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.

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 include the comedy 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

Helton married dancer Edna Eustace on October 24, 1931, in New York City. He died on September 11, 1971, in Hollywood, California.

Partial filmography

Television appearances

Commercial appearances