Paul Hurst
Known for Acting · 214 credits
- Born
- 1888-10-14
- Died
- 1953-02-27
- Place of birth
- Traver, California, USA
- Also known as
- Paul Causey Hurst · Paul C. Hurst
Biography
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
Movies (214)
Gone with the Wind
1939
as Yankee Deserter
The Red Raiders
1927
as Sergeant Murphy
The Virginian
1946
December 7th
1943
as World War I Ghost Soldier
Yellow Sky
1948
as Drunk (uncredited)
Girl Rush
1944
as Muley
The Sphinx
1933
as Detective Terrence Aloysius Hogan
Broadway Serenade
1939
as Reynolds, a Drunk
Star Dust
1940
as Mac, Amalgamated Lab Tech
Remember?
1939
as Policeman
Swellhead
1930
as Mugsy
Tugboat Annie
1933
as Sam
Lucky Larkin
1930
as Pete Brierson
Carnival
1935
as Policeman
Midnight Alibi
1934
as Babe the Butcher
Cafe Society
1939
as Bartender
Mississippi
1935
as Hefty
The Cossacks
1928
as Sitchi
Blackmailer
1936
as Inspector Killian
Midnight Manhunt
1945
as Murphy
Mr. Deeds Goes to Town
1936
as 1st Deputy (uncredited)
California Firebrand
1948
as Chuck Waggoner
The Ox-Bow Incident
1943
as Monty Smith
Summer Storm
1944
as Orloff
Island of Lost Souls
1932
as Capt. Donahue
Petticoat Politics
1941
as Slats O'Dell
The Westerner
1940
as Chickenfoot
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
1923
as Emeralda's Torturer (uncredited)
Angel and the Badman
1947
as Frederick Carson
Medicine Bend
1916
as Murray Sinclair
Grand Slam
1933
as Man Who Speaks Final Line of the Film
You Can't Have Everything
1937
as Truck Driver (uncredited)
They Drive by Night
1940
as Pete Haig (uncredited)
Wilderness Mail
1935
as Jules
Dakota
1945
as Captain Spotts
Calaboose
1943
as Ed the bartender
Slave Ship
1937
as Drunk
Mountain Justice
1930
as Lem Harland
The Secret Six
1931
as Nick Mizoski - the Gouger
Queen Christina
1934
as Swedish Soldier Betting on 6 (uncredited)
The Missourians
1950
as John X. Finn
Alexander's Ragtime Band
1938
as Bill Mulligan
The Women in His Life
1933
as Paul, Perez's Second Bodyguard
Death Valley
1946
as Sergeant Dailey
Fifty Roads to Town
1937
as Tom
You Can't Beat Love
1937
as Foreman Butch Mehaffey
Something for the Boys
1944
as Defense Plant Foreman (uncredited)
My Lucky Star
1938
as Louie
Second Honeymoon
1937
as Dennis Huggins
Big Jim McLain
1952
as Mr. Lexiter
Goin' Fishin'
1940
Bad Company
1931
as Paul Hurst
On Your Toes
1939
as Variety Club Bartender
Toughest Man in Arizona
1952
The Gay Deception
1935
as Bell Captain
Ali Baba Goes to Town
1937
as Captain
Madonna of the Desert
1948
as Pete Connors
Torrid Zone
1940
as Daniels
Coney Island
1943
as Louie
Quick Millions
1939
as Sheriff
Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm
1938
as Florabelle's Father
Outcasts of the Trail
1949
as Doc Meadowlark
Each Dawn I Die
1939
as Garsky
Edison, the Man
1940
as Sheriff
The Gay Desperado
1936
as American Detective
Josette
1938
as A. Adolphus Heyman
Paradise Island
1930
as Beauty
This Is My Affair
1937
as Bowler
Tall, Dark and Handsome
1941
as Biff Sage
Robin Hood of El Dorado
1936
as Wilson
The Case of the Curious Bride
1935
as Fibo Morgan (uncredited)
The Public Defender
1931
as Doc
The Valley of the Giants
1927
as Randeau
In Old Chicago
1938
as Mitch
Rimrock Jones
1918
as Ike Bray
Maker of Men
1931
as Gabby
Calm Yourself
1935
as Detective Roscoe
Scared Stiff
1945
as Sheriff
The Big Stampede
1932
as 'Arizona' Frank Bailey
Super-Sleuth
1937
as Motorcycle Cop
A Very Honorable Guy
1934
as Butler
We Who Are About to Die
1937
as Tip Fuller
The Sun Shines Bright
1953
as Jimmy Bagby
Buttons
1927
as Slugger McGlue
The Sky's the Limit
1943
as Dock Foreman (uncredited)
The Secret Witness
1931
as Officer Brannigan
Who Killed Doc Robbin?
1948
as Jailer
Danger – Love at Work
1937
as NYC policeman
Barbary Coast Gent
1944
as Jake Compton
Island in the Sky
1938
as Happy
Bad Lands
1939
as Curly Tom
Charlie Chan's Courage
1934
as Undetermined Role
Prison Break
1938
as Soapy
Angel's Holiday
1937
as Sgt. Murphy
Wife, Doctor and Nurse
1937
as Bill
Day of Reckoning
1933
as Harry
Maybe It's Love
1935
as Expressman (uncredited)
This Woman Is Mine
1941
as Second Mate Mumford
Night in New Orleans
1942
as Sergeant Casper Riordan
Heaven with a Barbed Wire Fence
1939
as Empire State Building Guard
The Plainsman and the Lady
1946
as Al
The California Mail
1929
as Rowdy Ryan
Hold That Co-ed
1938
as Slapsy
Spring Parade
1940
as Headwaiter
Murder in the Music Hall
1946
as Hobarth
The Racketeer
1929
as Mehaffy - Policeman
Sequoia
1935
as Bergman
Tugboat Annie Sails Again
1940
as Pete
The Legion of Missing Men
1937
as Muggsy
The Vanishing Westerner
1950
as Waldorf Worthington
Million Dollar Pursuit
1951
as Ray Harvey
The Quicksands
1914
as Captain Lanning - Osborn's Rival
Lilac Time
1928
as (uncredited)
Caught in the Draft
1941
as Sgt. Burns
Virginia
1941
as Thomas
Hot Curves
1930
as 'Slug', Baseball Player
Kick In
1931
as Detective Whip Fogarty
The Cave Men's War
1913
as Red Axe
Riffraff
1936
as Belcher
Shadow of Doubt
1935
as Lt. Sackville
About 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 indust… With 214 credits spanning from 1912 to 1953, Paul Hurst has appeared in 214 films and 0 TV shows.
Fans searching for Paul Hurst movies, Paul Hurst filmography, or the latest projects starring Paul Hurst can stream many of these titles on HinFlix, free and in HD, with no subscription required.
Most Popular Paul Hurst Movies
- Gone with the Wind (1939) — as Yankee Deserter
- The Red Raiders (1927) — as Sergeant Murphy
- The Virginian (1946)
- December 7th (1943) — as World War I Ghost Soldier
- Yellow Sky (1948) — as Drunk (uncredited)
Where to Watch Paul Hurst Films
Most Paul Hurst movies and series are available to stream on HinFlix in full HD, completely free and without signup. Browse the complete filmography above to jump directly to any title. For more films and the latest web series featuring Paul Hurst, check our movies catalogue and browse page.