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IMDbPro

Paul Stewart(1908-1986)

  • Actor
  • Director
  • Producer
IMDbProStarmeter
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Paul Stewart
Official Trailer
Play trailer2:55
In Cold Blood (1967)
4 Videos
39 Photos
Esteemed character actor Paul Stewart had a pair of the coldest orbs in town and made his living for decades playing dark, callous, shiftless villains, including a vast number of mobsters. Not a well-known name per se, he was nevertheless a reliable actor who seemed to have been born for the film noir and gangland crime drama genre with his premature silvery hair, dark thick brows and probing, deep-set eyes, all accentuated by a tough and penetrating Brooklyn accent.

Born in New York City on March 13, 1908, Stewart developed an interest for acting in his teens, making his Broadway debut with "Two Seconds" in 1931, following graduation from Columbia University. He had played a few more stage roles in New York when he met and made an impression on Orson Welles. As a result he became a founding member of the Mercury Theatre and a founding member of AFTRA when it was just a radio union.

Stewart's tough, guttural voice became a familiar sound on the 1930s airwaves and he was among the cast in the infamous Welles broadcast "The War of the Worlds." He married band singer/actress Peg La Centra (1910-1996) in 1939 and over the years they appeared together on many radio programs. She also provided singing voices for such stars as Susan Hayward on celluloid. Welles next put Stewart in his films, with the classic Citizen Kane (1941) as Raymond, Kane's wily valet, and Stewart found himself in demand as an untrustworthy character player.

Paul went on to essay a number of stark, sinister types to perfection, with roles in such films as Johnny Eager (1941), Mr. Lucky (1943), Champion (1949), Illegal Entry (1949), Twelve O'Clock High (1949), Carbine Williams (1952), The Bad and the Beautiful (1952) and Kiss Me Deadly (1955).

On TV, Paul became a regular on a couple of short-lived series -- Top Secret (1954) and The Man Who Never Was (1966). In the 1950s Stewart turned to stage and TV directing as well, helming a number of popular crimers such as Peter Gunn (1958), Michael Shayne (1960), It Takes a Thief (1968), Hawaii Five-O (1968) and Remington Steele (1982). His voice also fit the bill for cartoons in the 1960s.

In 1974 Stewart suffered a heart attack while on location in New Mexico for Bite the Bullet (1975), but he returned sporadically to films, including the role of impresario Florenz Ziegfeld in W.C. Fields and Me (1976). He suffered a second and fatal heart attack in 1986 at age 77.
BornMarch 13, 1908
DiedFebruary 17, 1986(77)
BornMarch 13, 1908
DiedFebruary 17, 1986(77)
IMDbProStarmeter
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Photos39

Paul Stewart in Deadline - U.S.A. (1952)
Joe De Santis and Paul Stewart in Deadline - U.S.A. (1952)
Joe De Santis and Paul Stewart in Deadline - U.S.A. (1952)
Ralph Meeker and Paul Stewart in Kiss Me Deadly (1955)
Paul Stewart in Kiss Me Deadly (1955)
Jack Elam, Marian Carr, Jack Lambert, Leigh Snowden, and Paul Stewart in Kiss Me Deadly (1955)
Marian Carr and Paul Stewart in Kiss Me Deadly (1955)
Dyan Cannon and Paul Stewart in Revenge of the Pink Panther (1978)
Robert Loggia, Tony Beckley, Burt Kwouk, Dinny Powell, and Paul Stewart in Revenge of the Pink Panther (1978)
Marian Carr and Paul Stewart in Kiss Me Deadly (1955)
Paul Stewart in Kiss Me Deadly (1955)
Robert Taylor, Lana Turner, and Paul Stewart in Johnny Eager (1941)

Known for

Orson Welles, Agnes Moorehead, and Dorothy Comingore in Citizen Kane (1941)
Citizen Kane
8.3
  • Raymond
  • 1941
Robert Blake and Scott Wilson in In Cold Blood (1967)
In Cold Blood
7.9
  • Jensen
  • 1967
Kiss Me Deadly (1955)
Kiss Me Deadly
7.5
  • Carl Evello
  • 1955
Gregory Peck in Twelve O'Clock High (1949)
Twelve O'Clock High
7.7
  • Capt. 'Doc' Kaiser
  • 1949

Credits

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IMDbPro

Actor

  • Peter Bogdanovich, John Huston, and Susan Strasberg in The Other Side of the Wind (2018)
    The Other Side of the Wind
  • Richard Dean Anderson in MacGyver (1985)
    MacGyver
  • Thom Bray, Perry King, and Joe Penny in Riptide (1984)
    Riptide
  • Pierce Brosnan and Stephanie Zimbalist in Remington Steele (1982)
    Remington Steele
  • Tempest (1982)
    Tempest
  • Angie Dickinson in Cassie & Co. (1982)
    Cassie & Co.
  • Nobody's Perfekt (1981)
    Nobody's Perfekt
  • S.O.B. (1981)
    S.O.B.
  • Texas (1980)
    Texas
  • Power (1980)
    Power
  • Edward Asner in Lou Grant (1977)
    Lou Grant
  • Madeleine Stowe in The Nativity (1978)
    The Nativity
  • Revenge of the Pink Panther (1978)
    Revenge of the Pink Panther
  • The Dain Curse (1978)
    The Dain Curse
  • Opening Night (1977)
    Opening Night

Director

  • Half Hour to Kill (1958)
    Half Hour to Kill
  • Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre (1963)
    Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre
  • Going My Way (1962)
    Going My Way
  • Robert Reed and E.G. Marshall in The Defenders (1961)
    The Defenders
  • Zina Bethune and Shirl Conway in The Doctors and the Nurses (1962)
    The Doctors and the Nurses
  • The Twilight Zone (1959)
    The Twilight Zone
    • (directed by)
  • Sebastian Cabot, Anthony George, and Doug McClure in Checkmate (1960)
    Checkmate
  • 87th Precinct (1961)
    87th Precinct
  • Richard Denning in Michael Shayne (1960)
    Michael Shayne
  • M Squad (1957)
    M Squad
  • Paul Stewart in Deadline (1959)
    Deadline
  • Philip Carey in Philip Marlowe (1959)
    Philip Marlowe
  • Goodyear Theatre (1957)
    Goodyear Theatre
  • Robert Conrad, Anthony Eisley, Poncie Ponce, and Connie Stevens in Hawaiian Eye (1959)
    Hawaiian Eye
  • Peter Brown and John Russell in Lawman (1958)
    Lawman

Producer

  • Richard Denning in Michael Shayne (1960)
    Michael Shayne
  • The Mercury Theatre on the Air (1938)
    The Mercury Theatre on the Air

Videos4

Official Trailer
Trailer 2:15
Official Trailer
Appointment with Danger
Trailer 2:25
Appointment with Danger
In Cold Blood
Trailer 2:55
In Cold Blood
Twelve O'Clock High
Trailer 2:05
Twelve O'Clock High

Personal details

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    • March 13, 1908
    • New York City, New York, USA
    • February 17, 1986
    • Los Angeles, California, USA(heart attack)
    • Peg La CentraJanuary 14, 1939 - February 17, 1986 (his death)
  • Other works
    (9/23/42) Radio: "Suspense", Episode 13 "A Passage to Beneris". Character: "Henry Pagioli"
  • Publicity listings
    • 2 Portrayals
    • 5 Articles

Did you know

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  • Trivia
    He was an original member of Orson Welles's "Mercury Theatre Of The Air", which also included such actors as Joseph Cotten and Agnes Moorehead. He appeared in several films directed by Welles.

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