PAUL HARVEY

September 10, 1882

Paul Harvey was born as Roy Paul Harvey on September 10, 1882 in Sandwich, Illinois. 

He starred on Broadway in The Awful Truth (1922, above left with Bruce McRae and Ina Claire) and repeated his role in the film in in 1929, which is now presumed lost, although it was remade twice (without Harvey) in 1937 and 1953 as the musical Let’s Do It Again.  

He did a dozen plays on the Great White Way, but his most successful stage appearance was in Dinner at Eight (1932, above with Constance Collier), although his role was taken in the 1933 film by Wallace Beery. 

He started doing films in 1915 and eventually specialized in supportive dads, nervous corporate types, military men, judges, lawyers, or priests, notably, Reverend Galsworthy in Father of the Bride (1950) and its sequel Father’s Little Dividend (1951). 

He was also seen in Spellbound (1945), Calamity Jane (1953) and High Sierra (1941).  During his long career he amassed more than 200 screen credits. 

Between 1934 and 1943, Harvey did seven films with Lucille Ball:

“The Affairs of Cellini” (1934) ~ Harvey played an Emissary and Lucille Ball was uncredited as a Lady in Waiting.

“Kid Millions” (1934) ~ Harvey played Sheikh Mulhulla and Lucille Ball was one of the Goldwyn Girls (uncredited). 

“Broadway Bill” (1934) ~ Harvey played James Whitehall while Lucille Ball was an uncredited telephone operator. 

“The Whole Town’s Talking” (1935) ~ Harvey played J.G. Carpenter and Lucille Ball was an uncredited bank employee. 

“I’ll Love You Always” (1935) – Harvey played Sandstone with Lucille Ball playing a character known as Lucille (uncredited).

“The Marines Fly High” (1940) ~ Lucille Ball is finally above the title as Joan Grant with Paul Harvey as Colonel Hill. 

“Easy To Wed” (1946) ~ Ball played Gladys Benton and Harvey played Curtis Farwood in their final big screen venture. 

Then came television. His first appearance was in a 1951 episode of the CBS anthology series “The Bigelow Theatre” (1950-51). Before joining the cast of “I Love Lucy,” William Frawley did three episodes of the series, as did Elizabeth Patterson (Mrs. Trumbull) and Kathryn Card (Mrs. McGillicuddy). Frawley had done three feature films with Harvey, from 1935 to 1948. 

“Lucy” fans probably remember Harvey best as the art critic from the New York Times who visits the Ricardo apartment to assess Lucy’s talent in “Lucy the Sculptress” (ILL S2;E15) first aired in January 1953 but filmed in November 1952. In this episode he gets to use his own surname.  

Little does Mr. Harvey know that Lucy’s sculpture is not made of clay, but Lucy!  The jig is up when he hilariously tries to lift the bust from the table!  Harvey had done three films with Shepard Menken, who plays the art store owner in the episode, although the two share no scenes together. 

Coincidentally, on the evening this episode was filmed (November 7, 1952), CBS’s sitcom “Our Miss Brooks” (filmed at Desilu) aired an episode titled “Living Statues” which also starred Paul Harvey as Mr. Stone (!).  Instead of clay, a sticky furniture finish caused people to get stuck – making them appear to be living statues. Lucy’s comic foil on radio Gale Gordon, appeared with Eve Arden, and Richard Crenna, all of whom would make appearances on “I Love Lucy.”

In 1954, he was back on the Desilu lot in the Desilu-produced sitcom  “December Bride.”  He returned in 1955 for another episode, this one featuring Kathryn Card, who also played Mrs. McGillicuddy, Lucy Ricardo’s mother on “I Love Lucy.” 

Although not a Desilu series, in 1955 Harvey did two episodes of CBS’s “My Little Margie,” which was sponsored by Philip-Morris and promoted on “I Love Lucy,” when it served as their summer replacement series. 

Paul Harvey was married to actress Ottye Henrietta Cramer and before that to Merle Stanton. 

His final big screen role was posthumous, as the Royal Physician in The Ten Commandments (1956) starring Charleton Heston. 

His final appearances on television were all posthumous, on “The Roy Rogers Show” (1951-57). He died on December 15, 1955.