| Jerry Paris | |
| Birthname: | William Gerald Paris |
| Birth Date: | 25 July 1925 |
| Birth Place: | San Francisco, California, U.S. |
| Death Place: | Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Occupation: | Actor, director |
| Years Active: | 1949–1986 |
| Children: | 3 |
William Gerald Paris (July 25, 1925 – March 31, 1986) was an American actor and director best known for playing Jerry Helper, the dentist and next-door neighbor of Rob and Laura Petrie, on The Dick Van Dyke Show, and for directing the majority of the episodes of the sitcom Happy Days.
Paris was born in San Francisco, California. His name, as frequently reported, was indeed Paris, and not Grossman, his stepfather's surname, which he never adopted.[1] Paris' mother's maiden name was Esther Mohr.[2]
After serving in the United States Navy during World War II, he attended New York University and the Actors Studio in New York City. After graduating, Paris moved to Los Angeles, where he attended UCLA and studied acting at the Actors Lab in Hollywood.[3] [4]
Paris had roles in films such as The Caine Mutiny, The Wild One, and Marty. He also played Martin "Marty" Flaherty, one of Eliot Ness's men, in a recurring role in the first season of ABC-TV's The Untouchables, besides making guest appearances on other television series.
After having directed some episodes of The Dick Van Dyke Show in which he also played the recurring character of next-door neighbor and dentist Jerry Helper, Paris won an Emmy Award in the 1963-64 season for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Comedy for the series. He later devoted himself to directing both in film and television, including The Partridge Family and Here's Lucy (including the famous third season opener featuring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton), but he worked most notably on Happy Days, where he directed 237 of the show's 255 episodes. Imitating Hitchcock, he appeared uncredited in at least one episode of every season.
Paris also directed episodes of Laverne & Shirley, The Odd Couple, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, The Ted Knight Show, and Blansky's Beauties. He returned to directing feature films in 1985's and 1986's . In all, he is credited with directing episodes of 57 TV titles and as an actor in 105 titles.
Paris married Ruth Lincoln Benjamin in Santa Barbara, California, on December 19, 1954.[5] They had three children, Tony, Julie, and Andy. They remained married until her death on August 13, 1980, in Los Angeles, California, at age 51.[6] [7]
On March 18, 1986, Paris was hospitalized at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where doctors discovered he had a brain tumor. He underwent two surgeries, but doctors were unable to remove the tumor. Paris remained hospitalized until his death on March 31 at the age of 60.[4] A private memorial was held at Paris' home in Pacific Palisades on April 2.[8]