Percy Helton

He was one of the most familiar faces and voices in Hollywood of the 1950s.

Percy Helton
Helton in 1913
Born	Percy Alfred Michel (1894-01-31)January 31, 1894 Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
Died	September 11, 1971(1971-09-11) (aged 77) Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Resting place	Pierce Brothers Westwood Village Memorial Park and Mortuary
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1896–1970
Spouse	Edna Eustace Helton ​ ​ (m. 1931)​

Helton was born in Manhattan. He began acting at the age of two, appearing in vaudeville acts with his British-born father William Alfred "Alf" Helton. He was a cast member in the Broadway production of Julie BonBon (1906). Helton performed in stock theater and in other Broadway plays.

Helton joined the United States Army in World War I. Deployed to Europe with the American Expeditionary Forces, he was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his duty with the 77th Infantry Division's 305th Field Artillery.

 

A change in his voice altered Helton's career. He remained in acting but chiefly as a character actor in a wide range of films and television programs in the 1950s and 1960s. Among those programs were three guest appearances on Perry Mason, including the role of Asa Cooperman in the 1961 episode "The Case of the Pathetic Patient", as a pawn broker in the 1961 episode "The Case of the Torrid Tapestry", and as a hotel clerk in the 1965 episode "The Case of the Careless Kitten."

Films in which he performed include the comedy Miracle on 34th Street (1947), the films noir Criss Cross (1949), The Crooked Way (1949), The Set-Up (1949), Wicked Woman (1953), and Kiss Me Deadly (1955), and the comic Western Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969).

• The Fairy and the Waif (1915) as The Waif
• The Flower of Faith (1916) as Tom Judson
• The Master Mind (1920) as Younger brother
• Silver Wings (1922) as John (play)
• Insinuation (1922) as Jimmie
• The Offenders (1922)
• Frankie and Johnny (1936) as Undetermined role (uncredited)
• Miracle on 34th Street (1947) as Drunken Santa Claus (uncredited)
• Call Northside 777 (1948) as William Decker, Mailman (uncredited)
• Let's Live Again (1948) as Mr. President
• Hazard (1948) as Beady Robbins
• Larceny (1948) as Charlie Jordan
• That Wonderful Urge (1948) as Monroe Township Jail Drunk (uncredited)
• Chicken Every Sunday (1949) as Mr. Sawyer (uncredited)
• Criss Cross (1949) as Frank
• Alias Nick Beal (1949) as Lawyer (uncredited)
• The Set-Up (1949) as Red
• The Crooked Way (1949) as Petey
• Lust for Gold (1949) as Barber (uncredited)
• Red, Hot and Blue (1949) as Mr. Perkins, Stage Manager
• Abbott & Costello Meet The Killer, Boris Karloff (1949) as Abernathy
• Thieves' Highway (1949) as Roadside Bar Manager (uncredited)
• My Friend Irma (1949) as Mr. Clyde
• Free for All (1949) as Joe Hershey
• The Secret Fury (1950) as Justice of the Peace Roy T. Palmer (uncredited)
• Tyrant of the Sea (1950) as Crewman (uncredited)
• Harbor of Missing Men (1950) as 'Rummy' Davis
• Wabash Avenue (1950) as Ship Captain (uncredited)
• Riding High (1950) as Pawnbroker (uncredited)
• Fancy Pants (1950) as Mayor Fogarty (uncredited)
• A Life of Her Own (1950) as Hamburger Proprietor (uncredited)
• Copper Canyon (1950) as 'Scamper' Joad
• The Sun Sets at Dawn (1950) as Reporter, Feature Syndicate
• Cyrano de Bergerac (1950) as Bellerose
• Under Mexicali Stars (1950) as Nap Wellington
• Three Guys Named Mike (1951) as Mr. Hawkins, Hotel Manager
• Inside Straight (1951) as Lawyer Anderson (uncredited)
• Night Into Morning (1951) as Drunk (uncredited)
• Never Trust a Gambler (1951) as Sunbeam Liquor Store Clerk (uncredited)
• Darling, How Could You! (1951) as Cabbie (uncredited)
• The Tall Target (1951) as Beamish, Passenger in Club Car (uncredited)
• Chain of Circumstance (1951) as Fogel
• The Family Secret (1951) as Charlie (uncredited)
• The Barefoot Mailman (1951) as Dewey Durgan (uncredited)
• The Stooge (1952) as Sam Robertson (uncredited)
• A Girl in Every Port (1952) as Drive-In Manager
• The Belle of New York (1952) as Presents Angela with Flowers (uncredited)
• I Dream of Jeanie (1952) as Mr. Horker
• Three for Bedroom "C" (1952) as Alcoholic Train Passenger (uncredited)
• She's Back on Broadway (1953) as News Vendor (scenes deleted)
• Call Me Madam (1953) as Senator Wilkins
• Scared Stiff (1953) as Man in Hotel Hallway (uncredited)
• Ambush at Tomahawk Gap (1953) as Marlowe
• Ride, Vaquero! (1953) as Storekeeper (uncredited)
• Vice Squad (1953) as Mr. Jenner (uncredited)
• Down Laredo Way (1953) as Judge Sully
• The Affairs of Dobie Gillis (1953) as Mr. Hammersmith, Book Seller (uncredited)
• City of Bad Men (1953) as Old-Timer at Training Camp (uncredited)
• The Robe (1953) as Caleb - Wine Merchant (uncredited)
• How to Marry a Millionaire (1953) as Mr. Benton (uncredited)
• Wicked Woman (1953) as Charlie Borg
• Geraldine (1953) as Pop (uncredited)
• Lucky Me (1954) as Brown (uncredited)
• About Mrs. Leslie (1954) as Mr. Hackley
• A Star Is Born (1954) as William Gregory (uncredited)
• The Adventures of Hajji Baba (1954) as Kerbelai, Hajji's Barber Father (uncredited)
• White Christmas (1954) as Train Conductor (uncredited)
• 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954) as Coach Driver
• Crashout (1955) as Doctor Louis Barnes
• Kiss Me Deadly (1955) as Doc Kennedy
• Jail Busters (1955) as Warden B.W. Oswald
• Trial (1955) as Youval (uncredited)
• No Man's Woman (1955) as Otto Peterson
• Diane (1956) as Court Jester (uncredited)
• Fury at Gunsight Pass (1956) as Peter Boggs
• Terror at Midnight (1956) as Speegie
• The Boss (1956) as Hotel Clerk (uncredited)
• Shake, Rattle & Rock! (1956) as Hiram, the Funeral Director
• The Phantom Stagecoach (1957) as Mr. Wiggins
• The Vintage (1957) as Voice Dub for Berger (uncredited)
• This Could Be the Night (1957) as Charlie (uncredited)
• Spook Chasers (1957) as Mike Clancy
• The Last Stagecoach West (1957) as Telegrapher (uncredited)
• Jailhouse Rock (1957) as Sam Brewster (uncredited)
• The Sheepman (1958) as Station Master (uncredited)
• The Proud Rebel (1958) as Photographer (uncredited)
• Rally 'Round the Flag, Boys! (1958) as Waldo Pike, the Plumber (uncredited)
• Ask Any Girl (1959) as Janitor in Meg Wheeler's Building (uncredited)
• Let No Man Write My Epitaph (1960) as Baldy (uncredited)
• Where the Boys Are (1960) as Fairview Motel Manager (uncredited)
• Ride the High Country (1962) as Luther Samson (uncredited)
• The Music Man (1962) as Train Conductor (uncredited)
• The Wheeler Dealers (1963) as Deke (uncredited)
• 4 for Texas (1963) as Jonas Ansel
• Get Yourself A College Girl (1964) as Senator's Chauffeur (uncredited)
• Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte (1964) as Funeral Director
• Dear Brigitte (1965) as Kraft, Man at Computer Lab (uncredited)
• Zebra in the Kitchen (1965) as Mr. Richardson
• The Sons of Katie Elder (1965) as Mr. Peevey
• Don't Worry, We'll Think of a Title (1966) as Diner Customer (uncredited)
• A Big Hand for the Little Lady (1966) as Kevin McKenzie (uncredited)
• The Green Hornet (1966) as Gus
• The Big Mouth (1967) as Sanitation Man (uncredited)
• Head (1968) as Heraldic Messenger
• Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) as Sweetface (uncredited)
• The Day of the Wolves (1971) as The Farmer
• Legend of the Northwest (1978) as Doc Graham

• Mandom, Japanese Perfume Commercial (1976) as Hotel Doorman