7.5
Avg Rating
Paul Douglas (April 11, 1907 – September 11, 1959) was an American actor.
1948
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."
Description above from the Wikipedia article Paul Douglas, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Gender
Male
Birthday
April 11, 1907
Died
September 11, 1959
Birthplace
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
Also Known As
Clash by Night
1952
Margin for Error
1943
Calling Scotland Yard: Falstaff's Fur Coat
1954
Executive Suite
1954
A Letter to Three Wives
1949
The Guy Who Came Back
1951
When in Rome
1952
Green Fire
1954
Rhubarb
1951
Angels in the Outfield
1951
Forever Female
1953
The 'Maggie'
1954
The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial
1958
Never Wave at a WAC
1953
Joe Macbeth
1955
Panic in the Streets
1950
Everybody Does It
1949
The Mating Game
1959
Barbara Stanwyck: Straight Down the Line
1997
The Solid Gold Cadillac
1956
+ 18 more movies
What's My Line?
1950
Studio One
1948
Studio One
1948
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre
1956
The Oscars
1953
Climax!
1954
Climax!
1954
The Dinah Shore Chevy Show
1956
The Colgate Comedy Hour
1950
The Ed Sullivan Show
1948
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
1955
The 20th Century Fox Hour
1955
Your Show of Shows
1950
Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse
1958
Lux Video Theatre
1950
Suspicion
1957
The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour
1957
Playwrights '56
1955
Hallmark Hall of Fame
1951
Adventure Theater
1956
+ 2 more TV shows