1907-04-11 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
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.
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Barbara Stanwyck: Straight Down The Line | Self (archive footage) | 1997-05-12 |
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The Mating Game | Pop Larkin | 1959-04-29 |
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Fortunella | Professore Golfiero Paganica | 1958-03-14 |
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The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial | 1958-10-10 | |
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This Could Be the Night | Rocco | 1957-05-14 |
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Beau James | Chris Nolan | 1957-06-07 |
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The Gamma People | Mike Wilson | 1956-12-01 |
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The Leather Saint | Gus MacAuliffe | 1956-06-06 |
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The Solid Gold Cadillac | Edward L. McKeever | 1956-08-22 |
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Joe Macbeth | Joe MacBeth | 1955-10-18 |
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Green Fire | Vic Leonard | 1954-12-29 |
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The 'Maggie' | Calvin B. Marshall, the American | 1954-02-25 |
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Calling Scotland Yard: Falstaff's Fur Coat | Commentator | 1954-02-20 |
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Executive Suite | Josiah Walter Dudley | 1954-04-30 |
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Never Wave at a WAC | Andrew McBain | 1953-01-28 |
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Forever Female | Harry Phillips | 1953-11-28 |
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When in Rome | Joe Brewster | 1952-05-11 |
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Clash by Night | Jerry D'Amato | 1952-05-30 |
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We're Not Married! | Hector Woodruff | 1952-07-11 |
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Rhubarb | Man on Park Bench (uncredited) | 1951-08-29 |
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The Screen Director | Self (archive footage) (uncredited) | 1951-03-12 |
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The Guy Who Came Back | Harry Joplin | 1951-08-16 |
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Fourteen Hours | Police Ofcr. Charlie Dunnigan | 1951-04-01 |
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Angels in the Outfield | Guffy McGovern | 1951-10-19 |
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Love That Brute | E.L. 'Big Ed' Hanley | 1950-06-06 |
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The Big Lift | MSgt. Henry "Hank" Kowalski | 1950-04-26 |
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You Can Change The World | Self | 1950-02-25 |
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Panic in the Streets | Capt. Tom Warren | 1950-07-27 |
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It Happens Every Spring | Monk Lanigan | 1949-06-10 |
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A Letter to Three Wives | Porter Hollingsway | 1949-01-20 |
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Everybody Does It | Leonard Borland aka Logan Bennett | 1949-10-24 |
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Margin for Error | Policeman at Front Desk (uncredited) | 1943-02-10 |
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Conquering the Colorado | Narrator | 1939-09-01 |
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Filming the Fleet | Self, Narrator | 1939-11-26 |
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Saturday Night Swing Club | Master of Ceremonies | 1938-07-30 |