Paul Robert Soles is a Canadian

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 actor

Actor

An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...

 and television personality.

Acting roles

He is best known as the voice of Hermie the misfit elf in Rankin/Bass' Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (TV special)

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is a Christmas television special produced in stop motion animation by Rankin/Bass. It first aired Sunday, December 6, 1964, on the NBC television network in the USA, and was sponsored by General Electric under the umbrella title of The General Electric Fantasy Hour...

 in 1964.

Soles also voiced the superhero Spider-Man

Spider-Man

Spider-Man is a fictional Marvel Comics superhero. The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and writer-artist Steve Ditko. He first appeared in Amazing Fantasy #15...

 in the animated television series

Spider-Man (1967 TV series)

Spider-Man is an animated television series that ran from September 9, 1967 to June 14, 1970. It was jointly produced in Canada and the United States and was the first animated adaptation of the Spider-Man comic book series, created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko...

 of the late 1960s, played "The Lawbreaker" on the CBC panel quiz show This Is the Law

This is the Law

This is the Law was a Canadian panel game show which aired on CBC Television from 1971 to 1976.It presented short, humorous vignettes which ran with musical accompaniment rather than a soundtrack, and challenged panellists to guess which law was being broken by the "Lawbreaker" character , who...

 in the 1970s, and played Costas Stavros on the Canadian soap opera

Soap opera

A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...

 Riverdale

Riverdale (TV series)

Riverdale is a Canadian prime time soap opera which ran for three seasons .The series was set in the Toronto community of Riverdale, which had the reputation of being home to many CBC employees at the time. It focused on a variety of characters and their interactions in everyday life...

. In 2001, he took over the role of Shylock the Jew in the Stratford Festival of Canada

Stratford Festival of Canada

The Stratford Shakespeare Festival is an internationally recognized annual celebration of theatre running from April to November in the Canadian city of Stratford, Ontario...

 production of The Merchant of Venice

The Merchant of Venice

The Merchant of Venice is a tragic comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598. Though classified as a comedy in the First Folio and sharing certain aspects with Shakespeare's other romantic comedies, the play is perhaps most remembered for its dramatic...

 after Al Waxman

Al Waxman

Albert Samuel Waxman, CM, O.Ont was a Canadian actor and director of over 1000 productions on radio, television, film, and stage...

, who was originally scheduled to play the part, died. Soles recently played Stanley the pizza shop owner in The Incredible Hulk

The Incredible Hulk (film)

The Incredible Hulk is a 2008 superhero action film based on the Marvel Comics character the Hulk. It is directed by Louis Leterrier and stars Edward Norton as Dr. Bruce Banner. It is the second film to be released in the Marvel Cinematic Universe...

.

He won a 2006 Gemini Award

Gemini Award

The Gemini Awards are annual television broadcasting industry awards in Canada.First awarded in 1986, the Geminis celebrate the achievements of TV members of the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television. Essentially, it presents awards for the best television productions in Canada. Awards are...

 for his role in the television series Terminal City

Terminal City (TV series)

Terminal City was a Canadian mini-series about a woman diagnosed with breast cancer while running a failing reality tv show turning it into a hit as her life and body begin to change.- Cast :* Maria del Mar ... as Katie...

.

Voice Work

He also did voices on various animated TV shows and films such as Rocket Robin Hood

Rocket Robin Hood

Rocket Robin Hood is a Canadian animated television series, placing the characters and conflicts of the classic Robin Hood legend in a futuristic, outer space setting, produced by Krantz Films, Inc...

, The Smokey Bear Show, The Little Brown Burro, King of the Beasts, The Marvel Superheroes, the classic 1966 Incredible Hulk cartoon series, The Trolls and the Christmas Express, Take Me Up to the Ball Game

Take Me Up to the Ball Game

Take Me Up to the Ball Game is the sixth animated television special from Nelvana Limited, released in September 1980. The title is a play on the song title "Take Me Out to the Ball Game".-Synopsis:...

, Willy McBean and his Magic Machine

Willy McBean and his Magic Machine

Willy McBean and his Magic Machine is a Rankin/Bass full-length stop-motion puppet animation film released in theaters. It was also the first stop-motion animated feature film in USA...

, Festival of Family Classics

Festival of Family Classics

The Festival Of Family Classics originally aired between 1972 and 1976. It was re-aired 1 November 2005 on the Boomerang and 16 June 2011 Teletoon Retro network....

, The Reluctant Dragon and Mr. Toad Show, Noah's Animals, Iron Man

Iron Man (TV series)

Iron Man, also known as Iron Man: The Animated Series, is an American animated television series based on Marvel Comics' superhero Iron Man...

, The King Kong Show

The King Kong Show

The King Kong Show is an American/Japanese children's animated television series produced in 1966 by Videocraft of the USA, and Japan's Toei Animation and is the first anime series produced in Japan for an American company...

 and Captain America.

He was also the narrator of The Wonderful Stories of Professor Kitzel, the voice of The Commissioner in the 2005 animated TV series Funpak and has also supplied the voice of Dr. Reboux in the animated version of the 2005 film Heidi

Heidi (2005 animated film)

Heidi is a 2005 animated adaptation of the Johanna Spyri novel, produced by Nelvana Limited, Telemagination and TV-Loonland AG.-See also:*Heidi's Song, a 1982 Hanna-Barbera film based on the Spyri work.*List of animated feature-length films...

.

He also voiced the Academy Award-nominated animated documentary

Animated documentary

The animated documentary is a genre of film which combines the genres of animation and documentary. This genre should not be confused with documentaries about movie and TV animation history that feature excerpts.- History :...

 The Colours of My Father: A Portrait of Sam Borenstein

The Colours of My Father: A Portrait of Sam Borenstein

The Colours of My Father: A Portrait of Sam Borenstein is a 1992 short animated documentary directed by Joyce Borenstein about her father, the Canadian painter Sam Borenstein. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short. In Canada, it was named best short documentary at the...

.

Television hosting

He was the host of the short-lived CBC Television

CBC Television

CBC Television is a Canadian television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster.Although the CBC is supported by public funding, the television network supplements this funding with commercial advertising revenue, in contrast to CBC Radio which are...

 late-night comedy talk show Canada After Dark

Canada After Dark

Canada After Dark was Canada's first late-night comedy/variety talk show. It was hosted by Paul Soles and aired on CBC Television from September 18, 1978 to January 26, 1979.The show was repackaged from the failed, more informational 90 Minutes Live...

, and co-hosted the public affairs show Take 30

Take 30

Take 30 was a Canadian television newsmagazine series, which aired on CBC Television from 1962 to 1983...

 for 18 seasons with hosts such as Anna Cameron and Adrienne Clarkson

Adrienne Clarkson

Adrienne Louise Clarkson is a Canadian journalist and stateswoman who served as Governor General of Canada, the 26th since Canadian Confederation....

.

Documentary producer

Paul Soles was also a producer of documentaries while he was an on-air talent at CFPL-TV

CFPL-TV

CFPL-DT is a television station based in London, Ontario, Canada, owned by Bell Media. Part of the CTV Two television system, the station serves London, Sarnia and much of southwestern Ontario north of London, including Wingham since its former sister station, CKNX-TV which ceased operations and...

 in London, Ontario

London, Ontario

London is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada, situated along the Quebec City – Windsor Corridor. The city has a population of 352,395, and the metropolitan area has a population of 457,720, according to the 2006 Canadian census; the metro population in 2009 was estimated at 489,274. The city...

. He worked on a series called, The World Around Us

The World Around Us

The World Around Us was an Australian documentary television series that aired on the Seven Network. It regularly showed documentaries which featured the likes of Malcolm Douglas and Sir David Attenborough.- Presenters :...

, and traveled with film crews in Great Britain

Great Britain

Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...

 in the early 1960s, filming many aspects of British life. He even got on a soap-box in Hyde Park

Speakers' Corner

A Speakers' Corner is an area where open-air public speaking, debate and discussion are allowed. The original and most noted is in the north-east corner of Hyde Park in London, United Kingdom. Speakers there may speak on any subject, as long as the police consider their speeches lawful, although...

 in London to speak his mind. Soles has worked with people like Dennis Goulden (a long-time documentarian who still produces television specials in the States) and Jim Plant and Tom Ashwell and Jon Boynton.

Family

Soles and Bernard Cowan

Bernard Cowan

Bernard Cowan was a Canadian actor, announcer and writer. He was born in Toronto, Ontario. He was occasionally credited under his nickname, Bunny Cowan, such as on the production Willy McBean and his Magic Machine....

 were cousins who both worked on the 1960s Spider-Man animated series., and also the 1967 children's series Max, the 2000-Year-Old Mouse

Max, the 2000-Year-Old Mouse

Max, the 2000-Year-Old Mouse was a Canadian animated television series produced by the late Steve Krantz, which originally aired in Canada in 1967 and became popular in several parts of the world, most notably the United States, where it was syndicated on both local and PBS stations between 1970...

.

External links

• Spider-Man memory site Paul Soles describes the making of the cartoon TV show in Toronto and the voice actors behind the characters.