Jerry Paris

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Jerry Paris bigraphy, stories - Film

Jerry Paris : biography

July 25, 1925 – March 31, 1986

Jerry Paris (July 25, 1925 – March 31, 1986) was an American actor and director best known for playing Jerry Helper, the dentist and next door neighbor of Rob and Laura Petrie, on The Dick Van Dyke Show.

Life and career

He was born William Gerald Grossman in San Francisco, California. After having directed some Van Dyke show episodes, Paris devoted himself to directing, both in television and film, most notably on the TV series Happy Days, for which he directed over 200 episodes. He also directed Laverne & Shirley

Paris had roles in major 1950s films like The Caine Mutiny, The Wild One and also played Martin "Marty" Flaharty, one of Eliot Ness’s men in a recurring role in the first season of ABC-TV’s The Untouchables.

He married the former Ruth Benjamin, and they had three children. She died in 1980. Paris died of complications from brain cancer surgery at the age of 60. He was residing in Los Angeles, California, at the time of his death.

In the 1990s sitcom The Nanny, Fran Fine’s grandmother Yetta Rosenberg played by Ann Morgan Guilbert showed a photo of Paris briefly and claimed it was her late husband. Guilbert played Millie Helper on The Dick Van Dyke Show.

Filmography

Actor

  • Leo and Loree (1980)
  • Every Man Needs One (1972)
  • Evil Roy Slade (1972)
  • But I Don’t Want to Get Married! (1970)
  • The Fugitive (1963)
  • The Eleventh Hour as Marty Kane in "What Did She Mean by Good Luck?" (1963)
  • The Lloyd Bridges Show (1962) in episode "Big Man, Little Bridge"
  • The Dick Van Dyke Show (1961)
  • The Great Impostor (1961)
  • Michael Shayne (1960)
  • The Alaskans as Walter Collier in "Peril at Caribou Crossing" (1960)
  • The Untouchables (1959)
  • Career (1959)
  • No Name on the Bullet (1959)
  • The Naked and the Dead (1958)
  • Steve Canyon (1958)
  • Colt .45 as Joe Bullock in "Blood Money" (1958)
  • Sing, Boy, Sing (1958)
  • The Lady Takes a Flyer (1958)
  • The Female Animal (1958)
  • Those Whiting Girls (1955)
  • Man on the Prowl (1957)
  • Zero Hour! (1957)
  • I’ve Lived Before (1956)
  • Whodunit (Alfred Hitchcock Presents) (1956)
  • Hey, Jeannie! (1956)
  • Crusader (CBS, 1956)
  • D-Day the Sixth of June (1956)
  • Never Say Goodbye (1956)
  • Crossroads as Corporal Reynolds in "With All My Love" (1955)
  • Hell’s Horizon (1955)
  • Good Morning, Miss Dove (1955)
  • The View from Pompey’s Head (1955)
  • The Naked Street (1955)
  • Marty (1955)
  • Unchained (1955)
  • The Caine Mutiny (1954)
  • Prisoner of War (1954)
  • Drive a Crooked Road (1954)
  • The Wild One (1953)
  • Flight to Tangier (1953)
  • Sabre Jet (1953)
  • The Glass Wall (1953)
  • Bonzo Goes to College (1952)
  • Submarine Command (1951)
  • The Flying Missile (1950)
  • Cyrano de Bergerac (1950)
  • DOA (1950)

Director

  • "You Again?" (1986)
  • Police Academy 3: Back in Training (1986)
  • Police Academy 2: Their First Assignment (1985)
  • Leo and Loree (1980)
  • Make Me an Offer (1980)
  • "Blansky’s Beauties" (1977) (TV series)
  • How to Break Up a Happy Divorce (1976)
  • "Good Heavens" (1976) (TV series)
  • "When Things Were Rotten" (1975)
  • The Fireman’s Ball (1975) (TV pilot)
  • Only with Married Men (1974)
  • "Happy Days" (1974–84)
  • "Thicker Than Water" (1973) (TV Series)
  • Every Man Needs One (1972) (TV)
  • The Couple Takes a Wife (1972) (TV)
  • Keeping Up with the Joneses (1972) (TV pilot)
  • Wednesday Night Out (1972) (TV pilot)
  • Evil Roy Slade (1972)
  • Call Her Mom (1972)
  • Star Spangled Girl (1971)
  • What’s a Nice Girl Like You…? (1971)
  • Two on a Bench (1971) (TV)
  • "The New Dick Van Dyke Show" (1971)
  • The Feminist and the Fuzz (1971)
  • But I Don’t Want to Get Married! (1970)
  • "Barefoot in the Park" (1970 TV series)
  • "The Odd Couple" (1970–75)
  • "Mary Tyler Moore" (1970)
  • "McCloud" (1970)
  • The Grasshopper (1970)
  • Viva Max! (1969)
  • "Love, American Style" (1969)
  • "Here’s Lucy" (1968) (TV series)
  • How Sweet It Is!" (1968)
  • Never a Dull Moment (1968)
  • Sheriff Who? (1967) (TV pilot)
  • "Hey, Landlord!" (1966–67) (TV series)
  • "That Girl (1966)
  • "Don’t Raise the Bridge, Lower the River" (1968)
  • "The Munsters" (1964)
  • "The Farmer’s Daughter" (1963)
  • "The Dick Van Dyke Show" (1963-66)
  • "The Joey Bishop Show" (1961)
  • "The Silent Service, 2 episodes (1957)