Jerry Paris (July 25, 1925 - March 31, 1986) was an American actor and director best known for playing Jerry Helper, the dentist and next door neighbor of Rob and Laura Petrie, on The Dick Van Dyke Show. He was born William Gerald Grossman in San Francisco, California.
After having directed some "Van Dyke" show episodes, Paris devoted himself to directing, both in television and film, most notably on the TV series Happy Days, for which he directed the majority of episodes.
Paris had roles in major 1950s films like The Caine Mutiny and Marty and was one of Eliot Ness's men in a recurring role in TV's "The Untouchables."
He was predeceased by his wife, the former Ruth Benjamin, who died in 1980; they had three children.
Jerry Paris died from complications from brain cancer surgery at the age of 60. He was residing in Los Angeles, California at the time of his death.
Glimpsed throughout 50s pictures in amiable supports, actor Jerry Paris found his calling as a TV producer/director in the 60s. Born in San Francisco, he graduated from New York University and UCLA and studied at the Actor's Studio after serving in the Navy during WWII. Starting off on stage, he turned to films in 1949 with unbilled bits but slowly progressed to the secondary ranks in such durable films as Outrage (1950/I), Wild One, The (1953), Caine Mutiny, The (1954), Marty (1955), Naked and the Dead, The (1958) and Great Impostor, The (1961). Often cast as the genial or helpful pal of the star, he never could find that one film role to help him stand out among the rest. TV would become a more accepting medium for him. After appearing as a regular in the series "Untouchables, The" (1959) in 1959, Jerry found himself in good company with the classic "Dick Van Dyke Show, The" (1961) in 1961 playing zany next-door-neighbor and (of course) pal to Dick Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore. Producer Carl Reiner gave Jerry his first chance to direct on the show and the actor took to it like a duck to water. By the mid-60s, Jerry was a regular director and won an Emmy for his efforts during the 1963-1964 season. He abandoned acting to concentrate solely on behind-the-camera work, first in films with such movies as Viva Max! (1969) and Star Spangled Girl (1971). Again, however, he returned to the TV fold and found his niche in sitcoms with such shows as "Happy Days" (1974) (twice nominated) and "Odd Couple, The" (1970). Eventually, Jerry would include movie-making again and helmed his last feature Police Academy 3: Back in Training (1986), the same year he died from cancer and a brain tumor. He was 60 years young.
