Paul Picerni (born December 1, 1922 in New York City) is an American actor.
He was a first lieutenant and bombardier during the war assigned to the Asian theatre. After peace was declared he became special services officer in India. Following the war he enrolled at Loyola Marymount University at Los Angeles.
As a young actor returning from World War II, he fought the war all over again in the 1950 movie Breakthrough. This led to a Warner Brothers contract for Picerni and a succession of roles at that studio including a starring turn as the hero in the 1953 horror classic House of Wax. After his departure from Warners, he appeared with Audie Murphy in Universal's To Hell and Back.
When Italian organizations began to complain about the use of Italian gangsters on TV's The Untouchables starring Robert Stack as G-man Eliot Ness, Picerni joined the cast of the show as Ness's number one aide, Lee Hobson, from 1960-63.
Picerni, an Italian American, married former ballet dancer Marie Mason in 1947; they have eight children. His autobiography "Steps to Stardom: My Story," written with the help of Tom Weaver, was published by BearManor Media in 2007.
