Paul Hurst
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)
Acted in
The Sun Shines Bright
1953
as Jimmy Bagby
Toughest Man in Arizona
1952
Big Jim McLain
1952
as Mr. Lexiter
Million Dollar Pursuit
1951
as Ray Harvey
The Missourians
1950
as John X. Finn
The Old Frontier
1950
as Skipper Horton
The Vanishing Westerner
1950
as Waldorf Worthington
Pioneer Marshal
1949
as Huck Homer
Ranger of Cherokee Strip
1949
as Sheriff Jug Mason
San Antone Ambush
1949
as Happy Daniels
South of Rio
1949
as Andy Weems
Outcasts of the Trail
1949
as Doc Meadowlark
Law of the Golden West
1949
as Otis Ellis
Prince of the Plains
1949
as Sheriff Hank Hartley
Gun Smugglers
1948
as Sergeant Hasty Jones
Yellow Sky
1948
as Drunk (uncredited)
Son of God’s Country
1948
as Eli Walker
The Arizona Ranger
1948
as Ben Riddle
Heart of Virginia
1948
as Whit Galtry
Who Killed Doc Robbin?
1948
as Jailer
California Firebrand
1948
as Chuck Waggoner
Madonna of the Desert
1948
as Pete Connors
Under Colorado Skies
1947
as Lucky John Hawkins
Angel and the Badman
1947
as Frederick Carson
The Plainsman and the Lady
1946
as Al
Death Valley
1946
as Sergeant Dailey
In Old Sacramento
1946
as Stagecoach Driver
The Virginian
1946
Murder in the Music Hall
1946
as Hobarth
Dakota
1945
as Captain Spotts
Midnight Manhunt
1945
as Murphy
Steppin' in Society
1945
as Cookie
Scared Stiff
1945
as Sheriff
The Big Show-Off
1945
as Herbert Trafagan, aka "The Devil", a wrestler
Something for the Boys
1944
as Defense Plant Foreman (uncredited)
Girl Rush
1944
as Muley
Barbary Coast Gent
1944
as Jake Compton
Summer Storm
1944
as Orloff
The Ghost That Walks Alone
1944
as Sheriff Slim Carson
The Sky's the Limit
1943
as Dock Foreman (uncredited)
Coney Island
1943
as Louie
The Ox-Bow Incident
1943
as Monty Smith
December 7th
1943
as World War I Ghost Soldier
Hi'ya, Chum
1943
as Archie Billings
Calaboose
1943
as Ed the bartender
Night in New Orleans
1942
as Sergeant Casper Riordan
Sundown Jim
1942
as Broderick
Dudes Are Pretty People
1942
as Two-Gun
Pardon My Stripes
1942
as Feets
Ellery Queen and the Murder Ring
1941
as Page
This Woman Is Mine
1941
as Second Mate Mumford
The Parson of Panamint
1941
as Jake Waldren
Caught in the Draft
1941
as Sgt. Burns
The Great Mr. Nobody
1941
as Michael O'Connor
Petticoat Politics
1941
as Slats O'Dell
Virginia
1941
as Thomas
Tall, Dark and Handsome
1941
as Biff Sage
Tugboat Annie Sails Again
1940
as Pete
Goin' Fishin'
1940
Spring Parade
1940
as Headwaiter
The Westerner
1940
as Chickenfoot
South to Karanga
1940
as Slats
They Drive by Night
1940
as Pete Haig (uncredited)
Torrid Zone
1940
as Daniels
Edison, the Man
1940
as Sheriff
Star Dust
1940
as Mac, Amalgamated Lab Tech
Castle on the Hudson
1940
as Guard (uncredited)
Remember?
1939
as Policeman
Glove Slingers
1939
as Chuck Brenner
Heaven with a Barbed Wire Fence
1939
as Empire State Building Guard
On Your Toes
1939
as Variety Club Bartender
Bad Lands
1939
as Curly Tom
Quick Millions
1939
as Sheriff
Each Dawn I Die
1939
as Garsky
It Could Happen to You
1939
as Sandy
Broadway Serenade
1939
as Reynolds, a Drunk
Gone with the Wind
1939
as Yankee Deserter
Cafe Society
1939
as Bartender
Topper Takes a Trip
1938
as Charlie - the Bartender
Secrets of a Nurse
1938
as Arlington Bysshe 'Slice' Cavanaugh
The Last Express
1938
as Asst. Dist. Atty. Springer
Hold That Co-ed
1938
as Slapsy
My Lucky Star
1938
as Louie
Prison Break
1938
as Soapy
Josette
1938
as A. Adolphus Heyman
Alexander's Ragtime Band
1938
as Bill Mulligan
In Old Chicago
1938
as Mitch
Island in the Sky
1938
as Happy
Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm
1938
as Florabelle's Father
No Time to Marry
1938
as Sergeant
Second Honeymoon
1937
as Dennis Huggins
Ali Baba Goes to Town
1937
as Captain
The Lady Fights Back
1937
as Maloney
Danger – Love at Work
1937
as NYC policeman
Wife, Doctor and Nurse
1937
as Bill
Wake Up and Live
1937
as McCabe
She's No Lady
1937
as Cop
You Can't Have Everything
1937
as Truck Driver (uncredited)
The Legion of Missing Men
1937
as Muggsy
Super-Sleuth
1937
as Motorcycle Cop
You Can't Beat Love
1937
as Foreman Butch Mehaffey
Slave Ship
1937
as Drunk
Angel's Holiday
1937
as Sgt. Murphy
Fifty Roads to Town
1937
as Tom
This Is My Affair
1937
as Bowler
Trouble in Morocco
1937
as Tiger Malone
We Who Are About to Die
1937
as Tip Fuller
North of Nome
1936
as Carlson
The Gay Desperado
1936
as American Detective
I'd Give My Life
1936
as "Sport" Conly
To Mary - with Love
1936
as Drunk
Blackmailer
1936
as Inspector Killian
Mr. Deeds Goes to Town
1936
as 1st Deputy (uncredited)
Robin Hood of El Dorado
1936
as Wilson
Riffraff
1936
as Belcher
The Gay Deception
1935
as Bell Captain
The Daring Young Man
1935
as Prison Guard
Calm Yourself
1935
as Detective Roscoe
Public Hero Number 1
1935
as Rufe Parker
Mississippi
1935
as Hefty
Shadow of Doubt
1935
as Lt. Sackville
Carnival
1935
as Policeman
Sequoia
1935
as Bergman
Maybe It's Love
1935
as Expressman (uncredited)
The Ballad of Paducah Jail
1934
as Escaped Felon
Tomorrow's Youth
1934
as Detective
Among the Missing
1934
as Capt. W.F. 'Big Bill' Connors
Take the Stand
1934
as Denny O'Brien
Midnight Alibi
1934
as Babe the Butcher
Charlie Chan's Courage
1934
as Undetermined Role
A Very Honorable Guy
1934
as Butler
The Big Race
1934
as Skipper O'Neal
Queen Christina
1933
as Swedish Soldier Betting on 6 (uncredited)
The Women in His Life
1933
as Paul, Perez's Second Bodyguard
Day of Reckoning
1933
as Harry
Saturday's Millions
1933
as Doc Maloney, Trainer
Tugboat Annie
1933
as Sam
The Sphinx
1933
as Detective Terrence Aloysius Hogan
Terror Aboard
1933
as Boatswain
Grand Slam
1933
as Man Who Speaks Final Line of the Film
Island of Lost Souls
1932
as Capt. Donahue
Men Are Such Fools
1932
as Stiles
The Big Stampede
1932
as 'Arizona' Frank Bailey
The Phantom President
1932
as Sailor (uncredited)
Hold 'Em Jail
1932
as Butch
The Thirteenth Guest
1932
as Detective Grump
State's Attorney
1932
as Police Captain Morgan
My Pal, the King
1932
as Red
Panama Flo
1932
as Al
The Secret Witness
1931
as Officer Brannigan
Bad Company
1931
as Paul Hurst
Maker of Men
1931
as Gabby
The Public Defender
1931
as Doc
That's My Line
1931
as Mexican Bandit
Sweepstakes
1931
as Bartender
Kick In
1931
as Detective Whip Fogarty
The Secret Six
1931
as Nick Mizoski - the Gouger
The Single Sin
1931
as Slug
The Third Alarm
1930
as 'Beauty' Johnson
Borrowed Wives
1930
as Bull Morgan
Paradise Island
1930
as Beauty
Hot Curves
1930
as 'Slug', Baseball Player
Shadow of the Law
1930
as Pete Shore
The Runaway Bride
1930
as Sergeant Daly
Mountain Justice
1930
as Lem Harland
Swellhead
1930
as Mugsy
Officer O'Brien
1930
as Captain Antrim
Lucky Larkin
1930
as Pete Brierson
His First Command
1929
as Sgt. Westbrook
The Racketeer
1929
as Mehaffy - Policeman
Oh, Yeah!
1929
as Railroad-Yard Superintendent
Sailor's Holiday
1929
as Jimmylegs
The California Mail
1929
as Rowdy Ryan
Tide of Empire
1929
as Poppy
The Lawless Legion
1929
as Ramirez
Lilac Time
1928
as (uncredited)
The Cossacks
1928
as Sitchi
Buttons
1927
as Slugger McGlue
The Valley of the Giants
1927
as Randeau
The Red Raiders
1927
as Sergeant Murphy
The Devil's Saddle
1927
as 'Swig' Moran
Outlaw's Paradise
1927
as McDonald
Blue Streak O'Neil
1926
The Fighting Ranger
1926
Roaring Road
1926
as Checking Board Tabulator (uncredited)
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
1923
as Emeralda's Torturer (uncredited)
Lightning Bryce
1919
as Powder Solvang
Smashing Through
1918
as Stevens
Rimrock Jones
1918
as Ike Bray
The Further Adventures of Stingaree
1917
as Howie
The Railroad Raiders
1917
as Steve Arnold (as Paul C. Hurst)
The Hazards of Helen
1917
as Benton - a Foreman
The Manager of the B & A
1916
as Roger Oakley (as Paul C. Hurst)
The Diamond Runners
1916
as Paul - the Brains of the I.D.B.
Judith of the Cumberlands
1916
as Blatchley Turrentine
Medicine Bend
1916
as Murray Sinclair
Whispering Smith
1916
as Murray Sinclair
A Lass of the Lumberlands
1916
Stingaree
1915
as Howie - Stingaree's Partner
The Vivisectionist
1915
as Bart - Jardine's Servant
The Girl Detective: Old Isaacson's Diamonds
1915
as Snake Henely
The Red Signal
1915
as Chief Dispatcher
The Hazards of Helen: Episode13, The Escape on the Fast Freight
1915
as A Trainman
The Girl Detective: The Mystery of the Tea Dansant
1915
as (Episode #1, 2, etc.)
The Plot at the Railroad Cut
1914
as Benton, the Foreman
The Chief of Police
1914
as Daniels
The Quicksands
1914
as Captain Lanning - Osborn's Rival
The Cave Men's War
1913
as Red Axe
The Driver Of The Deadwood Coach
1912
as Bad Bill - a Desperado