Percy Kilbride (1888 - 1964)

Percy Kilbride was an American character actor who made a career of playing country hicks, most memorably as Pa Kettle in the Ma and Pa Kettle series for Universal Pictures in the late 1940s and early to mid 1950s. He was born in San Francisco, California, on July 16, 1888. He began working in the theater at the age of 12 and eventually left to become an actor on Broadway. His film debut was in the 1933 film White Woman starring Carole Lombard. Kilbride left Broadway for good in 1942 when Jack Benny insisted that he reprise his Broadway role in the film version of George Washington Slept Here. According to Benny, Percy Kilbride was the same character off-screen as he was on: quiet and friendly but principled, refusing to be paid more or less what he considered a fair salary. Other film roles include Keeper of the Flame in 1942, The Adventures of Mark Twain in 1944, and Fallen Angel and State Fair both in 1945.

In 1947, he and Marjorie Main appeared in The Egg and I, starring Fred MacMurray and Claudette Colbert as a sophisticated couple taking on farm life. Main and Kilbride were featured as folksy neighbors Ma and Pa Kettle. Audience response prompted the popular Ma and Pa Kettle series, seven films for Universal between 1949 and 1955. Pa Kettle became Kilbride's most famous role: the gentle-spirited Pa seldom raised his voice and was always ready to help his friends - by borrowing from other friends.

Percy Kilbride became ill while filming Ma and Pa Kettle at Waikiki in 1953. The director cleverly staged new scenes with a stunt double, conserving Kilbride's energy for dialogue and close-ups. The film, finally released in 1955, was Percy Kilbridge's last picture. On September 21, 1964, Kilbride and his friend and acting colleague, Ralf Belmont, were struck by a car while walking near Kilbride's home in Hollywood. Belmont died instantly. Percy Kilbride died three months later on December 11, 1964, from head injuries, having undergone brain surgery a month before. He was 76 years old. A World War I veteran, Kilbride was buried near his hometown of San Francisco at Golden Gate National Cemetery in San Bruno, California.