Paul Douglas

Known for ActingBorn 1907-04-11Died 1959-09-11Philadelphia, 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.Read more

Movies & web series

Conquering the Colorado

Adventure Theater

Hallmark Hall of Fame

The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour

When in Rome

Everybody Does It

Barbara Stanwyck: Straight Down the Line

The Leather Saint

Magic of Youth

Alfred Hitchcock Presents

Joe Macbeth

Fourteen Hours

Your Show of Shows

Schlitz Playhouse of Stars

A Letter to Three Wives

Executive Suite

What's My Line?

The Oscars

Angels in the Outfield

The Screen Director

Forever Female

The Big Lift

The Colgate Comedy Hour

Panic in the Streets

Love That Brute

The Ed Sullivan Show

Clash by Night

Lux Video Theatre

It Happens Every Spring

The Mating Game

The Dinah Shore Chevy Show

Fortunella

Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse

You Can Change The World

The 'Maggie'

Playwrights '56

Green Fire

Suspicion

The Solid Gold Cadillac

The Guy Who Came Back

Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre

Margin for Error

This Could Be the Night

The 20th Century Fox Hour

Hour Glass

We're Not Married!

Rhubarb

Beau James