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 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	Acting
Most Rating	4.087
Birthday	1888-10-14
Place of Birth	Traver, California, USA
Also Known As	Paul Causey Hurst, Paul C. Hurst,

The Ox-Bow Incident

Gone with the Wind

Island of Lost Souls

Paradise Island

Angel and the Badman

Steppin' in Society

Roaring Road

Petticoat Politics

Trouble in Morocco

The Secret Six

The Driver Of The Deadwood Coach

Scared Stiff

The Railroad Raiders

The Hazards of Helen

The Girl Detective: The Mystery of the Tea Dansant

A Lass of the Lumberlands

Hi'ya, Chum

The Westerner

Alexander's Ragtime Band

Toughest Man in Arizona

Million Dollar Pursuit

Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm

The Big Stampede

Ellery Queen and the Murder Ring

The Hunchback of Notre Dame

Summer Storm

The Sphinx

Topper Takes a Trip

The Gay Deception

Whispering Smith

Angel's Holiday

Tall, Dark and Handsome

The Quicksands

The Thirteenth Guest

Bad Company

The Chief of Police

In Old Chicago

The Racketeer

December 7th

Rimrock Jones

Stingaree

The Further Adventures of Stingaree

Terror Aboard

Ali Baba Goes to Town

Caught in the Draft

The Sun Shines Bright

The Red Signal

The Plot at the Railroad Cut

Sequoia

The Diamond Runners

Judith of the Cumberlands

Medicine Bend

Night in New Orleans

Broadway Serenade

Swellhead

Danger – Love at Work

Island in the Sky

It Could Happen to You

Borrowed Wives

Ranger of Cherokee Strip

That's My Line

Second Honeymoon

Midnight Alibi

I'd Give My Life

The Cossacks

Calaboose

Sweepstakes

Hot Curves

Shadow of Doubt

Secrets of a Nurse

The Big Show-Off

Tugboat Annie Sails Again

Remember?

Bad Lands

The Plainsman and the Lady

The Legion of Missing Men

Wake Up and Live

Girl Rush

Virginia

Prison Break