Morgan Paull obit

Blade Runner Actor Morgan Paull Dead At 67

 

He was not on the list.

The name Morgan Paull might not be instantly familiar to most of you (though there are certainly those out there who know him). He was a veteran character actor, and though he appeared in movies like Patton, and TV shows like Quincy, Black Sheep Squadron, and The Fall Guy, he was never what you would call a movie star or a household name.

If you frequent this site, however, odds are you’re familiar with at least one memorable scene from the man’s canon. Paull had a very memorable part early on in Ridley Scott’s 1982 science fiction classic Blade Runner. Paull played Holden, who famously asks the replicant Leon (Brion James) about turtles before being killed. A scene you can watch right here.

Though Holden turned out to be one of Paull’s most memorable roles, it wasn’t a part he was supposed to play. Originally he was hired to read lines with a group of actresses during screen tests. He said, “Halfway through the tests, Ridley fell in love with me. He wanted me around all the time. He cast me as Holden, and whenever he had an idea, he’d say, ‘Hey, Morgan, what do you think of this?’”

It was during these screen tests that Paull recommended Daryl Hannah for the role of Pris, and that Scott should pass on Sean Young as Rachel. You know how that turned out.

Much like his role in Blade Runner, Paull came to acting in a roundabout fashion. Falling in love with the profession after a turn in a high school play, he attempted to attend Boston University to continue honing his craft—a move his wealthy West Virginia family blocked. He joined a the Barter Theater in Virginia, where Gregory Peck, Patricia Neal, and Ernest Borgnine famously cut their teeth, and appeared on and off Broadway before his film career began in earnest.

Paull is almost as famous for his role in Screen Actors Guild politics as for his acting career. Along with Charlton Heston, he attempted to steer the organization in a more conservative direction in the 1980s.

Filmography

Film

Year       Title       Role       Notes

1970      Patton   Captain Richard N. Jenson           

1971      Fools' Parade     Junior Kilfong    

1973      Cahill U.S. Marshal           Struther              

1974      Dirty O'Neil         Jimmy O'Neill    

1975      Live A Little, Steal A Lot Arnie Holcomb

1975      Mitchell                Salvatore Mistretta         

1976      The Last Hard Men          Portugee Shiraz                

1977      Twilight's Last Gleaming                First Lt. Louis Cannellis  

1978      The Swarm          Dr. Newman      

1979      Norma Rae          Wayne Billings  

1979      The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again    Corporal #1        

1980      Fade to Black     Gary Bially          

1982      Blade Runner     Dave Holden     

1984      Surf II    Chuck's Dad       

1986      GoBots: Battle of the Rock Lords                Matt Hunter       Voice

1989      Out Cold              Hunter #1           

1996      Uncle Sam           Mayor   (final film role)

Television

Year       Title       Role       Notes

1963      The Doctors                        Episode: "The Young Spinning Wheels"

1965      The Patty Duke Show      Roger    Episode: "My Cousin the Heroine"

1970      Dan August         Gibbs     Episode: "Love Is a Nickel Bag"

1971      Bearcats!             Don Kemper       Episode: "The Big Guns"

1971      The F.B.I.             Nat Wenning      Episode: "The Natural"

1972      The F.B.I.             Tony Baughmiller             Episode: "Dark Christmas"

1972      Ironside                Pete Karns           Episode: "Find a Victim"

1973      Ironside                Martin Lowell    Episode: "All About Andrea"

1973      Emergency!        Dr. Mike Williams             Episode: "Rip-Off"

1974      Petrocelli             Dan Carter          Episode: "Edge of Evil"

1974      Gunsmoke          Ham       Episode: "A Family of Killers"

1975      Gunsmoke          Brinker Episode: "The Squaw"

1975      Stowaway to the Moon Astronaut Dave Anderson            TV film

1975      The Kansas City Massacre             Alvin "Creepy" Karpis      TV film

1975      The Blue Knight                 Phil Davis             Episode: "Two to Make Deadly"

1976      Bronk    Lacy       Episode: "Death with Honor"

1977      McCloud              Pierre Belsen      Episode: "The Moscow Connection"

1977      The Fantastic Journey    Argon    Episode: "A Dream of Conquest"

1978      Chico and the Man          Secret Service Agent       Episode: "Buenas Dias, Mr. President"

1978      Baa Baa Black Sheep       Congressman Mackintosh            Episode: "Ten'll Get You Five"

1979      Quincy, M.E.       Defense Attorney            Episode: "Walk Softly Through the Night"

1979      Centennial          Philip Wendell as Adult Episode: "The Winds of Death"

1980      Beyond Westworld          Parker   Episode: "Parker"

1983      The Fall Guy        Captain Jones    Episode: "Win One for the Gipper???"

1984–85               Challenge of the GoBots                Matt Hunter, Scorp         9 episodes

1986      Crazy Like a Fox                 Frank Butler, Jr.                 Episode: "Hearing Is Believing"