Paul Gilbert

Paul Gilbert (born Ed MacMahon; December 27, 1918 – February 13, 1976) was an American film and television actor.

Biography Gilbert was born Ed MacMahon, He continued performing music, dancing and comedy.

Gilbert starred in the 1954 series The Duke as a former boxer who has decided to give up his fighting career to become a respectable nightclub owner. In the pilot episode, Gilbert sings, dances, juggles and plays four instruments in the band.

On May 9, 1964, Gilbert and wife Barbara (née Crane) adopted one-day-old Melissa Gilbert, who played Laura Ingalls Wilder on the long-running NBC series Little House on the Prairie. They later adopted Jonathan Gilbert,

Death Gilbert was believed to have died on February 13, 1976, aged 57, in Hollywood, Los Angeles, from a stroke. In her autobiography, Melissa Gilbert wrote that he died by suicide due to suffering from constant pain stemming from World War II injuries while serving as a fighter pilot in the Air Corps. He was buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills) in Los Angeles.

Filmography Year Title Role Notes1955 So This Is Paris Davy Jones 1955 The Second Greatest Sex Roscoe Dobbs 1956 You Can't Run Away from It George Shapely 1964 3 Nuts in Search of a Bolt Joe Lynch 1965 Sylvia Lola Diamond 1965 Cat Ballou Train Messenger 1966 Women of the Prehistoric Planet Lt. Red Bradley