Percy Alfred Helton (January 31, 1894 – September 11, 1971) was an American stage, film, and television actor. He was one of the most familiar faces and voices in Hollywood of the 1950s.
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Career
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 the Broadway plays The Poor Nut and To the Ladies.
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. During his time in the Army he was a member of the Argonne Players, a company of actors in the 77th Division who entertained other soldiers.
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 included the small role in the Christmas comedy classic 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).
Personal life and death
On October 24, 1931, in the heart of Manhattan's Theater District, Helton married dancer and fellow actor Edna Roberta Eustace at The Actor's Chapel at St. Malachy's Church. Throughout the course of their marriage, the Heltons appeared onstage together from time to time, most frequently in productions staged by the Masquers Club during the 1960s.
Helton died on September 11, 1971, in Hollywood, California.
Partial filmography
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)
Commercial appearances
Mandom, Japanese Perfume Commercial (1976) as Hotel Doorman
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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)
Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955) as Darel O. Eaton, funeral director
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)
