Paul McGrath (April 11, 1904 – April 13, 1978) was an American film, television,

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

, and

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

actor best known for his radio appearances in the 1940s and 1950s.

Early years

Born in Chicago, McGrath was educated in public schools in New York, including

Evander Childs High School Evander is a masculine given name. It is an anglicization of the Greek name Εὔανδρος (lit. "good man", Latinized ''Evandrus''). It has also been adopted as an anglicization of the Gaelic name Iomhar (the Gaelic variant of the name Ivor ...

. He attended

Carnegie Tech Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. One of its predecessors was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools; it became the Carnegie Institute of Technology ...

and studied engineering before developing an interest in drama. He left in 1924 to become an actor.

Career

McGrath's professional debut came as a member of a touring company of ''

The First Year ''The First Year'' is a 1932 American pre-Code film based on a 1920 play of the same name that originally ran on Broadway at the Little Theatre. The play was written by Frank Craven and produced by John Golden. It closed in 1922 after 760 perfo ...

''. On radio, McGrath was a regular on '' Crime Doctor'' and on the soap operas ''

Big Sister Big Sister may refer to: *An older sister, see birth order *Big Sister (brothel), an online brothel in Prague *The Big Sister (Dexter's Laboratory), "The Big Sister" (Dexter's Laboratory), an episode of ''Dexter's Laboratory'' *"Big Sister," a son ...

'' and ''

Young Doctor Malone ''Young Doctor Malone'' (a.k.a. ''Young Dr. Malone'') is an American soap opera, created by Irna Phillips, which had a long run on radio and television from 1939 to 1963. The producer was Betty Corday (1912–1987), who also produced ''Pepper Youn ...

''. He played the host on ''

Inner Sanctum Mystery ''Inner Sanctum Mystery'', also known as ''Inner Sanctum'', is a popular old-time radio program that aired from January 7, 1941, to October 5, 1952. It was created by producer Himan Brown and was based on the imprint (trade name), imprint given ...

'' on radio and on a syndicated TV version of the program. His other work on television included appearances on the dramas ''

Armstrong Circle Theatre ''Armstrong Circle Theatre'' is an American anthology drama television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite television, ...

'', ''

Hallmark Hall of Fame ''Hallmark Hall of Fame'', originally called ''Hallmark Television Playhouse'', is an anthology program on American television, sponsored by Hallmark Cards, a Kansas City-based greeting card company. The longest-running prime-time series in t ...

'', and ''

The United States Steel Hour ''The United States Steel Hour'' is an anthology series which brought hour long dramas to television from 1953 to 1963. The television series and the radio program that preceded it were both sponsored by the U.S. Steel, United States Steel Corpor ...

.'' He also was featured on TV serials, including ''

The Edge of Night ''The Edge of Night'' is an American television mystery crime drama series and soap opera, created by Irving Vendig and produced by Procter & Gamble Productions. It debuted on CBS on April 2, 1956, and ran as a live broadcast on that networ ...

'', ''

Love of Life ''Love of Life'' is an American soap opera televised on CBS from September 24, 1951, to February 1, 1980. It was created by Roy Winsor, whose previous creation ''Search for Tomorrow'' premiered three weeks before ''Love of Life''; he created ''Th ...

'', ''

Guiding Light ''Guiding Light'' (known as ''The Guiding Light'' before 1975) is an American radio and television soap opera. It is listed in ''Guinness World Records'' as the third longest-running drama in television in American history. ''Guiding Light'' a ...

'', and ''

The Secret Storm ''The Secret Storm'' is an American soap opera that the CBS television network transmitted from February 1, 1954, to February 8, 1974. It was created by Roy Winsor, who also created the long-running soap operas ''Search for Tomorrow'' and ''Love ...

''. On Broadway, McGrath appeared in more than 30 plays, including the 1949

Clifford Odets Clifford Odets (July 18, 1906 – August 14, 1963) was an American playwright, screenwriter, and actor. In the mid-1930s, he was widely seen as the potential successor to Nobel Prize-winning playwright Eugene O'Neill, as O'Neill began to withdra ...

Broadway play ''

The Big Knife ''The Big Knife'' is a 1955 melodrama directed and produced by Robert Aldrich from a screenplay by James Poe based on the 1949 play by Clifford Odets. The film stars Jack Palance, Ida Lupino, Wendell Corey, Jean Hagen, Rod Steiger, Shelley Winter ...

''. His Broadway debut was as Dr. Green in ''In the Near Future'' (1925), and his last Broadway role was Nick Hagen in ''Brightower'' (1970).

Personal life and death

McGrath was married to actress

Anne Sargent Anne Sargent (born Helen W. Thomas; November 18, 1923 – July 23, 2007) was a film and stage actress from West Pittston, Pennsylvania,''Hedda Hopper'', Los Angeles Times, July 27, 1950, pg. B10. who performed in theater under the directi ...

. He died of a heart attack in his sleep in London on April 13, 1978, two days after his 74th birthday.

Filmography

References

External links

* * * 1904 births 1978 deaths 20th-century American male actors 20th-century American singers American male film actors American male television actors American male stage actors American male radio actors Male actors from Pittsburgh Male actors from Chicago Carnegie Mellon University alumni {{US-theat-actor-1900s-stub