Paul Hurst
Known for Acting · 214 credits
- Born
- 1888-10-14
- Died
- 1953-02-27
- Place of birth
- Traver, California, USA
- Also known as
- Paul Causey Hurst · Paul C. Hurst
Biography
Paul Hurst (October 15, 1888 - February 27, 1953) was an American character actor of prodigious output who also directed and wrote silent films. Much of his early work was in low budget western films. A native of central California, Hurst had a first-hand knowledge of Western lore, growing up surrounded by the multi-million acre Lux & Miller ranches which ran cattle throughout the state. Visiting San Francisco as a young man, Hurst became involved in amateur theatricals and thereafter traveled to Los Angeles to join in the emerging film industry there. He began appearing in films as early as 1912, most of them Westerns. By 1916, he was directing them as well (some sources report that he served in the First World War as a member of the French Foreign Legion, but the dates of his film projects make this story highly suspect).
In the early 1920s, Hurst wrote several scenarios for films he directed and appeared in. He proved adept at working as a director for some of the cheapest producers along Gower Gulch, where movies were normally shot on location in a week or less and where stunt men were often the highest paid folks on the set. Within a few years, he focused all of his energies into acting, notably becoming one of the few successes to emerge from Hollywood's Poverty Row. Hurst quickly became one of the more prolific and familiar characters in American movies. With his blocky build and squinty demeanor, and with a raspy voice that enhanced his memorability once sound pictures came in, Hurst played villains and cops and comedy sidekicks in more than 250 films. His most famous role was that of the deserter shot dead on the stairway of Tara by Vivien Leigh in Gone with the Wind (1939). Hurst was the sidekick to Monte Hale in a number of B-Westerns. Former Gower Gulch veteran John Wayne hired Hurst for Big Jim McLain (1952) knowing that Hurst was ill with terminal cancer. In 1953, at the age of 64, due to his health problems, Paul Hurst committed suicide.
Date of Death: 27 February 1953, Hollywood, California (suicide)
Known For
Movies (214)
Gone with the Wind
1939
as Yankee Deserter
Mr. Deeds Goes to Town
1936
as 1st Deputy (uncredited)
Island of Lost Souls
1932
as Capt. Donahue
Dakota
1945
as Captain Spotts
Yellow Sky
1948
as Drunk (uncredited)
The Ox-Bow Incident
1943
as Monty Smith
Angel and the Badman
1947
as Frederick Carson
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
1923
as Emeralda's Torturer (uncredited)
Queen Christina
1934
as Swedish Soldier Betting on 6 (uncredited)
December 7th
1943
as World War I Ghost Soldier
Slave Ship
1937
as Drunk
Alexander's Ragtime Band
1938
as Bill Mulligan
They Drive by Night
1940
as Pete Haig (uncredited)
The Westerner
1940
as Chickenfoot
Edison, the Man
1940
as Sheriff
Castle on the Hudson
1940
as Guard (uncredited)
Toughest Man in Arizona
1952
Ali Baba Goes to Town
1937
as Captain
The Virginian
1946
In Old Chicago
1938
as Mitch
The Sky's the Limit
1943
as Dock Foreman (uncredited)
Torrid Zone
1940
as Daniels
The Sun Shines Bright
1953
as Jimmy Bagby
Broadway Serenade
1939
as Reynolds, a Drunk
Big Jim McLain
1952
as Mr. Lexiter
Josette
1938
as A. Adolphus Heyman
The Vanishing Westerner
1950
as Waldorf Worthington
Remember?
1939
as Policeman
Super-Sleuth
1937
as Motorcycle Cop
The Secret Six
1931
as Nick Mizoski - the Gouger
Coney Island
1943
as Louie
Mississippi
1935
as Hefty
Summer Storm
1944
as Orloff
The Gay Deception
1935
as Bell Captain
You Can't Have Everything
1937
as Truck Driver (uncredited)
Heaven with a Barbed Wire Fence
1939
as Empire State Building Guard
This Woman Is Mine
1941
as Second Mate Mumford
Carnival
1935
as Policeman
Terror Aboard
1933
as Boatswain
Danger – Love at Work
1937
as NYC policeman
Caught in the Draft
1941
as Sgt. Burns
The Thirteenth Guest
1932
as Detective Grump
Bad Company
1931
as Paul Hurst
Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm
1938
as Florabelle's Father
Robin Hood of El Dorado
1936
as Wilson
The Sphinx
1933
as Detective Terrence Aloysius Hogan
Cafe Society
1939
as Bartender
Lilac Time
1928
as (uncredited)
The Daring Young Man
1935
as Prison Guard
Midnight Alibi
1934
as Babe the Butcher
The Plainsman and the Lady
1946
as Al
Angel's Holiday
1937
as Sgt. Murphy
Riffraff
1936
as Belcher
This Is My Affair
1937
as Bowler
Tall, Dark and Handsome
1941
as Biff Sage
Grand Slam
1933
as Man Who Speaks Final Line of the Film
My Lucky Star
1938
as Louie
Girl Rush
1944
as Muley
We Who Are About to Die
1937
as Tip Fuller
The Case of the Curious Bride
1935
as Fibo Morgan (uncredited)
Wife, Doctor and Nurse
1937
as Bill
Each Dawn I Die
1939
as Garsky
Maybe It's Love
1935
as Expressman (uncredited)
Midnight Manhunt
1945
as Murphy
Something for the Boys
1944
as Defense Plant Foreman (uncredited)
The Phantom President
1932
as Sailor (uncredited)
The Gay Desperado
1936
as American Detective
Star Dust
1940
as Mac, Amalgamated Lab Tech
Ranger of Cherokee Strip
1949
as Sheriff Jug Mason
Secrets of a Nurse
1938
as Arlington Bysshe 'Slice' Cavanaugh
Bad Lands
1939
as Curly Tom
Prison Break
1938
as Soapy
On Your Toes
1939
as Variety Club Bartender
Quick Millions
1939
as Sheriff
The Valley of the Giants
1927
as Randeau
Among the Missing
1934
as Capt. W.F. 'Big Bill' Connors
Tide of Empire
1929
as Poppy
The Legion of Missing Men
1937
as Muggsy
Paradise Island
1930
as Beauty
A Very Honorable Guy
1934
as Butler
Tugboat Annie Sails Again
1940
as Pete
North of Nome
1936
as Carlson
The Parson of Panamint
1941
as Jake Waldren
In Old Sacramento
1946
as Stagecoach Driver
California Firebrand
1948
as Chuck Waggoner
Shadow of the Law
1930
as Pete Shore
Night in New Orleans
1942
as Sergeant Casper Riordan
The Runaway Bride
1930
as Sergeant Daly
The Women in His Life
1933
as Paul, Perez's Second Bodyguard
Calaboose
1943
as Ed the bartender
Scared Stiff
1945
as Sheriff
The Missourians
1950
as John X. Finn
The Cossacks
1928
as Sitchi
Maker of Men
1931
as Gabby
Fifty Roads to Town
1937
as Tom
Hold Your Man
1933
as Aubrey C. Mitchell (uncredited)
Calm Yourself
1935
as Detective Roscoe
Public Hero Number 1
1935
as Rufe Parker
The Hazards of Helen: Episode13, The Escape on the Fast Freight
1915
as A Trainman
Spring Parade
1940
as Headwaiter
Hot Curves
1930
as 'Slug', Baseball Player
The Last Express
1938
as Asst. Dist. Atty. Springer
Day of Reckoning
1933
as Harry
Take the Stand
1934
as Denny O'Brien
Saturday's Millions
1933
as Doc Maloney, Trainer
Shadow of Doubt
1935
as Lt. Sackville
Ellery Queen and the Murder Ring
1941
as Page
Sundown Jim
1942
as Broderick
Death Valley
1946
as Sergeant Dailey
Barbary Coast Gent
1944
as Jake Compton
Sequoia
1935
as Bergman
The Secret Witness
1931
as Officer Brannigan
The Big Race
1934
as Skipper O'Neal
Madonna of the Desert
1948
as Pete Connors
South of Rio
1949
as Andy Weems
Lightning Bryce
1919
as Powder Solvang
The Racketeer
1929
as Mehaffy - Policeman
State's Attorney
1932
as Police Captain Morgan
Mountain Justice
1930
as Lem Harland
The Old Frontier
1950
as Skipper Horton
About Paul Hurst
Paul Hurst (October 15, 1888 - February 27, 1953) was an American character actor of prodigious output who also directed and wrote silent films. Much of his early work was in low budget western films. A native of central California, Hurst had a first-hand knowledge of Western lore, growing up surrounded by the multi-million acre Lux & Miller ranches which ran cattle throughout the state. Visiting San Francisco as a young man, Hurst became involved in amateur theatricals and thereafter traveled to Los Angeles to join in the emerging film indust… With 214 credits spanning from 1912 to 1953, Paul Hurst has appeared in 214 films and 0 TV shows.
Fans searching for Paul Hurst movies, Paul Hurst filmography, or the latest projects starring Paul Hurst can stream many of these titles on Bowood.TV, free and in HD, with no subscription required.
Most Popular Paul Hurst Movies
- Gone with the Wind (1939) — as Yankee Deserter
- Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936) — as 1st Deputy (uncredited)
- Island of Lost Souls (1932) — as Capt. Donahue
- Dakota (1945) — as Captain Spotts
- Yellow Sky (1948) — as Drunk (uncredited)
Where to Watch Paul Hurst Films
Most Paul Hurst movies and series are available to stream on Bowood.TV in full HD, completely free and without signup. Browse the complete filmography above to jump directly to any title. For more films and the latest web series featuring Paul Hurst, check our movies catalogue and browse page.