Percy Helton

Percy Helton

Helton in Criss Cross (1949)
Born Percy Alfred Helton
(1894-01-31)January 31, 1894
New York City, New York, USA
Died September 11, 1971(1971-09-11) (aged 77)
Hollywood, California, USA
Occupation character actor
Years active 1915–1970
Spouse(s) Edna Roberta Eustace

Percy Helton (January 31, 1894 – September 11, 1971) was an American film and television character actor.

Career

Percy Helton began acting as a young child at the age of two, appearing in his father's vaudeville act. He appeared in many Broadway plays as a child actor before joining the United States Army to serve in World War I with the American Expeditionary Forces. A male soprano, he subsequently sang professionally until an accident left him with a hoarse, raspy falsetto voice and breathy delivery, which altered his career to that of an actor in a wide range of films and TV programs in the 1950s and 1960s. Among them were three guest appearances on Perry Mason, including the role of Asa Cooperman in the 1961 episode, "The Case of the Pathetic Patient". Helton appeared as the drunken Santa Claus in Miracle on 34th Street. He also appeared in Criss Cross (1949), The Set-Up (1949), Kiss Me Deadly (1955) and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969). He died at age 77 two years after his final film appearance and was entombed at Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles.


Partial filmography

Television appearances

References

    : http://newspaperarchive.com/portsmouth-herald/1931-10-27/

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