Paul Morgan Genge[1] (March 29, 1913 – May 13, 1988) was an actor from the 1950s through to the late 1970s.

Paul Genge
Genge in an episode of Man Against Crime (1953)
Born
Paul Morgan Genge

(1913-03-29)March 29, 1913
DiedMay 13, 1988(1988-05-13) (aged 75)
Resting placeLos Angeles National Cemetery
OccupationActor
Years active1951–1975
Spouse
Rowena Kirkpatrick
(m. 1944)

Early years

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Genge's parents were Mr. and Mrs. Edward C. Genge. During World War II he served in the United States Army Air Corps.[1] While he was stationed at Geiger Field in 1942 he acted with the Little Theater in Spokane, Washington.[2]

Film and television

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Genge is most famous for his role as the shotgun toting gray-haired mob hitman 'Mike' in the 1968 film Bullitt (his character is the passenger in the black 1968 Dodge Charger during the famous car chase that goes out of control and causes his death and the driver's). Other film roles include that of a payoff man in The Outfit (1973), a California Highway Patrol officer in 1967's Hot Rods to Hell, Whitey, a communist suspect in The FBI Story (1959) and Lieutenant Hagerman in Alfred Hitchcock's North By Northwest (1959). He also appeared on many television shows from the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s.[3] He played in four episodes of Perry Mason, starring Raymond Burr; in three of the roles he played a law-enforcement officer, such as San Francisco Inspector Wade in "The Case of the Poison Pen Pal" in 1962. In his final appearance in 1966 he played Bud in "The Case of the Sausalito Sunrise." In that episode he and his comrade, in attempting to hijack goods from a truck driven by Paul Drake, are killed when their car loses control and rolls down the cliff, somewhat similar to the chase scene in Bullitt.

Stage

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Genge was a member of a touring company that presented Hamlet in 19 cities in the United States in 1937.[4] He had the title role in the Barter Theatre's production of King Henry IV in 1939.[5] In 1940 he acted with the Playwrights' Company in Brooklyn.[6] In addition to acting on stage, Genge directed Hamlet in Hartford, Connecticut. He also wrote two plays, How to Fix an Ice Box and The Last Minstrel, that were produced. An advocate for regional theater. he financed a bus tour of the United States in 1963 to promote regional theater. He encouraged theatrical groups within a region to cooperate to find new plays to present.[7] Genge's Broadway credits included Panic (1935), Hamlet (1936), Journey to Jerusalem (1940), Romeo and Juliet (1951) and Bernardine (1952).[8]

Personal life

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Genge married Rowena Kirkpatrick in Warrenton, Virginia, on November 28, 1944.[1]

Genge died in Los Angeles, California and was buried in Los Angeles National Cemetery.[9]

Filmography

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Year Title Role Notes
1958 I Want to Live! Police Inspector Uncredited
1958 The Walter Winchell File Lieutenant Buchanan Season 1 Episode 16: "The High Window"
1959 The Beat Generation Police Captain Wilson Uncredited
1959 North By Northwest Lieutenant Hagerman Uncredited
1959 The FBI Story Whitey, a Suspect
1960 Because They're Young Coach Al Pekarek Uncredited
1960 The Crowded Sky Samuel N. Poole
1963 The Alfred Hitchcock Hour Lieutenant Tom Mills Season 1 Episode 32: "Death of a Cop"
1964 The Americanization of Emily Officer Uncredited
1965 Young Dillinger Police Detective Uncredited
1965 The Sandpiper Architect Uncredited
1967 Hot Rods to Hell Policeman
1968 Blackbeard's Ghost Casino Manager Uncredited
1968 The Green Berets General Thomas Uncredited
1968 Bullitt Mike, shotgun killer
1973 The Outfit Pay-Off Man

Notes

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  1. ^ a b c "Miss Kirkpatrick Becomes Bride Of Sergeant Paul M. Genge". The Times Dispatch. Virginia, Richmond. December 3, 1944. p. 4-C. Retrieved November 7, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ "Little Theater speeds comedy". The Spokesman-Review. May 7, 1942. p. 19. Retrieved November 7, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "Hotrods to Hell". Hotrods to Hell. Archived from the original on December 4, 2010. Retrieved July 1, 2022.
  4. ^ "Stage News". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. March 17, 1937. p. 12. Retrieved November 7, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ Miller, Malcolm (August 29, 1939). "Music & Drama". The Knoxville Journal. p. 10. Retrieved November 7, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Playwrights' Company Launches Third Season". The Brooklyn Citizen. September 3, 1940. p. 14. Retrieved November 7, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ Quarm, Joan (February 11, 1963). "'Doctor' Outlines Ideas To Aid Regional Theater". El Paso Herald-Post. p. 16. Retrieved November 7, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Paul Genge". Internet Broadway Database. The Broadway League. Archived from the original on January 24, 2021. Retrieved November 8, 2022.
  9. ^ Wilson, Scott. Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons, 3d ed.: 2 (Kindle Locations 25047-25048). McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. Kindle Edition.
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