937
Super-Sleuth
Motorcycle Cop
1937
You Can't Beat Love
Foreman Butch Mehaffey
1937
Slave Ship
Drunk
1937
Angel's Holiday
Sgt. Murphy
1937
Fifty Roads to Town
Tom
1937
This Is My Affair
Bowler
1937
Trouble in Morocco
Tiger Malone
1937
We Who Are About to Die
Tip Fuller
1937
North of Nome
Carlson
1936
The Gay Desperado
American Detective
1936
I'd Give My Life
"Sport" Conly
1936
To Mary - with Love
Drunk
1936
Blackmailer
Inspector Killian
1936
Mr. Deeds Goes to Town
1st Deputy (uncredited)
1936
Robin Hood of El Dorado
Wilson
1936
Riffraff
Belcher
1936
The Gay Deception
Bell Captain
1935
The Daring Young Man
Prison Guard
1935
Calm Yourself
Detective Roscoe
1935
Public Hero Number 1
Rufe Parker
1935
The Case of the Curious Bride
Fibo Morgan (uncredited)
1935
Mississippi
Hefty
1935
Shadow of Doubt
Lt. Sackville
1935
Carnival
Policeman
1935
Sequoia
Bergman
1935
Maybe It's Love
Expressman (uncredited)
1935
The Ballad of Paducah Jail
Escaped Felon
1934
Tomorrow's Youth
Detective
1934
Among the Missing
Capt. W.F. 'Big Bill' Connors
1934
Take the Stand
Denny O'Brien
1934
Midnight Alibi
Babe the Butcher
1934
Charlie Chan's Courage
Undetermined Role
1934
A Very Honorable Guy
Butler
1934
The Big Race
Skipper O'Neal
1934
Queen Christina
Swedish Soldier Betting on 6 (uncredited)
1933
The Women in His Life
Paul, Perez's Second Bodyguard
1933
Day of Reckoning
Harry
1933
Saturday's Millions
Doc Maloney, Trainer
1933
Tugboat Annie
Sam
1933
Hold Your Man
Aubrey C. Mitchell (uncredited)
1933
The Sphinx
Detective Terrence Aloysius Hogan
1933
Terror Aboard
Boatswain
1933
Grand Slam
Man Who Speaks Final Line of the Film
1933
Island of Lost Souls
Capt. Donahue
1932
Men Are Such Fools
Stiles
1932
The Big Stampede
'Arizona' Frank Bailey
1932
The Phantom President
Sailor (uncredited)
1932
Hold 'Em Jail
Butch
1932
The Thirteenth Guest
Detective Grump
1932
State's Attorney
Police Captain Morgan
1932
My Pal, the King
Red
1932
Panama Flo
Al
1932
The Secret Witness
Officer Brannigan
1931
Bad Company
Paul Hurst
1931
Maker of Men
Gabby
1931
The Public Defender
Doc
1931
That's My Line
Mexican Bandit
1931
Sweepstakes
Bartender
1931
Kick In
Detective Whip Fogarty
1931
The Secret Six
Nick Mizoski - the Gouger
1931
The Single Sin
Slug
1931
The Third Alarm
'Beauty' Johnson
1930
Borrowed Wives
Bull Morgan
1930
Paradise Island
Beauty
1930
Hot Curves
'Slug', Baseball Player
1930
Shadow of the Law
Pete Shore
1930
The Runaway Bride
Sergeant Daly
1930
Mountain Justice
Lem Harland
1930
Swellhead
Mugsy
1930
Officer O'Brien
Captain Antrim
1930
Lucky Larkin
Pete Brierson
1930
His First Command
Sgt. Westbrook
1929
The Racketeer
Mehaffy - Policeman
1929
Oh, Yeah!
Railroad-Yard Superintendent
1929
Sailor's Holiday
Jimmylegs
1929
The California Mail
Rowdy Ryan
1929
Tide of Empire
Poppy
1929
The Lawless Legion
Ramirez
1929
Lilac Time
(uncredited)
1928
The Cossacks
Sitchi
1928
Buttons
Slugger McGlue
1927
The Valley of the Giants
Randeau
1927
The Red Raiders
Sergeant Murphy
1927
The Devil's Saddle
'Swig' Moran
1927
Outlaw's Paradise
McDonald
1927
Blue Streak O'Neil
1926
The Fighting Ranger
1926
Roaring Road
Checking Board Tabulator (uncredited)
1926
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
Emeralda's Torturer (uncredited)
1923
Lightning Bryce
Powder Solvang
1919
Smashing Through
Stevens
1918
Rimrock Jones
Ike Bray
1918
The Further Adventures of Stingaree
Howie
1917
The Railroad Raiders
Steve Arnold (as Paul C. Hurst)
1917
The Hazards of Helen
Benton - a Foreman
1917
The Manager of the B & A
Roger Oakley (as Paul C. Hurst)
1916
The Diamond Runners
Paul - the Brains of the I.D.B.
1916
Judith of the Cumberlands
Blatchley Turrentine
1916
Medicine Bend
Murray Sinclair
1916
Whispering Smith
Murray Sinclair
1916
A Lass of the Lumberlands
1916
Stingaree
Howie - Stingaree's Partner
1915
The Vivisectionist
Bart - Jardine's Servant
1915
The Red Signal
Chief Dispatcher
1915
The Hazards of Helen: Episode13, The Escape on the Fast Freight
A Trainman
1915
The Girl Detective
Blair / Thompson / Michaels / Snake Henely / Mike Donegal / Bat Dorgan / Kelly / Dalton / Blake
1915
The Plot at the Railroad Cut
Benton, the Foreman
1914
The Chief of Police
Daniels
1914
The Quicksands
Captain Lanning - Osborn's Rival
1914
The Cave Men's War
Red Axe
1913
The Driver Of The Deadwood Coach
Bad Bill - a Desperado
1912