Percy Helton
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Percy Helton (January 31, 1894 - September 11, 1971) was an American film and television actor. One of his most memorable supporting roles was playing a drunken Santa Claus in Miracle on 34th Street. He also appeared in small but memorable roles in Criss Cross (1949), The Set-Up (1949), Kiss Me Deadly (1955) and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969). Percy Helton began acting as a young child at the age of two, appearing in his father's vaudeville act. He appeared in many Broadway plays as a child actor before joining the Army to serve in World War I with the American Expeditionary Forces. The short actor with a hoarse, raspy voice and breathy delivery (similar to that of 1960s and 1970s actor John Fiedler) was a fixture in a wide range of films and TV programs in the 1950s and 1960s.
[edit] Notable films
- The Offenders (1920s)
- Miracle on 34th Street (1947)
- Call Northside 777 (1948)
- Lust for Gold (1949)
- Thieves' Highway (1949)
- White Christmas (1954)
- Kiss Me Deadly (1955)
- Jailhouse Rock (1957)
- Where the Boys Are (1960)
- Ride the High Country (1962)
- The Sons of Katie Elder (1965)
- Head (1968)
