Paul Hampton

{{short description|American actor (born 1937)}}

{{for|the musician with the ska band The Skeletones|Paul A Hampton}}

{{BLP sources|date=May 2025}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2014}}

{{Infobox person

| name = Paul Hampton

| image =

| imagesize = 255px

| caption =

| birth_name = Paul Schwartz

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|mf=yes|1937|08|20}}

| birth_place = Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, US

| death_date =

| death_place =

| occupation = {{flatlist|

  • Actor
  • singer
  • composer}}

| spouse =

}}

Paul Hampton (born August 20, 1937) is an American actor, singer, lyricist and writer.{{Cite web |title=PAUL HAMPTON |url=https://tims.blackcat.nl/messages/paul_hampton.htm |access-date=2025-05-14 |website=tims.blackcat.nl}}

Career

While he was a sophomore at Dartmouth College, he was signed to Columbia Records and Columbia Pictures at the same time to write music with Hal David and Burt Bacharach. In 1960, with Bacharach he co-composed and performed the strange death disc "Two Hour Honeymoon" (Dot Records). After this initial outing he co-wrote hits for Don Gibson ("Sea of Heartbreak"), Gene Pitney ("Donna Means Heartbreak"), Johnny Tillotson ("I Rise, I Fall") and hits for overseas artists ("Angry at the Old Oak Tree.") Also he wrote the theme for "My Mother the Car" and sang it under the group name Albuquerque. He made two albums, "Beautiful Beginnings" and "Rest Home For Children."{{Cite book |last=Griffiths |first=Gareth |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zt37EAAAQBAJ&q=Paul+Hampton+actor |title=John Romeril |date=2023-12-14 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=978-90-04-65897-4 |language=en}}

Some of his songs have been recorded by Sammy Davis Jr., Bette Midler, Eddy Arnold, Tom Jones, Merle Haggard, Ricky Nelson, Elvis Presley, Gene Pitney and Johnny Cash.{{Cite book |last=Dominic |first=Serene |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cz5bAwAAQBAJ&q=paul+hampton+actor |title=Burt Bacharach: Song By Song |date=2003-12-01 |publisher=Schirmer Trade Books |isbn=978-0-85712-259-9 |language=en}}

His film career began in 1958 starring in Senior Prom. Many television appearances ensued such as The New Phil Silvers Show, The Doris Day Show, The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, McCloud, Ironside, Combat!, Benson and others. Some notable movie appearances were in Lady Sings the Blues, Shivers, Hit!, More Dead Than Alive, as a trigger-happy punk, and the award-winning television show Never Forget. Hampton continues to act and compose today (2010).

In 2008 Tony Award-winning actress and singer Idina Menzel recorded Hampton's song "Hope" for the Major League Baseball Stand Up To Cancer

charitable program.{{Cite web |title=Idina Menzel returns to Broadway for new musical, "Redwood" - CBS News |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/video/idina-menzel-returns-to-broadway-for-new-musical-redwood/ |access-date=2025-05-14 |website=www.cbsnews.com |language=en-US}}

He is the ASCAP award-winning songwriter for "Sea of Heartbreak", used in the soundtrack for the films The Butcher Boy, A Perfect World, Heartbreak Ridge and Clay Pigeons.

In 2010 singer Rosanne Cash covered the song in a duo with Bruce Springsteen which received a Grammy nomination and was promoted as the

single from her album The List.

Selected filmography

Music

  • 1957: Play it Cool b/w Classy Babe
  • 1957: Rockin' Doll b/w Please Love Me
  • 1957: Slam Bam Thank You Ma'am b/w Live A Life of Love
  • 1958: Love b/w The Longer I Love You
  • 1959: Write Me b/w Don't Unless You Love Me
  • 1960: Two Hour Honeymoon b/w Creams
  • 1963: I'm In Love With A Bunny* (At The Playboy* Club) b/w Bandera
  • 1965: My Mother the Car – composer: theme music. Song performed by Hampton under the name Albuquerque.
  • 1970: ALBUM – Beautiful Beginnings, Barnaby Records
  • 1974: ALBUM – Rest Home For Children, Crested Butte Records

References

{{Reflist}}