PAUL DOUGLAS: Brute Appeal

A former radio/sports announcer turned Broadway actor, Paul Douglas hit top movie stardom as the brash, wealthy husband of opportunistic Linda Darnell in the comedy A LETTER TO THREE WIVES (1949)
Gruff and boorish Paul Douglas stars as a hot-headed manager of the losing Pittsburgh Pirates who receives divine intervention in ANGELS IN THE OUTFIELD (1951)

Classic Images,
Issue Number 458,
August 2013

“The studio camera man enjoys working with me. You know why? It’s because he doesn’t have to worry about my bad angle. They are all bad!”

Gruff PAUL DOUGLAS (1907-1959) was a rare blue-collar breed. Not since 1930’s palooka-like Wallace Beery would such a homely, unrefined lug reach cinematic leading man stardom. With gutsy determination, Douglas, a major sports commentator, wanted even more. Taking a gamble, he quit radio and pursued his dream of acting. First conquering Broadway (BORN YESTERDAY, 1946), Hollywood took notice, and he would earn immediate stardom with A LETTER TO THREE WIVES (1949). Lasting but a decade before his untimely death, Paul grabbed a healthy female audience as a brutish romantic opposite the gorgeous likes of Linda Darnell, Judy Holliday, Ginger Rogers and Joan Bennett.

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