Percy Helton
Percy Helton
The son of actors, Percy Helton began his own career at age two in a Tony Pastor revue in which his parents were performing. The undersized Helton was a valuable juvenile player for producer David Belasco, making his film debut in a 1915 Belasco production, The Fairy and the Waif. Helton matured into adult roles under the stern guidance of George M. Cohan. After receiving a Distinguished Service Cross in World War I, Helton established himself on Broadway, appearing in such productions as Young America, One Sunday Afternoon and The Fabulous Invalid. He made his talkie debut in 1947's Miracle on 34th Street, playing the inebriated Macy's Santa Claus whom Edmund Gwenn replaces. Perhaps the quintessential "who is that?" actor, Helton popped up, often uncredited, in over one hundred succinct screen characterizations. Forever hunched over and eternally short of breath, he played many an obnoxious clerk, nosey mailman, irascible bartender, officious train conductor and tremulous stool pigeon. His credits include Fancy Pants (1950), The Robe (1953), White Christmas (1954), Rally Round the Flag Boys (1959), The Music Man (1962) and Hush Hush Sweet Charlotte (1965), as well as two appearances as sweetshop proprietor Mike Clancy in the Bowery Boys series. Thanks to his trademarked squeaky voice, and because he showed up in so many "cult" films (Wicked Woman, Kiss Me Deadly, Sons of Katie Elder), Helton became something of a high-camp icon in his last years. In this vein, Percy Helton was cast as the "Heraldic Messenger" in the bizarre Monkees vehicle Head (he showed up at the Monkees' doorstep with a beautiful blonde manacled to his wrist!), the treacherous Sweetieface in the satirical western Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969), and the bedraggled bank clerk Cratchit on the TV series The Beverly Hillbillies. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Filmography of Percy Helton:
- Head with Annette Funicello , Vito Scotti , Teri Garr , Timothy Carey , Victor Mature , Logan Ramsey , Dennis Hopper , Jack Nicholson , Bob Rafelson
- The Sons of Katie Elder with John Wayne , Dean Martin , Martha Hyer , Earl Holliman , Jeremy Slate , Dennis Hopper , James Gregory , Paul Fix , George Kennedy , John Litel , John Doucette , Rhys Williams , John Qualen , Strother Martin , Karl Swenson , Boyd "Red" Morgan , Chuck Roberson , Henry Wills
- Riding High with Bing Crosby , Coleen Gray , Charles Bickford , Frances Gifford , Raymond Walburn , William Demarest , Clarence Muse , Margaret Hamilton , Douglas Dumbrille , Ward Bond , Frankie Darro , Paul Harvey , Marjorie Lord , James Gleason , Dub Taylor , Stanley Andrews , Harry Davenport , Edgar Dearing , Ann Doran , Oliver Hardy , Percy Kilbride , Gene Lockhart , Max Baer
- White Christmas with Bing Crosby , Danny Kaye , Rosemary Clooney , Vera-Ellen , Dean Jagger , Mary Wickes , George Chakiris , Sig Rumann , Grady Sutton , Herb Vigran
- The Robe with Richard Burton , Jean Simmons , Victor Mature , Michael Rennie , Dean Jagger , Torin Thatcher , Richard Boone , Ernest Thesiger , Dawn Addams , Leon Askin , Michael Ansara , Frank DeKova , Harry Shearer , John Doucette , Mae Marsh , Cameron Mitchell , Hayden Rorke , Betta Saint John , George E. Stone , Anne Bancroft
- Lust for Gold with Ida Lupino , Glenn Ford , Gig Young , Edgar Buchanan , Paul Ford , Jay Silverheels , Will Wright , Antonio Moreno , Arthur Hunnicutt , Tom Tyler , Hayden Rorke , Arthur Space
- Lucky Me with Doris Day , Robert Cummings , Phil Silvers , Eddie Jr. Foy , Martha Hyer , Bill Goodwin , Marcel Dalio , Hayden Rorke , Angie Dickinson , Ray Teal , Herb Vigran
- Fancy Pants with Bob Hope , Lucille Ball , Bruce Cabot , Eric Blore , Norma Varden , Edgar Dearing , Sam Harris
Percy Helton Trivia
