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
Whispering Smith
1916
as Murray Sinclair
Buttons
1927
as Slugger McGlue
Death Valley
1946
as Sergeant Dailey
Wilderness Mail
1935
as Jules
State's Attorney
1932
as Police Captain Morgan
The Rainbow
1929
as Pat
Smashing Through
1918
as Stevens
Island of Lost Souls
1932
as Capt. Donahue
Petticoat Politics
1941
as Slats O'Dell
Roaring Road
1926
as Checking Board Tabulator (uncredited)
Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm
1938
as Mug
The Vivisectionist
1915
as Bart - Jardine's Servant
Mr. Deeds Goes to Town
1936
as 1st Deputy (uncredited)
Queen Christina
1934
as Swedish Soldier Betting on 6 (uncredited)
The Westerner
1940
as Chickenfoot
Sweepstakes
1931
as Bartender
Stingaree
1915
as Howie - Stingaree's Partner
The Virginian
1946
Ali Baba Goes to Town
1937
as Captain
The Big Stampede
1932
as 'Arizona' Frank Bailey
The Ox-Bow Incident
1943
as Monty Smith
Rimrock Jones
1918
as Ike Bray
Wake Up and Live
1937
as McCabe
The Sun Shines Bright
1953
as Jimmy Bagby
They Drive by Night
1940
as Pete Haig (uncredited)
Dakota
1945
as Captain Spotts
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
1923
as Emeralda's Torturer (uncredited)
Yellow Sky
1948
as Drunk (uncredited)
In Old Chicago
1938
as Mitch
The Red Raiders
1927
as Sergeant Murphy
Danger – Love at Work
1937
as NYC policeman
The Quicksands
1914
as Captain Lanning - Osborn's Rival
The Driver Of The Deadwood Coach
1912
as Bad Bill - a Desperado
The Gay Deception
1935
as Bell Captain
Big Jim McLain
1952
as Mr. Lexiter
The Gay Desperado
1936
as American Detective
You Can't Beat Love
1937
as Foreman Butch Mehaffey
Dudes Are Pretty People
1942
as Two-Gun
Sundown Jim
1942
as Broderick
Medicine Bend
1916
as Murray Sinclair
The Line-Up
1934
as Detective Sgt. Doyle
You Can't Have Everything
1937
as Truck Driver (uncredited)
Pioneer Marshal
1949
as Huck Homer
In Old Sacramento
1946
as Stagecoach Driver
On Your Toes
1939
as Variety Club Bartender
The Racketeer
1929
as Mehaffy - Policeman
It Could Happen to You
1939
as Sandy
Angel and the Badman
1947
as Frederick Carson
Oh, Yeah!
1929
as Railroad-Yard Superintendent
Robin Hood of El Dorado
1936
as Wilson
The Valley of the Giants
1927
as Randeau
This Is My Affair
1937
as Bowler
Paradise Island
1930
as Beauty
Coney Island
1943
as Louie
Hi'ya, Chum
1943
as Archie Billings
Son of God’s Country
1948
as Eli Walker
Outcasts of the Trail
1949
as Doc Meadowlark
Alexander's Ragtime Band
1938
as Bill Mulligan
Mississippi
1935
as Hefty
Broadway Serenade
1939
as Reynolds, a Drunk
Men Are Such Fools
1932
as Stiles
December 7th
1943
as World War I Ghost Soldier
Tall, Dark and Handsome
1941
as Biff Sage
Each Dawn I Die
1939
as Garsky
The Case of the Curious Bride
1935
as Fibo Morgan (uncredited)
Slave Ship
1937
as Drunk
The Big Race
1934
as Skipper O'Neal
The Vanishing Westerner
1950
as Waldorf Worthington
The Sky's the Limit
1943
as Dock Foreman (uncredited)
Hold Your Man
1933
as Aubrey C. Mitchell (uncredited)
Public Hero Number 1
1935
as Rufe Parker
Summer Storm
1944
as Orloff
Tomorrow's Youth
1934
as Detective
Castle on the Hudson
1940
as Guard (uncredited)
The Women in His Life
1933
as Paul, Perez's Second Bodyguard
The Daring Young Man
1935
as Prison Guard
Tugboat Annie
1933
as Sam
Officer O'Brien
1930
as Captain Antrim
Star Dust
1940
as Mac, Amalgamated Lab Tech
Riffraff
1936
as Belcher
Lilac Time
1928
as (uncredited)
Law of the Golden West
1949
as Otis Ellis
Caught in the Draft
1941
as Sgt. Burns
Hold 'Em Jail
1932
as Butch
Topper Takes a Trip
1938
as Charlie - the Bartender
Judith of the Cumberlands
1916
as Blatchley Turrentine
The Thirteenth Guest
1932
as Detective Grump
Calaboose
1943
as Ed the bartender
Secrets of a Nurse
1938
as Arlington Bysshe 'Slice' Cavanaugh
Grand Slam
1933
as Man Who Speaks Final Line of the Film
The Parson of Panamint
1941
as Jake Waldren
Pardon My Stripes
1942
as Feets
The Diamond Runners
1916
as Paul - the Brains of the I.D.B.
California Firebrand
1948
as Chuck Waggoner
Hot Curves
1930
as 'Slug', Baseball Player
The Phantom President
1932
as Sailor (uncredited)
Super-Sleuth
1937
as Motorcycle Cop
Midnight Manhunt
1945
as Murphy
Island in the Sky
1938
as Happy
Prison Break
1938
as Soapy
The Great Mr. Nobody
1941
as Michael O'Connor
A Lass of the Lumberlands
1916
The Secret Six
1931
as Nick Mizoski - the Gouger
Who Killed Doc Robbin?
1948
as Jailer
Bad Company
1931
as Paul Hurst
Prince of the Plains
1949
as Sheriff Hank Hartley
Calm Yourself
1935
as Detective Roscoe
Torrid Zone
1940
as Daniels
Swellhead
1930
as Mugsy
Edison, the Man
1940
as Sheriff
Ellery Queen and the Murder Ring
1941
as Page
This Woman Is Mine
1941
as Second Mate Mumford
My Pal, the King
1932
as Red
The Public Defender
1931
as Doc
The Sphinx
1933
as Detective Terrence Aloysius Hogan
Second Honeymoon
1937
as Dennis Huggins
Night in New Orleans
1942
as Sergeant Casper Riordan
The Third Alarm
1930
as 'Beauty' Johnson
Something for the Boys
1944
as Defense Plant Foreman (uncredited)
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
- Whispering Smith (1916) — as Murray Sinclair
- Buttons (1927) — as Slugger McGlue
- Death Valley (1946) — as Sergeant Dailey
- Wilderness Mail (1935) — as Jules
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.