Paul Soles

Paul Robert Soles (born 11 August 1930)^[1] is a Canadian actor and television personality. He is also a voice actor, starring in series such as The Marvel Super Heroes show (1966) and Spider-Man (1967).

Soles first screen appearance was on CFPL (Canada's second privately owned television station) in 1953, and he continues to perform over 60 years later, performing as of 2016 in the comedy series My 90-Year-Old Roommate on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's online comedy channel, Punchline.^[1][2]

Acting roles

He is best known as the original voice of Hermey the misfit elf in Rankin/Bass' Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer in 1964.^[3]

Soles went on to voice Bruce Banner the alter ego of the Hulk and his friend Rick Jones in the 1966 Incredible Hulk cartoon series from The Marvel Super Heroes program.^[4] He also voiced fellow Marvel superhero Spider-Man in the animated television series also from the late 1960s, and he played "The Lawbreaker" on the CBC panel quiz show This Is the Law in the 1970s, and played Costas Stavros on the Canadian soap opera Riverdale. In 2001, he took over the role of Shylock the Jew in the Stratford Festival of Canada production of The Merchant of Venice after Al Waxman, who was originally scheduled to play the part, died.^[5] Soles played Stanley the pizza shop owner in The Incredible Hulk. He also played Danny, the Montréal Customs House janitor in the 2001 crime thriller The Score.

He won a 2006 Gemini Award for his role in the television series Terminal City.^[3]

Voice work

He also did voices on various animated TV shows and films such as Rocket Robin Hood, The Smokey Bear Show, The Little Brown Burro, King of the Beasts, The Marvel Super Heroes, Spider-Man, The Trolls and the Christmas Express, Take Me Up to the Ball Game, Willy McBean and his Magic Machine, Festival of Family Classics, The Reluctant Dragon and Mr. Toad Show, Noah's Animals, Iron Man, and The King Kong Show.

He was also the narrator of The Wonderful Stories of Professor Kitzel, the voice of The Commissioner in the 2005 animated TV series Funpak and has also supplied the voice of Dr. Reboux in the animated version of the 2005 film Heidi.

He also voiced the Academy Award-nominated animated documentary The Colours of My Father: A Portrait of Sam Borenstein.^[6]

In 2011, Paul Soles started voicing the recurring character Maxwell Finnwich on Detentionaire.

Television hosting

He was the host of the short-lived CBC Television late-night comedy talk show Canada After Dark, and co-hosted the public affairs show Take 30 for 18 seasons with hosts such as Anna Cameron and Adrienne Clarkson. He also hosted the CFPL television game show Take Your Choice for one year in the early 1960s.^[3]

Documentary producer

Paul Soles was also a producer of documentaries while he was an on-air talent at CFPL-TV in London, Ontario. He worked on a series called, The World Around Us, and traveled with film crews in Great Britain in the early 1960s, filming many aspects of British life. He even got on a soap-box in Hyde Park in London to speak his mind. Soles has worked with people like Dennis Goulden (a long-time documentarian who still produces television specials in the States) and Jim Plant and Tom Ashwell and Jon Boynton.

Family

Soles has one son.^[7] Soles is cousin of Bernard "Bunny" Cowan, and they both worked on the 1960s Spider-Man animated series and the 1967 children's series Max, the 2000-Year-Old Mouse.^[1][7][8]

References

1. 1 2 3 Wise, Wyndham. "Soles, Paul". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved 2016-09-29. 
2. ↑ Reid, Regan (2016-04-05). "CBC orders 10 episodes of My 90-Year-Old Roommate for Punchline". Playback. Retrieved 2016-09-29. 
3. 1 2 3 Brady, Bill (30 May 2009). "Indefatigable Soles". London Free Press. Retrieved 2009-05-30. 
4. ↑ Chance, Norman (2010). Who Was Who on Tv - Volume 2. Xlibris. ISBN 9781456821623. Retrieved 1 September 2012. 
5. ↑ "Paul Soles (profile)". Northern Stars. Retrieved 2009-05-30. 
6. ↑ NFB.ca Web page, The Colours of My Father
7. 1 2 Wheeler, Brad (2016-10-18). "Making it up as you go". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2016-10-19. 
8. ↑ Bell, John (2006). Invaders from the North: How Canada Conquered the Comic Book Universe. Dundurn Press. p. 116. ISBN 978-1-55002-659-7. 

External links

• Paul Soles at the Internet Movie Database
• Spider-Man memory site Paul Soles describes the making of the cartoon TV show in Toronto and the voice actors behind the characters.