Paul Picerni

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Paul Vincent Picerni (born December 1, 1922 in New York City , † January 12, 2011 in Palmdale , California ) was an American actor .

Life

Picerni was born Paul Vincent Picerni to American-Italian parents in the New York borough of Queens ; he represented this district during his school days as an Eagle Scout in Washington, DC at the annual Jamboree . Picerni was the class representative and was recognized for his academic achievements. He attended Newton High School , where he was a member of the baseball team.

He joined the US Army Air Force during World War II . After a year in the Army Air Corps, he was posted to the rank of Second Lieutenant as a bombardier at Victorville Air Force Base in California for military service. He flew 25 combat missions in China , Burma and India and was one of the bomber pilots who destroyed the legendary bridge over the Kwai ; this was later portrayed in the movie The Bridge on the River Kwai . After the surrender of Japan , he served as a special services officer in India. He received several war awards, including the Distinguished Flying Cross . After his discharge from the military, Picerni studied at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles . There he majored in acting and theater ( drama ) and graduated in 1949. He also appeared there in a student performance of the play A Man in Every Season and with a solo program. He worked as an acting lecturer at Mount St. Mary's College in Los Angeles and wrote the template for the musical Everybody Goes To College , which premiered with success at the Wilshire Ebell Theater in Los Angeles.

From the late 1940s Picerni then played numerous film roles, but where he was often only used in supporting roles. At first he took part in some war films : in the film Der Kommandeur he played a bomb shooter, in the war film 6.6. 6.30 a.m. - Breakthrough in Normandy (1950) he had an important dramaturgical role as Private Edward P. Rojeck . Picerni received a seven-year contract with Warner Brothers , where he worked in the following years, among others in the war drama Operation Pacific (1951), in the Western The Last Fort (1951), in the adventure film Maru Maru (1952) with Errol Flynn as partners , and participated in the romance El Khobar - Horrors of the Desert . His breakthrough came in 1953 with the lead role as the romantic hero Scott Andrews in the horror film The Cabinet of Professor Bondi , at the side of Vincent Price . In 1955 he was seen as Private Valentino in the war film To Hell and Back with Audie Murphy . He had a small role in 1960 as a bar owner in the comedy Das Appartement . In the 1970 disaster film Airport he played as Dr. Compagno to see. Later he worked mainly for television .

Since the 1950s he has worked in numerous television series, he has taken on episode roles in almost countless television series, including Perry Mason , On the Run , Big Valley , The People of Shiloh Ranch , Dr. med. Marcus Welby , Smoking Colts , Mannix , Starsky & Hutch , Outreach in Manhattan , Fantasy Island , A Colt Just in Case , TJ Hooker , Trapper John, MD , Quincy and Matt Houston .

Picerni gained particular fame among television audiences with the role of agent Lee Hobson in the crime series The Untouchables , set in the United States at the time of Prohibition , which he played from the second season from 1960 to 1963 on the side of Robert Stack as Eliot Ness .

In 2007 he published his autobiography , Steps to Stardom: My Story .

Private

Picerni had been married to the former ballet dancer Marie Mason since 1947 ; the marriage had eight children, four sons and four daughters. He last lived in Llano in the Tarzana district . He died of heart failure at the age of 88 .

Filmography (selection)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c The Untouchables Star Paul Picerni Dies in: Hollywood Reporter of January 14, 2011
  2. ↑ a b c d The Official Paul Picerni Website (biography and photos)
personal data
SURNAME Picerni, Paul
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Picerni, Paul Vincent
BRIEF DESCRIPTION US-American actor
DATE OF BIRTH December 1, 1922
PLACE OF BIRTH New York City , New York, United States
DATE OF DEATH January 12, 2011
Place of death Palmdale , California, United States