Paul Picerni

Paul Picerni
Picerni as Untouchable Lee Hobson (1961)
Born	Horacio Paul Picerni (1922-12-01)December 1, 1922 New York City, New York, U.S.
Died	January 12, 2011(2011-01-12) (aged 88) Palmdale, California, U.S.
Cause of death	Heart attack
Resting place	San Fernando Mission Cemetery in Los Angeles, California
Other names	Horacio Paul Picerni
Alma mater	Loyola Marymount University
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1946–2007
Spouse(s)	Marie Mason (1947–2011, his death)
Children	Eight children, two deceased

Paul Picerni (December 1, 1922 – January 12, 2011), was an American actor in film and television, perhaps best known today in the role of Federal Agent Lee Hobson, second-in-command to Robert Stack's Eliot Ness in the ABC hit television series, The Untouchables.

Born Horace Paul Picerni in New York City, Picerni was an Eagle Scout and studied drama at Loyola University.

Picerni joined the United States Army Air Forces during World War II and served as a B-24 Liberator bombardier in the China-Burma-India Theater. He flew twenty-five combat missions with the 493rd Bomb Squadron of the 7th Bomb Group and received the Distinguished Flying Cross. He was part of a mission that attacked and destroyed the actual bridge made famous in the film The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957). After the Japanese surrendered, Picerni became a Special Services officer in India. Following his discharge, he enrolled at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, California.

As a young actor returning from the war, Picerni appeared in military pictures: in Twelve O'Clock High (1949) as a bombardier and as Private Edward P. Rojeck in Breakthrough. This led to a Warner Brothers contract and a succession of roles at that studio including a Portuguese Socialist "Red" agitator in 1952's The Miracle of Our Lady of Fatima, the hero of the 1953 horror classic, House of Wax. After his departure from Warners, he appeared with Audie Murphy in Universal Studio's To Hell and Back.