Paul Hartman

Biography

Rubber-limbed American dancer, vaudevillian and character actor, whose roots were steeped in show business. Paul's impresario father, Ferris Hartman, was known by the sobriquet "the Ziegfeld of the Pacific Coast." Between 1917 and 1921, he also worked as a silent film director for Triangle out of Culver City. Paul performed as part of a family act from the age of six weeks (!) and was part of a tour to Japan in the cast of "The Mikado" at the age of two. After finishing high school, Paul briefly attended the University of California, then worked for a while as a copy boy and reporter for a San Francisco newspaper. He soon left journalism to seek his fame and fortune in the entertainment industry, becoming noted as a dancer in nightclubs opposite future stars Ginger Rogers, Faye Emerson and Nancy Walker. With his wife Grace Hartman (née Barrett), he then formed a famous ballroom-dancing partnership, touring the U.S. on the vaudeville circuit and also appearing on Broadway. In 1948, they had a huge hit with the revue "Angel in the Wings," both winning Tony Awards as Best Leading Players in a Musical. At the peak of their popularity, the couple were invited to Hollywood to star in one of the earliest TV sitcoms, The Hartmans (1949). Due to indifferent scripting, the show was not a success, however. After Grace died from cancer in 1955, Paul essentially gave up stage work, except for one final performance on Broadway in the comedy "Drink to Me Only" (1958). Lured by the lucrative financial returns from regular television work, he continued to act in supporting roles on the small screen for the remainder of his career. He also appeared in a handful of feature films. He had several more substantial recurring roles, notably as a family patriarch in The Pride of the Family (1953), as handyman Emmett Clark in The Andy Griffith Show (1960) and as barber Bert Smedley in Petticoat Junction (1963). Paul Hartman died in Los Angeles on October 2, 1973 at the age of 69.