Paul Marco

Paul Marco (June 10, 1927 – May 14, 2006) was an American actor who often appeared in movies made by Ed Wood, including the "Kelton Trilogy" of Bride of the Monster, Night of the Ghouls and Plan 9 from Outer Space, in which he played a bumbling, fearful policeman named Kelton.[1]

Paul Marco
Paul Marco as "Patrolman Paul Kelton" in the 1959 movie Night of the Ghouls
Born
Angelo Inzalaco

(1927-06-10)June 10, 1927
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
DiedMay 14, 2006(2006-05-14) (aged 78)
Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
OccupationActor
Websitehttp://www.winvisual.com/marco/index.html

Career

Born in Los Angeles, Marco started taking lessons in drama, singing and dancing at an early age. After graduating from Hollywood High School, he served in the Navy during World War II. His first known movie role was a small part in the 1944 film Sweet and Low-Down with Benny Goodman, Jo Stafford, and The Pied Pipers.[1]

In the early 1950s, The Amazing Criswell predicted on national television that Paul Marco would go far in the motion picture business. Criswell introduced Marco to Ed Wood shortly thereafter. In turn, Marco introduced Ed Wood to Bunny Breckinridge, a flamboyantly gay Shakespearean actor who lived with Marco for a time and co-starred in Wood's Plan 9 from Outer Space.[1]

Marco depended on Wood for parts, and he more or less retired as an actor as Ed Wood's movies shifted more and more towards pornography for the last twenty years of his life.

According to Tim Burton's 1994 movie Ed Wood, Paul Marco founded his own fan club, of which he then served as president, and spent his time signing autographs (Marco was portrayed in Burton's film by actor Max Casella).

Later life and death

In 1995 Marco recorded a 45, "Home on the Strange", in which he reprised his Kelton character for Dionysus Records. He revived Kelton once more in the 2005 science fiction satire/tribute film The Naked Monster, which also featured actors from Creature from the Black Lagoon, The Thing from Another World, The War of the Worlds, Beyond the Time Barrier, and The Indestructible Man, all reprising the roles they had played in the cited earlier films.

Marco hoped for a career revival with the "Dark Corner" series of shorts. He completed the first, entitled Kelton's Dark Corner (by Vasily Shumov), and was planning to shoot several scenes for the second before his death.

On May 14, 2006, Paul Marco died after a battle with hip problems and chronic illness, at the age of 78.[1]

Filmography
Film
Year Film Role Notes
1944 Sweet and Low-Down Uncredited
1952 Hiawatha
1955 Bride of the Monster Officer Kelton Alternative title: Bride of the Atom
1959 Night of the Ghouls Patrolman Paul Kelton Alternative title: Revenge of the Dead
Plan 9 from Outer Space
1961 The Young Savages Uncredited
1965 Rat Fink
1989 Horror Talk
2005 The Naked Monster Kelton the Cop
2009 Kelton's Dark Corner: Trilogy One Direct-to-DVD release
Television
Year Title Role Notes
1960 The Donna Reed Show Plumber #3 1 episode
77 Sunset Strip Jeep Driver 1 episode

Further reading
  • Sloan, Will. (April 2005). "Can Your Heart Stand the Shocking Facts About Kelton the Cop A/K/A Paul Marco?" Filmfax, p. 88–89

References
  1. "Paul Marco". Variety. May 16, 2006. Retrieved September 20, 2009. Actor Paul Marco, best known as Kelton the Cop in several films directed by the cult director Edward D. Wood, Jr. died May 14 in Hollywood. He was believed to have been around 80.
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