Paul Hurst(1888-1953)
- Actor
- Director
- Writer
An American character actor of prodigious output who also directed and
wrote silent films, Paul Hurst spent much of his early work in low-budget westerns. A native of Traver, California (in the San Joaquin Valley), Hurst had first-hand knowledge
of western lore, growing up surrounded by the multimillion-acre Lux &
Miller ranches that ran cattle throughout the state. Visiting San
Francisco as a young man, he became involved in amateur theatricals
and thereafter traveled to Los Angeles to join the emerging film
industry there. He began appearing in films as early as 1912, most of
them westerns. By 1916 Hurst was directing them as well (some sources
report that he served in World War I 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 in which he appeared. 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 stuntmen were often the
highest-paid folks on the set. Within a few years he focused all of
his energies into acting, however, notably becoming one of the few successes to
emerge from "Poverty Row".
Hurst quickly became one of the
more prolific and familiar characters in American movies. With his
stocky build and squinty demeanor, and with a raspy voice that enhanced
his memorability once sound pictures came in, Hurst played villains, 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 age 64, owing to
his health problems, Paul Hurst committed suicide.
wrote silent films, Paul Hurst spent much of his early work in low-budget westerns. A native of Traver, California (in the San Joaquin Valley), Hurst had first-hand knowledge
of western lore, growing up surrounded by the multimillion-acre Lux &
Miller ranches that ran cattle throughout the state. Visiting San
Francisco as a young man, he became involved in amateur theatricals
and thereafter traveled to Los Angeles to join the emerging film
industry there. He began appearing in films as early as 1912, most of
them westerns. By 1916 Hurst was directing them as well (some sources
report that he served in World War I 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 in which he appeared. 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 stuntmen were often the
highest-paid folks on the set. Within a few years he focused all of
his energies into acting, however, notably becoming one of the few successes to
emerge from "Poverty Row".
Hurst quickly became one of the
more prolific and familiar characters in American movies. With his
stocky build and squinty demeanor, and with a raspy voice that enhanced
his memorability once sound pictures came in, Hurst played villains, 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 age 64, owing to
his health problems, Paul Hurst committed suicide.