Paul Comi
Paul Comi | |
---|---|
Born |
Paul Domingo Comi February 11, 1932 Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. |
Died |
August 26, 2016 (aged 84) Pasadena, California, U.S. |
Alma mater | University of Southern California |
Occupation | Actor |
Years active | 1958–1995 |
Spouse(s) | Eva Comi |
Children | 3 |
Paul Domingo Comi (February 11, 1932 – August 26, 2016[1]) was an American film and television actor.
Biography
Comi grew up in North Quincy, Massachusetts. Joined the army after graduation in 1949. He is a three purple heart veteran of Korea (1950-1951)[2] and after his release from the hospital in Japan was assigned to Kyoto, where he booked talent and wrote skits for the NCO and Officer's club. After his discharge in 1952, he went to California where he attended El Camino Jr. College and was elected Student Body President for two terms.
Awarded a scholarship to USC School of Dramatic Arts[3][4] at the University of Southern California, he graduated in 1958 Magna Cum Laude with membership in Tau Kappa Epsilon, Phi Beta Kappa, Phi Kappa Phi and Blue Key honors.[5][6] He was married to wife Eva and had three children. As an apprentice at the La Jolla Playhouse the summer of 1957. 20th Century Fox picked him up and cast him as Pvt Abbott in The Young Lions with Marlon Brando and Montgomery Clift; he would act for four more decades.[7] Comi died on August 26, 2016 at the age of 84.[8]
Acting career
Comi's acting career spanned four decades, from the mid-1950s through the mid-1990s. He made over three hundred television appearances, twenty movies, and a number of recurring television roles. These included Deputy Johnny Evans in the syndicated western series Two Faces West (1960–61), starring Charles Bateman, the part of Brad Carter, prosecuting attorney in The Virginian while Lee J. Cobb was in the cast. He was cast along with others, including Bruce Dern and Joby Baker, who were all part of Paul Burke's crew in Burke's initial introduction, on 12 O'Clock High.
Comi's professional acting career began in 1957, when, as an apprentice at the La Jolla Playhouse, he was given a small part in the play Career that starred Don Taylor and Una Merkel.[9] His comedy scene as a drunken GI earned rave reviews in The Hollywood Reporter and Variety, leading to his being signed by 20th Century Fox for the role of Pvt. Abbott in The Young Lions with Montgomery Clift and Dean Martin. At Fox, he appeared in several films: In Love and War with Jeffrey Hunter and Robert Wagner; A Private's Affair with Ernie Kovacs; and was lent out to Warner Bros. for the role of "Jenkins" in the Michael Garrison production of The Dark at the Top of the Stairs with Robert Preston and Dorothy McGuire. He also played Lt Tim, Steve McQueen's assistant in The Towering Inferno.
In 1960, Comi appeared in The Twilight Zone episode "People Are Alike All Over", as Warren Marcusson.[10] Between 1961-62, he portrayed airplane pilot Chuck Lambert on the first-run syndicated TV adventure show Ripcord, and was a series regular on the television series Rawhide with Clint Eastwood. Paul also played Catherine Hickland's father, Victor Markham for one and one half seasons on the daytime soap, "CAPITOL'. This was followed by two seasons as George Durnley in General Hospital. He also had two guest appearances on "Voyage to the Bottom Of The Sea" in the episodes "Submarine Sunk Here" and "Deadly Creature Below!"
Comi played navigator Lt. Stiles for the Star Trek episode "Balance of Terror" (1966). When the enemy Romulans are revealed to resemble Vulcans, Stiles becomes suspicious of the motives of first officer Spock.[11]
Comi was a voting member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Business interests
He was President of Caffe D'Amore Inc. a coffee company started by wife, Eva, the creator of the world's first flavored instant cappuccino, Caffe D'Amore.[12]
Filmography (Selection)
- 1995: Baywatch - "Leap of Faith"[13]
- 1991: L.A. Law - "Since I Fell for You", "On the Toad Again"
- 1986-1989: Highway to Heaven - "Summer Camp", "Parents' Day", "Children's Children"
- 1986: Fame - "The Last Dance"
- 1987: Spies - "The Game's Not Over", "'Til the Fat Lady Sings"
- 1986: Howard the Duck as Dr. Chapin
- 1985–1990: Knots Landing - "What If?", "High School Confidential", "The Emperor's Clothes"
- 1985: Falcon Crest - "False Hope"
- 1984: Best Defense
- 1982: Death Wish II
- 1981: Dallas - "Waterloo at Southfork"
- 1977: The Streets of San Francisco - "Interlude"
- 1974: The Towering Inferno as Tim
- 1972: Conquest of the Planet of the Apes[14]
- 1971-1973: Cannon - "A Well Remembered Terror", "No Pockets in the Shroud"
- 1969: All the Loving Couples as Mike Corey
- 1968-1969: Mannix - "The Playground", "Another Final Exit"
- 1967: The Invaders - "Storm"
- 1966: The Time Tunnel - "Massacre"
- 1966: Star Trek - "Balance of Terror"
- 1965-1968: The F.B.I. - "Act of Violence", "The Satellite", "The Escape", "The Giant Killer"
- 1965: Perry Mason - "The Case of the Sad Sicilian"
- 1965: Twelve O'Clock High - "R/X for a Sick Bird" as Major Adams
- 1965: The Alfred Hitchcock Hour - "The Crimson Witness"
- 1962: Cape Fear as George Garner
- 1960-1963: The Twilight Zone - "People Are Alike All Over", "The Odyssey of Flight 33", "The Parallel"
- 1960: The Untouchables - "One-Armed Bandits"
- 1960: Two Faces West as Deputy Johnny Evans
- 1959: 77 Sunset Strip - "The Grandma Caper"
- 1959: Peter Gunn - "The Rifle"
- 1959: Pork Chop Hill
- 1958: In Love and War
- 1958: The Young Lions
Awards and decorations
- Purple Heart (A 3 Purple Heart Veteran of the Korean War)
- Phi Beta Kappa USC 1958, Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society USC 1958, Blue Key Honors USC 1958
See also
References
- ↑ "Paul Comi, character actor – obituary". Telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 2016-10-13.
- ↑ Uzal W. Ent: Fighting on the Brink - Defense of the Pusan Perimeter; S. 337-339, Turner, 1997, ISBN 563112094-1
- ↑ Daily Trojan, Vol. 49, No. 44, Stop-Gap To Present Brick and the Rose, S. 1, November 22, 1957, University of Southern California, Online-Version
- ↑ Daily Trojan, Vol. 59, No. 61, Stop Gap hosts run of After the Fall, S. 1, January 08, 1968, University of Southern California, Online-Version
- ↑ USC School of Dramatic Arts, records 5287, USC Libraries Special Collections, Alumni 1957-2006, Scope and Content, Clippings and promotional materials regarding notable alumni of the School of Dramatic Arts, Paul Comi 1957-1978, Box 1, Folder 13, Box 10, Folder 16, Online Archive of California
- ↑ Tkeusc.org: Distinguished Alumni, Beta-Sigma’s Own 9. July 2016
- ↑ Internet Movie Database, The Young Lions, imdb.com; accessed July 31, 2016.
- ↑ "Paul Comi". The Quincy Sun. September 12, 2016. Archived from the original on September 25, 2016.
- ↑ Lajollaplayhouse.org: La Jolla Playhouse, Production History (1959-1947), Career, Written by James Le, Performance Dates: August 6-18, 1957, July 9, 2016.
- ↑ Stewart Stanyard: Dimensions Behind the Twilight Zone - A Backstage Tribute to Television's, Paul Comi, S. 190, ECW Press, 2007, ISBN 1550227440
- ↑ Clark, Mark (2012). "Outmaneuvering the Romulans". Star Trek FAQ. Applause Theatre & Cinema. ISBN 9781557839633.
- ↑ Cal Orey: The Healing Powers of Chocolate, S. 130, Kensington, 2010; ISBN 0758238207
- ↑ Internet Movie Database, Leap of Faith
- ↑ Internet Movie Database, Conquest of the Planet of the Apes
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Paul Comi. |
- Paul Comi at the Internet Movie Database
- Filmography, nytimes.com
- Filmography, moviefone.com