| |
|---|---|
| Paul Smith | |
| Credits | |
| Roles | Floyd Bobby Flynn Charlie Policeman (2) Guard 1st Cop Officer #2 Jerry the Police Officer |
| Biographical Information | |
| Full Name | Arthur Paul Smith |
| Birthdate | February 5, 1929 |
| Birthplace | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States |
| Death Date | March 3, 2006 (age 77) |
| Death Place | North Hollywood, California, United States |
Paul Smith played nine characters in the third through the eighth seasons of Bewitched, mostly policemen (1966-1972).
Biography[]
Paul Smith was a character actor. He was born Arthur Paul Smith on February 5, 1929 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
In 1951 at the age of 22, he moved to Los Angeles and began an acting career that would last three decades until his retirement at age 53 in 1982.
Standing at six feet one, he started his acting career with an uncredited role in Mark Robson's 1951 I Want You. He then played minor roles almost exclusively throughout his career - mainly young soldiers, sheriffs or police officers. His film credits include George Sherman's 1952 The Battle at Apache Pass, Douglas Sirk's 1956 There's Always Tomorrow, George Marshall's 1956 Pillars of the Sky, Nathan Juran's 1957 The Deadly Mantis, and Arthur Penn's 1958 The Left Handed Gun.
He received sixth billing in Elvis Presley's first starring vehicle, Hal Kanter's 1957 Loving You. He played Skeeter, a comical member of Elvis' backup band, who conversed with his friend, Matilda, the band's caged parrot.
In 1964, he played a cop in William Asher's summer film Bikini Beach. Asher apparently remembered him from that point forward as he called on Smith nine times, almost always for police officer roles, during the run of Bewitched.
In the 1960s, Paul Smith gradually shifted his career towards television, appearing in over fifty television series, including The Halls of Ivy, Navy Log, Private Secretary, Broken Arrow, Dragnet, Schlitz Playhouse, Climax!, The Loretta Young Show, Fibber McGee and Molly, Perry Mason, 87th Precinct, McHale's Navy, The Andy Griffith Show, Hazel, My Favorite Martian, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Batman, That Girl, The F.B.I., Ironside, Adam-12, The Paul Lynde Show, Love, American Style, The New Temperatures Rising Show, Police Story, Monster Squad, Alice, The Dukes of Hazzard, Little House on the Prairie, and Father Murphy.
He was best known for his recurring roles as George Howell on The Gertrude Berg Show (1961-1962), Captain Martin on No Time for Sergeants (1964-1965), Harley Trent on Mr. Terrific (1967), and most notably as Hal Benson during seasons two and three of The Doris Day Show (1969-1971).
During the 1970s, another actor named Paul (L.) Smith was being cast in substantial film and television roles and, for the first time since the start of his acting career in 1951, Smith had a year or more without any screen credits. His last roles were in 1982, and were credited under the name A. Paul Smith.
An April 1970 column by UPI entertainment industry writer Vernon Scott was devoted to Smith, with Scott describing Smith's home life during the time he was about to start filming episodes for his second season as a regular on The Doris Day Show. Scott mentioned that Smith was divorced and had custody of his 11-year-old son Neil, with whom he was sharing a small apartment in the San Fernando Valley.
Paul Smith died on March 3, 2006 in North Hollywood, California. He was 77.
Bewitched Credits[]
- Floyd in "Endora Moves in for a Spell"
- Policeman in "Oedipus Hex"
- Guard in "The No-Harm Charm"
- Bobby Flynn in "Going Ape"
- 1st Cop in "Super Arthur"
- Policeman in "Just a Kid Again"
- Police Officer 2 in "The Good Fairy Strikes Again"
- Jerry the Police Officer in "Darrin Goes Ape"
- Charlie in "Samantha's Witchcraft Blows a Fuse"
Sources[]
- Paul Smith on the Internet Movie Database. Retrieved on March 22, 2020. Updated on April 25, 2025.
- Paul Smith on Wikipedia. Retrieved on April 25, 2025.
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