Paul Picerni, Star of The Untouchables, Dies
Picerni played Agent Lee Hobson opposite Robert Stack as Eliot Ness on the popular crime drama.
Paul Picerni, an actor best known for the role of Agent Lee Hobson, Eliot Ness’ partner man on the television series The Untouchables, died January 12, 2011, in a hospital in Palmdale, California. He was 88.
According to news reports, the cause was a heart attack.
Picerni appeared on The Untouchables opposite Robert Stack as Eliot Ness from 1960-63. the gangster series set in Prohibition-era Chicago.
His many other television appearances included episodes of such series as Dragnet, Batman, Starsky & Hutch, Gunsmoke and Kojak, whose star, Telly Savalas, was his best friend for almost three decades.
Picerni, a native of Queens, New York, served as a bombardier in World War II, and was on the plane that destroyed the bridge made famous in the film The Bridge on the River Kwai.
After the war he pursued acting and began to find work in war-themed films that included Twelve O’Clock High, Breakthrough, Operation Pacific and To Hell and Back. He also played the romantic lead in the 3-D horror film House of Wax.
As the 1950s progressed, Picerni began to work more frequently in television, and he continued to do so for more than 50 years.
Apart from his acting career, Picerni earned the moniker of “the benefit king,” for his efforts as en emcee of hundreds of charity dinners for Italian and Catholic organizations, the annual Hollywood Actors Communication Breakfast and the Columbus Day Banquets.
He also served as the halftime master of ceremonies for Los Angeles Rams home games for decades before the NFL team moved to Anaheim after the 1979 season.
In 2007 Picerni published his autobiography, Steps to Stardom, co-written with Tom Weaver.
Survivors include his wife of 63 years, four sons, four daughters, 10 grandchildren, a brother and two sisters.