Paul Hartman

Born in San Francisco, California, Hartman was the son of Ferris Hartman, who was sometimes called the "Ziegfeld of the Pacific Coast" He began performing as a dancer with his sister when he was 4 years old. Hartman attended the University of California (UC). After he left there, he worked for a newspaper in San Francisco, beginning as a copy boy and later becoming a reporter. He left the newspaper for the theater because the latter offered more money. After graduating from UC, he worked "with a pick and shovel" as an employee of San Francisco in Golden Gate Park. == Career ==

In 1922, he teamed up with Grace Barrett for a dancing comedy vaudeville act that consisted of them both paying homage to and gently mocking the popular dances of the day, from ballet to swing. They married in 1923. Along with Grace, Paul made his Broadway debut in Ballyhoo of 1932 alongside Bob Hope. He appeared in Cole Porter's Red Hot and Blue (1936) (the first to recognize musical performers). They were then offered a sitcom on NBC, and The Hartmans (at Home) showed promise, but audiences rejected the show, which often featured canned scripts and little opportunity for the couple to show off their physical and musical abilities. Paul and Grace returned to Broadway, where they spent three years in a number of variety shows and revues. In 1951 he was elected a member of the famed theater club, The Lambs. After divorcing in 1951, Grace was diagnosed with cancer in 1952. She died in 1955. Paul married actress Ann Buckles March 14, 1953; they later divorced in 1963. Television and Hollywood had once again risen to the top of the entertainment world, and the convenience of television shooting and a quick paycheck lured Paul out to Los Angeles once more. Hartman began appearing in the 1953–1954 ABC situation comedy The Pride of the Family as Albie Morrison, the father and head of the household. Fay Wray, best known for King Kong, played his wife, Catherine, and Natalie Wood and Robert Hyatt played his children, Ann and Junior Morrison, respectively. In 1957, Hartman returned one last time to Broadway, but then past fifty, he tired of the hectic stage life. He continued to play bit parts in movies and television throughout the rest of his life, most famously as handyman Emmett Clark on CBS's The Andy Griffith Show and Mayberry R.F.D. In a nod to his earlier life, he is seen doing a dance routine at Howard Sprague's party in the Andy Griffith episode "The Wedding", and in the Mayberry, RFD episode "All for Charity", he can be seen doing a soft shoe routine with costar Ken Berry. In addition, he had parts on Petticoat Junction; Love, American Style; The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet; Hazel; Ben Casey; The Twilight Zone; The Alfred Hitchcock Hour; Our Man Higgins; and Family Affair. He was cast in the 1960 film Inherit the Wind. In 1967, he appeared with Robert Morse in the film version of How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying. == Death ==

Hartman died on October 2, 1973, from a heart attack in Los Angeles aged 69. ==Filmography==