I always liked Burke, and learning about his indulgent, imperfect life makes him more interesting to me. Just last week I watched a TV movie made in the early sixties, Della, with Burke, Joan Crawford and Diane Baker. Joan was about as voracious in her sexual appetite as Paul apparently was and in one scene when he is shirtless, Joan berates him about strutting his maleness around to entice Baker. Now, I wonder if his sex appeal was getting to Crawford, and if they had a fling? She was much older, but still had a great figure, and hell, she was Crawford after all. Who could blame either of them if there was a bit of hanky panky?

The book Fallen Stars by Julian Upton offers some insight about Carol's "much talked-about" obsession with the married, unsuitable, "playboy" Paul Burke; apparently she remained infatuated with him despite his telephoning her to wish her a happy new year . . . and to share the news that he was phoning from a bed with two hookers.

Well put, peachy2. Paul could be a rogue, a cad, and a jerk to those in his life, and some of his choices and actions were questionable, to say the least, but he also had positive and endearing aspects to his personality and nature. And there's one thing about him on which everyone who knew Paul can agree: even at his worst he looked great naked, and he'd have been the first to say so! You have to give him that much.

Hi, I was also surprised to read about his other exploits. But as cute as he was
that explained a few things. Does anyone know what happened to the left side of
his face just after he took the starring role from Robert Lansing? I am old enuf
to have watched it first run whenever I could. I'm happy to tune in to METV at
the charming hour of 3 am. I'm retired so I'm no longer a slave to an alarm clock. It's always bugged me about his face after I first saw it all those years
ago. I was even lucky enuf to have found the whole series on DVD so I can see
it whenever I want. It's too bad that he got too close to someone else's crap
& it ruined his career. I'm glad he was cleared even though Hollyweird turned
their back on him.

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Easy to criticize people who are dead and can't defend themselvesor are too old to worry about it!

Some of the notes here show the truth of Burke's life when saying of how he was seen differently as an older man.
As biographer of Jack Kelly (& Robert Taylor), I can tell you from interviews w/folks who knew Burke very wellJack Kelly was a good friend, & intimates of his have stories to tellhe was a beloved friend by many for years upon years & I'm talking about women. The atmosphere in which these people lived, & the time in which they lived, offered them every opportunity at every turn. Some were able to simply dabble; others went off the deep end. None of that necessarily makes them a bad person or someone w/less of a need to be understood. It simply makes them human.
Jack Kelly, for example, drank heavily throughout his life. It wasn't his best point. He was married twice, & while the 1st marriage ended in divorce & the 2nd w/separation long before he died both women still love him dearly to this day. He had every opportunity at every turn, as did Burke. He gave in to alcohol, yet he was a one-woman man when he was in a relationshipso, some things got him & some things didn't.
What makes one person handle things differently than another in similar scenarios? Humanity. While I don't have a lot of Paul Burke in my upcoming book, I do mention him as his life relates to Jack Kelly's & Jack's 1st wife, May Wynn. Life is complicated, yes?!
Linda J. Alexander
Author, "A Maverick Life: The Jack Kelly Story" due out end of 2011
http://www.lindajalexander.net
http://www.authorsden.com/lindajalexander

'It also indicates he was divorced from his first wife who had three children by him.
committed suicide'

so?
wow.lot's of women on this board judging

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Yes I totally agree! People are not completely good or completely evil. In addition to that there are many stages in life, and people do slow down in old age. The few interviews I've read with Burke portray a thoughtful man who wanted to live life to the fullest. Unfortunately, womanizing, gambling and substance abuse could fall into that category. At any rate, he apparently overcame his addictions to live to a ripe old age much loved by his grandchildren. Again, I cannot stress enough that Carol White herself was a terrible alcoholic and drug abuser as well as being a - well - I guess there is no comparable word for "womanizer" - manizer?? A good amount of her autobiography is devoted to unsavory details about Burke, though how she could remember anything of her life is amazing considering her addictions. At any rate, I love watching Paul Burke on Naked City - he inhabits the role. Another point: being a great actor does not necessarily make one a great human being. Just as an actor playing an evil character may not really be evil!

In Naked City he's an earnest young policeman with an intellectual interest in what causes criminal behavior. He even questions why he does things sometimes.
On Twelve O'Clock High he's a focused disciplinarian who wants to get the job done with minimal losses. He has no tolerance for screw-ups.
It's hard to reconcile that with a substance-abuser and womanizer who got involved in criminal activity. Not only does that betray a lack of standards and discipline but it shows a degree of self-involvement that is absent from his video alter-egos.
Obviously, actors are playing roles. People with high moral values can play slimy villans. Introverts can play extroverts. Lapsed Catholics can play priests. But it's still shocking to see that someone was so different than their most famous roles. Even Errol Flynn was clearly a ladies man with a sense of fun on the screen. And he did believe in causes in real life.
Of course failed relationships and substance abuse can change a person. Maybe when he played Adam Flint and Joe Gallagher, Paul Burke WAS very much like them. Maybe he became a different Paul Burke later and the then morphed, after a lifetime of mistakes, into the gentle raconteur described in the post by his grandchild.

I'm Untouchable
I watched Paul Burke as a kid and thought he was fantastic actor. I used to comb my hair like his and at the time even thought of being a policeman when I got older. Every episode he did on Naked City showed his first class acting ability. Last year they ran the entire series on TV land and I recorded and watched each one. It brought back a lot of memories.
Its too bad to hear that he was not the kind of person he portrayed in that series, but it does show what a good actor he was.

to have played a policeman and get arrested by the real cops? You might come to prefer illusion to reality.

Yes - his first wife attempted suicide, she dealt with his constant disappearing (gambling trips, etc.) and tons of other women. According to Carol White's bio Burke was into drinking, drugs, TONS of women - very unsavory stuff. They met making a film together. White actually caused a scene at a party where his wife was present. A good deal of White's bio was devoted to Burke - very interesting, but shocking.
White herself died of drugs/alcohol problems in the early 90s so I suppose her book should be taken with a grain of salt. It was extremely depressing - especially since I LOVE Burke on Naked City. He seems so compassionate and real. I suppose that's what they call good acting! The racketeering charges fit the person White describes.
By the way I just listed the book on ebay - it's very hard to find - published in Great Britain in the 80s.

but it could be true.
He seemed like such a solid citizen on the tube but his IMDB bio says:
"Paul's career hit an irreversible snag in 1989 when he and three others, including New Orleans' District Attorney Harry Connick (yes, father of the crooning junior), were tried on federal racketeering charges, aiding and abetting a gambling operation, and committing perjury before a grand jury. The seven-week trial in 1990 resulted in his and Connick's acquittal (the other two were found guilty) but the damage was done and he wasn't able to find work when he returned to California."
It also indicates he was divorced from his first wife who had three children by him.