Paul Fierro(1916-1999)

Paul Fierro began acting at the dawn of commercialized television; in the heyday of Hollywood's youth. The 40s were tough times to get a break in the tightly knit "town of dreams," but Fierro took whatever he could get. He started doing bit parts and eventually the roles grew. By the 1950s he found his niche; usually as the villain in television westerns. Interestingly, the bad guys came in the form of cowboy, or the half-naked Indian as well. His tall, dark, athletic features lending themselves easily to the roles. It was something the always goodhearted actor eventually came to terms with. He became part of one of history's great film moments in 1948, when in "Red River," John Wayne claims Diego's (Walter Brennan) land by shooting Fierro. In 1956, he appeared as Morteno in "The Creature Walks Among Us," one of the classic monster films from the "Creature From the Black Lagoon" series. The cult status of the film was something he found enjoyable in later years, remarking to a reporter once, that laughing at life was one of the things he loved to do.

Fierro was born in L.A.'s "Dogtown," the deteriorating Southside of Santa Monica at the time. As a boy of eight, he sold papers on the corner of Figueroa St. and Santa Barbara Avenue. He also fought in a "smoker" bout at the same age to earn some money, and won. "Smoker" referring to illegally staged and unregulated boxing matches of the early 1900s. In high school he was awarded a football scholarship to North Carolina State, where he played half back from 1935 to 1937, under Notre Dame coach, Hunk Anderson. He spent most of his life during his acting career living in a cottage in Laurel Canyon, before moving to Walnut Creek, CA, where he later passed away. Truly one of the trailblazers to hit the small and big screens in the pioneering days of Hollywood.