Percy Helton


Percy Alfred Helton was an American stage, film, and television actor. He was one of the most familiar faces and voices in Hollywood of the 1950s.

Career

Helton was born in Manhattan. He began acting at the age of two, appearing in vaudeville acts with his British-born father William Alfred "Alf" Helton. He was a cast member in the Broadway production of Julie BonBon. Helton performed in stock theater and the Broadway plays The Poor Nut and To the Ladies.
Helton joined the United States Army in World War I. Deployed to Europe with the American Expeditionary Forces, he was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his duty with the 77th Infantry Division's 305th Field Artillery. During his time in the Army he was a member of the Argonne Players, a company of actors in the 77th Division who entertained other soldiers.
A change in his voice altered Helton's career. He remained in acting but chiefly as a character actor in a wide range of films and television programs in the 1950s and 1960s. Among those programs were three guest appearances on Perry Mason, including the role of Asa Cooperman in the 1961 episode "The Case of the Pathetic Patient", as a pawn broker in the 1961 episode "The Case of the Torrid Tapestry", and as a hotel clerk in the 1965 episode "The Case of the Careless Kitten."
Films in which he performed include the comedy Miracle on 34th Street,
the films noir Criss Cross, The Crooked Way, The Set-Up, Wicked Woman, and Kiss Me Deadly, and the comic Western Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.

Personal life and death

Helton married dancer Edna Eustace on October 24, 1931, in New York City. He died on September 11, 1971, in Hollywood, California.

Partial filmography

  • The Fairy and the Waif as The Waif
  • The Flower of Faith as Tom Judson
  • The Master Mind as Younger brother
  • Silver Wings as John
  • Insinuation as Jimmie
  • The Offenders
  • Frankie and Johnny as Undetermined role
  • Miracle on 34th Street as Drunken Santa Claus
  • Call Northside 777 as William Decker, Mailman
  • Let's Live Again as Mr. President
  • Hazard as Beady Robbins
  • Larceny as Charlie Jordan
  • That Wonderful Urge as Monroe Township Jail Drunk
  • Chicken Every Sunday as Mr. Sawyer
  • Criss Cross as Frank
  • Alias Nick Beal as Lawyer
  • The Set-Up as Red
  • The Crooked Way as Petey
  • Lust for Gold as Barber
  • Red, Hot and Blue as Mr. Perkins, Stage Manager
  • Abbott & Costello Meet The Killer, Boris Karloff as Abernathy
  • Thieves' Highway as Roadside Bar Manager
  • My Friend Irma as Mr. Clyde
  • Free for All as Joe Hershey
  • The Secret Fury as Justice of the Peace Roy T. Palmer
  • Tyrant of the Sea as Crewman
  • Harbor of Missing Men as 'Rummy' Davis
  • Wabash Avenue as Ship Captain
  • Riding High as Pawnbroker
  • Fancy Pants as Mayor Fogarty
  • A Life of Her Own as Hamburger Proprietor
  • Copper Canyon as 'Scamper' Joad
  • The Sun Sets at Dawn as Reporter, Feature Syndicate
  • Cyrano de Bergerac as Bellerose
  • Under Mexicali Stars as Nap Wellington
  • Three Guys Named Mike as Mr. Hawkins, Hotel Manager
  • Inside Straight as Lawyer Anderson
  • Night Into Morning as Drunk
  • Never Trust a Gambler as Sunbeam Liquor Store Clerk
  • Darling, How Could You! as Cabbie
  • The Tall Target as Beamish, Passenger in Club Car
  • Chain of Circumstance as Fogel
  • The Family Secret as Charlie
  • The Barefoot Mailman as Dewey Durgan
  • The Stooge as Sam Robertson
  • A Girl in Every Port as Drive-In Manager
  • The Belle of New York as Presents Angela with Flowers
  • I Dream of Jeanie as Mr. Horker
  • Three for Bedroom "C" as Alcoholic Train Passenger
  • She's Back on Broadway as News Vendor
  • Call Me Madam as Senator Wilkins
  • Scared Stiff as Man in Hotel Hallway
  • Ambush at Tomahawk Gap as Marlowe
  • Ride, Vaquero! as Storekeeper
  • Vice Squad as Mr. Jenner
  • Down Laredo Way as Judge Sully
  • The Affairs of Dobie Gillis as Mr. Hammersmith, Book Seller
  • City of Bad Men as Old-Timer at Training Camp
  • The Robe as Caleb - Wine Merchant
  • How to Marry a Millionaire as Mr. Benton
  • Wicked Woman as Charlie Borg
  • Geraldine as Pop
  • Lucky Me as Brown
  • About Mrs. Leslie as Mr. Hackley
  • A Star Is Born as William Gregory
  • The Adventures of Hajji Baba as Kerbelai, Hajji's Barber Father
  • White Christmas as Train Conductor
  • 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea as Coach Driver
  • Crashout as Doctor Louis Barnes
  • Kiss Me Deadly as Doc Kennedy
  • Jail Busters as Warden B.W. Oswald
  • Trial as Youval
  • No Man's Woman as Otto Peterson
  • Diane as Court Jester
  • Fury at Gunsight Pass as Peter Boggs
  • Terror at Midnight as Speegie
  • The Boss as Hotel Clerk
  • Shake, Rattle & Rock! as Hiram, the Funeral Director
  • The Phantom Stagecoach as Mr. Wiggins
  • The Vintage as Voice Dub for Berger
  • This Could Be the Night as Charlie
  • Spook Chasers as Mike Clancy
  • The Last Stagecoach West as Telegrapher
  • Jailhouse Rock as Sam Brewster
  • The Sheepman as Station Master
  • The Proud Rebel as Photographer
  • Rally 'Round the Flag, Boys! as Waldo Pike, the Plumber
  • Ask Any Girl as Janitor in Meg Wheeler's Building
  • Let No Man Write My Epitaph as Baldy
  • Where the Boys Are as Fairview Motel Manager
  • Ride the High Country as Luther Samson
  • The Music Man as Train Conductor
  • The Wheeler Dealers as Deke
  • 4 for Texas as Jonas Ansel
  • Get Yourself A College Girl as Senator's Chauffeur
  • Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte as Funeral Director
  • Dear Brigitte as Kraft, Man at Computer Lab
  • Zebra in the Kitchen as Mr. Richardson
  • The Sons of Katie Elder as Mr. Peevey
  • Don't Worry, We'll Think of a Title as Diner Customer
  • A Big Hand for the Little Lady as Kevin McKenzie
  • The Green Hornet as Gus
  • The Big Mouth as Sanitation Man
  • Head as Heraldic Messenger
  • Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid as Sweetface
  • The Day of the Wolves as The Farmer
  • Legend of the Northwest as Doc Graham

    Television appearances

  • Dangerous Assignment as Max
  • Adventures of Superman as Hamlet
  • Death Valley Days
  • * as Little Oscar
  • * as Alex Grant
  • * as Scrubby
  • The Life of Riley as Mr. Cox
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  • The Lone Ranger as Pete Travis
  • Alfred Hitchcock Presents
  • * as Gerald Eaton
  • * as Lawyer
  • * as George the Janitor
  • * as Charlie the Building Super
  • * as Newspaperman
  • * as Morton
  • * as Cyrus Rutherford
  • Father Knows Best as Desk Clerk
  • Science Fiction Theatre as Professor John Hustead
  • The Adventures of Rin-Tin-Tin
  • * as Conductor
  • * as Ichabod Pillajohn
  • * as Ichabod Pillajohn
  • Maverick
  • * as Mr. Venner
  • * as Bradley
  • Lassie as Jason Blalock
  • Lawman
  • * as Oren, the murder witness
  • * as Ellery Purvy
  • * as Thatcher
  • Gunsmoke
  • * as Otie
  • * as Duffer
  • * as Arbuckle
  • * as Mr. Early
  • * as Mr. Early
  • Bonanza
  • * as Blurry Jones
  • * as Lafe
  • * as Pete
  • * as Bleeker
  • The Untouchables
  • * as Mr. Meyer
  • * as Jocko Monaghan
  • The Texan as Lem Munson
  • Law of the Plainsman as Del Martin
  • Mr. Lucky as Pop Markel
  • Sugarfoot
  • * as Doc Lever
  • * as John McTavish
  • Cheyenne as Matthew Beasely
  • Rawhide as Bartender
  • Laramie
  • * as Wes Snyder, Auctioneer
  • * as Clemson Frazer
  • * as Opie
  • Perry Mason
  • * as Pawnbroker
  • * as Asa Cooperman
  • * as Hotel Desk Clerk
  • Mister Ed
  • * as Dr. Evans
  • * as Zoo Attendant
  • 'Hazel' as Cyrano
  • The Twilight Zone
  • * as Tom Poulter
  • * as Lapham
  • The Fugitive as Hobo
  • Bewitched
  • Honey West as Wiley
  • Petticoat Junction
  • * as Hinky Mittenfloss
  • * as Mr. Benton
  • The F.B.I. as Bum
  • Daniel Boone
  • * as Mr. Stubbs
  • * as Jud
  • Green Acres
  • * as Willie
  • * as Ira Hatch
  • * as Luke Needlinger
  • The Jerry Lewis Show
  • Green Hornet as Gus
  • The Girl from U.N.C.L.E. as Mesquite Swede
  • The Mothers-in-Law as Dean Roberts
  • The Virginian as Storekeeper
  • Batman as Gus
  • Get Smart as A.J. Pfister
  • Land of the Giants as Akman
  • The Wild Wild West as Proprietor
  • The Beverly Hillbillies as Homer Cratchit
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  • Love American Style as Wharton
  • Mission: Impossible as Dailey

    Commercial appearances

  • Mandom, Japanese Perfume Commercial as Hotel Doorman