Paul Gilbert (born Ed MacMahon; December 27, 1918 – February 13, 1976) was an American film and television actor.

Biography

Gilbert's family were

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...

performers, and he began his career as an

aerialist Acrobatics () is the performance of human feats of balance, agility, and motor coordination. Acrobatic skills are used in performing arts, sporting events, and martial arts. Extensive use of acrobatic skills are most often performed in acro d ...

until he had a fall. He continued performing music, dancing and comedy. He starred in the 1954 series '' The Duke'' as a former boxer who has decided to give up his fighting career to become a respectable nightclub owner. In the

pilot episode A television pilot (also known as a pilot or a pilot episode and sometimes marketed as a tele-movie), in United States television, is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell a show to a television network or other distri ...

, Gilbert sings, dances, juggles and plays four instruments in the band. Gilbert played various roles and performed on numerous shows including ''

The Spike Jones Show ''The Spike Jones Show'' was the name of several separate American comedy and variety show, variety series that aired on NBC and CBS in the 1950s and 1960s. The series was presented by actor and musician Spike Jones, his wife, musician Helen Gray ...

'' in 1954. He played the role of murder victim Harrison Boring in the 1964 ''

Perry Mason Perry Mason is a fictional character, an American criminal defense lawyer who is the main character in works of detective fiction written by Erle Stanley Gardner. Perry Mason features in 82 novels and 4 short stories, all of which involve a cli ...

'' episode "The Case of the Blonde Bonanza." Gilbert also appeared in other early television shows such as ''

The NBC Comedy Hour ''The NBC Comedy Hour'' was a comedy show that ran on NBC in the first half of 1956, intended to be a replacement for ''The Colgate Comedy Hour''. Leo Durocher hosted the show in January, and Gale Storm from February until April 8; from April 22 o ...

'', ''

The Colgate Comedy Hour ''The Colgate Comedy Hour'' was an American comedy-musical variety series that aired live on the NBC network from 1950 to 1955. The show featured many notable comedians and entertainers of the era as guest stars. Many of the scripts of the series ...

'' and ''

Lux Video Theatre ''Lux Video Theatre'' is an American television anthology series that was produced from 1950 until 1957. The series presented both comedy and drama in original teleplays, as well as abridged adaptations of films and plays. Overview The ''Lux Vid ...

''. In the 1960s, Gilbert was seen on several network television series including ''

The Dick Van Dyke Show ''The Dick Van Dyke Show'' is an American television sitcom created by Carl Reiner that initially aired on CBS from October 3, 1961 to June 1, 1966, with a total of 158 half-hour episodes spanning five seasons. It was produced by Calvada Product ...

'', ''

The Hollywood Palace ''The Hollywood Palace'' was an hour-long American television variety show that was broadcast weekly Saturday nights (except September 1967 to January 1968, when it was seen Monday nights) on ABC from January 4, 1964, to February 7, 1970. Title ...

'', '' Gomer Pyle U.S.M.C.'', '' Good Morning World'' and ''

The Dean Martin Show ''The Dean Martin Show'', not to be confused with the ''Dean Martin Variety Show'' (1959–1960), is a TV variety-comedy series that ran from 1965 to 1974 for 264 episodes. It was broadcast by NBC and hosted by Dean Martin. The theme song to the s ...

''. An accomplished juggler, Gilbert appeared on ''

Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In ''Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In'' (often simply referred to as ''Laugh-In'') is an American sketch comedy television program that ran for 140 episodes from January 22, 1968, to March 12, 1973, on the NBC television network, hosted by comedians Dan ...

'' as a French juggler. On May 9, 1964 (the day after her birth), Gilbert and his wife Barbara Crane adopted

Melissa Gilbert Melissa Ellen Gilbert (born May 8, 1963) is an American actress, television director, producer, politician, and former president of the Screen Actors Guild. Gilbert began her career as a child actress in the late 1960s, appearing in numerous co ...

, who played

Laura Ingalls Wilder Laura Elizabeth Ingalls Wilder (February 7, 1867 – February 10, 1957) was an American writer, mostly known for the ''Little House on the Prairie'' series of children's books, published between 1932 and 1943, which were based on her childhood ...

, and her brother

Jonathan Gilbert Jonathan J. Gilbert (born April 28, 1967) is an American former television and film actor known for his role as Willie Oleson on the TV series ''Little House on the Prairie''. Personal life Gilbert was born on April 28, 1967. He is the adopted s ...

, who played Willie Oleson, on the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

TV series ''

Little House on the Prairie The ''Little House on the Prairie'' books is a series of American children's novels written by Laura Ingalls Wilder (b. Laura Elizabeth Ingalls). The stories are based on her childhood and adolescence in the Midwestern United States, American M ...

''.Gilbert, Melissa (2009). Prairie Tale: A Memoir (1st ed.), pg. 114. Gallery Books; /

Death

Gilbert was believed to have died suddenly of a

stroke A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...

on February 13, 1976. In her autobiography, Melissa Gilbert wrote that because of suffering caused by constant pain stemming from World War II injuries, he died by suicide. Actress and producer

Sara Gilbert Sara Gilbert (born Sara Rebecca Abeles; January 29, 1975) is an American actress best known for her role as Darlene Conner on the ABC sitcom ''Roseanne'' (1988–1997; 2018), for which she received two Primetime Emmy Award nominations, and its ...

(born Sara Rebecca Abeles), the daughter of Paul Gilbert's wife Barbara and her second husband, Harold Abeles, took the Gilbert surname in 1984 although she had no blood or legal ties to Paul Gilbert.

Filmography

References

External links

* * 1918 births 1976 deaths Male actors from New York City American male film actors American male television actors Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills) 20th-century American male actors Suicides in California American military personnel of World War II 1976 suicides {{US-screen-actor-stub