Paul Carpenter (actor)


Paul Carpenter was a Canadian actor and singer.

Life and career

Carpenter originally attended medical school in Montreal, but left aged 17 to join the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation as a war correspondent. He also played professional hockey in Canada.
He moved to Britain and sang with Ted Heath and His Music in the 1940s and starred in the BBC Radio serial Riders of the Range as the cowboy Jeff Arnold, where he shared the billing with his dog, Rustler.
As a movie actor he "made over three dozen British films in the post-war decades, most of them 'B' pictures, such as Diplomatic Passport and One Jump Ahead, to which he brought an easy, likeable authority that seemed more difficult for British actors to achieve". His voice was so mellifluous, he would often be cast as announcers. His final film appearance was in the 1964 James Bond film Goldfinger where he played an American General escorting James Bond.
During 1955-1956, he starred in his only television programme, Sailor of Fortune with Lorne Greene.

Death

During rehearsals for the play The First Fish by Frank Tarloff at the Vaudeville Theatre, London, with a cast that included Moira Lister, Louie Ramsay and Ray Barrett, Carpenter arrived at the theatre and asked to be helped to a dressing room as he felt unwell. The director, Charles Ross, and the other actors were unaware he was at the theatre. He was found dead alone in the dressing room three hours later. He had recently recovered from injuries suffered in a car accident.

Partial filmography

YearTitleRoleNotes
1946This Man Is MineUncredited
1946School for SecretsFlt. Lt. Argylle
1948Uneasy TermsWindy Nicholls
1949The Third ManInternational Patrol DUncredited
1949LandfallF/O Morgan
1953Albert R.N.Fred
1954Face the MusicJohnny Sutherland
1954The Weak and the WickedJoe, Babs' boyfriend
1954Night PeopleEddie Whitby
1954The House Across the LakeVincent Gordon
1954The DiamondMickey SweeneyUncredited
1954Johnny on the SpotPaul Carrington
1954Five DaysPaul Kirby
1954Duel in the JunglePan American Airways Clerk
1954A Stranger Came HomeBill Saul
1954Diplomatic PassportRay Anderson
1954The Young LoversGregg Pearson
1954The Sea Shall Not Have ThemLt Patrick Boyle, Sea Otter Pilot
1954Mask of DustRacetrack AnnouncerUncredited
1954The Red DressHannibal JonesSegment: "Meet Mr. Jones"
1954The Last MomentDerwentSegment: "The Last Moment"
1955Shadow of a ManGene Landers
1955One Jump AheadPaul Banner
1955The Hornet's NestBob Bartlett
1955Doctor at SeaCaptainUncredited
1955Stock CarLarry Duke
1956The Narrowing CircleDave Nelson
1956Women Without MenNick RandallUK version. U.S. title: Blonde Bait
1956The Iron PetticoatMajor Lewis
1956Reach for the SkyHallUncredited
1956Fire Maidens from Outer SpaceCapt. Larson
1956Behind the HeadlinesPaul Banner
1956The Battle of the River PlateAmerican reporter in UruguayUncredited
1956Action StationsBob Reynolds
1957No Road BackClem Hayes
1957Murder ReportedJeff HollyReporter
1957The HypnotistValentine Neal
1957Les EspionsLe Colonel Howard
1958Undercover GirlJohnny Carter
1958Intent to KillO'Brien
1959Jet StormGeorge Towers
1959Date at MidnightBob Dillon
1960Wernher von BraunLaunch Countdown CoordinatorUncredited
1960Surprise PackageTelevision News BroadcasterUncredited
1962JacktownPoliceman No. 1
1963PanicFight Commentator
1963Call Me BwanaCol. Spencer
1963Dr. CrippenBruce Martin
1963Maigret Sees RedHarry McDonald
1964The Beauty JungleAmerican TouristUncredited
1964First Men in the MoonReporter from the 'Express'Uncredited
1964GoldfingerUS General at airportUncredited – final film role