Paul Langton

Paul Langton (April 17, 1913 – April 15, 1980) was an American actor whose career spanned stage, film, radio, and television over four decades. He is perhaps best remembered for portraying Leslie Harrington on the prime-time serial Peyton Place from 1964 to 1968.

Born in Salt Lake City, Langton relocated to San Francisco at age twelve to live with his father, Ernest Langton, a former vaudevillian who worked in the mailing department of the San Francisco Examiner. He attended Lowell High School and the California School of Fine Arts in San Francisco, funding his education by working in the press rooms of both The Salt Lake Telegram and the Examiner. His early theatrical training came through productions with the Mountain Play Association in California and the Pasadena Playhouse.

Langton's stage career included a 1950 touring company production of Death of a Salesman, in which he played Biff. His Broadway credit came in 1956 with the drama Harbor Lights.

He made his film debut in 1941 and subsequently became a contract player at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, where he appeared frequently in war films. His later film work shifted toward character and supporting roles, including a part in The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957). Concurrently, he worked as a voice actor on Lux Radio Theatre from 1942 to 1954.

Langton's television career began in 1951 on a series called The Web. He went on to hold a regular role as Walter Dennis on the daytime series The Brighter Day and made five guest appearances on Perry Mason between 1958 and 1962, three of them as prosecuting attorneys. The role of Leslie Harrington on Peyton Place brought him his greatest public recognition. After being written out of that series in 1968, he appeared in additional programs including It Takes a Thief, Ironside, and Emergency!, the last serving as his final role before he retired due to ill health.

Langton was married to Elda Piva and was a member of the Mormon faith. He died in Burbank, California on April 15, 1980, two days before what would have been his sixty-seventh birthday.