Говард да Силва: Американский актер и режиссер

American actor (1909–1986)

Howard da Silva (born Howard Silverblatt, May 4, 1909 – February 16, 1986) was an American actor, director and musical performer on stage, film, television and radio. He was cast in dozens of productions on the New York stage, appeared in more than two dozen television programs, and acted in more than fifty feature films. Adept at both drama and musicals on the stage, he originated the role of Jud Fry in the original 1943 run of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical Oklahoma!, and also portrayed the prosecuting attorney in the 1957 stage production of Compulsion. Da Silva was nominated for a 1960 Tony Award as Best Featured Actor in a Musical for his work in Fiorello!, a musical about New York City mayor LaGuardia. In 1961, da Silva directed Purlie Victorious, by Ossie Davis. Many of his early feature films were of the noir genre in which he often played villains, such as Eddie Harwood in The Blue Dahlia and the sadistic Captain Francis Thompson in Two Years Before the Mast (both 1946). Da Silva's characterization of historic figures are among some of his most notable work: he was Lincoln's brawling friend Jack Armstrong in both play (1939) and film (1940) versions of Abe Lincoln in Illinois written by Robert Sherwood; Benjamin Franklin in the 1969–1972 stage musical 1776 and a reprisal of the role for the 1972 film version of the production; Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev in The Missiles of October (1974); Franklin D. Roosevelt in The Private Files of J. Edgar Hoover (1977); and Louis B. Mayer in Mommie Dearest (1981). Da Silva's American television character work included the defense attorney representing the robot in The Outer Limits episode "I, Robot" (1964), and district attorney Anthony Cleese in For the People (1965). For his performance as Eddie in the Great Performances production of Verna: USO Girl (1978), the actor received a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Performance by a Supporting Actor in a Comedy or Drama Special. In the 1970s, da Silva appeared in 26 episodes of the radio series the CBS Radio Mystery Theater.

Da Silva was born in Cleveland, Ohio, the son of Bertha (née Sen) and Benjamin Silverblatt, a dress cutter. His parents were both Yiddish speaking Jews born in Russia. His mother was a women's rights activist. Before beginning his acting career on the stage, he was employed as a steelworker. Da Silva was a graduate of the Carnegie Institute of Technology and studied acting with Eva Le Gallienne beginning in 1928 at the Civic Repertory Theatre.

Da Silva appeared in a number of Broadway musicals, including the role of Larry Foreman in the legendary first production of Marc Blitzstein's musical, The Cradle Will Rock (1938). While da Silva recuperated, his understudy, Rex Everhart, took over the role and performed on the cast recording. Da Silva was able to reprise his role in the 1972 film version and appeared on that soundtrack album. Da Silva did summer stock at the Pine Brook Country Club, located in the countryside of Nichols, Connecticut, with the Group Theatre (New York) formed by Harold Clurman, Cheryl Crawford and Lee Strasberg in the 1930s and early 1940s. Da Silva appeared in over 60 motion pictures. Some of his memorable roles include a leading mutineer in The Sea Wolf (1941), Ray Milland's bartender in The Lost Weekend (1945), and the half blind criminal "Chicamaw 'One Eye' Mobley" in They Live by Night (1949). He also released an album on Monitor Records (MP 595) of political songs and ballads entitled Politics and Poker. Da Silva returned to the stage, and he was nominated for the 1960 Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical for his role as "Ben Marino" in Fiorello! (1959). After being blacklisted, da Silva and Nelson left Los Angeles for New York to perform in The World of Sholom Aleichem. Da Silva was nominated for the British BAFTA Film Award for Best Foreign Actor for his performance as Dr. Swinford in David and Lisa (1962). Da Silva portrayed Soviet Premier Khrushchev in the television docudrama The Missiles of October (1974). He won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Performance by a Supporting Actor in a Comedy or Drama Special for his role as Eddie in Verna: U. S. O. Girl (1978) with Sissy Spacek. Da Silva's TV guest appearances, after the era in which blacklisting was strongest, include such programs as The Outer Limits, Ben Casey, The Man from U. N. C. L. E., The Fugitive, Gentle Ben, Mannix, Love, American Style, Kung Fu, and Archie Bunker's Place. Da Silva also played President Franklin D. Roosevelt in The Private Files of J. Edgar Hoover (1977), Hollywood mogul Louis B. Mayer in Mommie Dearest (1981), and American statesman Benjamin Franklin in both 1776 (1972) and a documentary depicting the life of Ben Franklin shown at Franklin's house in Philadelphia, as well as in a television commercial for Consolidated Edison. He appeared in two different film adaptations of F. Scott Fitzgerald's 1925 novel, The Great Gatsby. In the 1949 production with Alan Ladd as Gatsby, da Silva played garage owner George Wilson; in the 1974 film with Robert Redford, da Silva was Meyer Wolfsheim, the flamboyant gambler with the interesting cufflinks. In his final appearance on screen, da Silva played a New York photographer fascinated with the reclusive Greta Garbo in the film Garbo Talks (1984), directed by Sidney Lumet. He also did voice acting in 26 episodes of the popular 1974–82 radio thriller series CBS Radio Mystery Theater (between July 1974 and February 1977). In 1978, he recorded linking narration for episodes of the British television program Doctor Who broadcast in the United States.

Da Silva became one of hundreds of artists blacklisted in the entertainment industry during the House Committee on Unamerican Activities investigation into alleged Communist influence in the industry. Following his March 1951 testimony, in which he repeatedly invoked his Fifth Amendment rights, his lead performance in the completed feature film Slaughter Trail was re shot with actor Brian Donlevy. Da Silva continued to find work on the New York stage, but did not work in feature films again until 1961 when he appeared in David and Lisa (a BAFTA nominated performance). He was eventually cleared of any charges in 1960, but not before his career in television had also stalled, with no work between 1951 and 1959 when he appeared in The Play of the Week. The brief respite was followed by another television career void until his appearance in a 1963 episode of The Defenders. That was the beginning of the end of da Silva's blacklist, and the show's producer Herb Brodkin paired da Silva with William Shatner when he created the television series For the People.

YearTitle RoleDirector Other cast membersNotes Refs.1935Once in a Blue MoonBen Hecht, Charles MacArthurJimmy SavoUncredited1938Marie AntoinetteToulonNorma Shearer, John BarrymoreUncredited1940Abe Lincoln in IllinoisJack ArmstrongRaymond Massey, Ruth GordonI'm Still AliveRed GarveyKent Taylor, Linda Hayes1941FosterBarbara PepperShort filmHarrisonEdward G. Robinson, Ida Lupino, John GarfieldStrange AlibiMonsonArthur Kennedy, Joan PerrySergeant YorkLemHoward HawksGary CooperBad Men of MissouriGreg Bilson Dennis Morgan, Jane WymanThree Sons o' GunsRadio announcerWayne MorrisUncreditedNavy BluesPetty OfficerAnn Sheridan, Jack Oakie, Martha Raye, Jack HaleyUncreditedNine Lives Are Not EnoughJ. B. Murray – City EditorRonald ReaganBlues in the NightSam ParyasRichard Whorf, Priscilla Lane, Betty Field At the Stroke of TwelveAngie the OxCraig StevensShort filmSteel Against the SkyBugs LittleAlexis Smith, Lloyd Nolan1942Wild Bill Hickok RidesRingoConstance Bennett, Bruce CabotBullet ScarsFrank Dillon Regis ToomeyJuke GirlCullyAnn Sheridan, Ronald ReaganSandorHumphrey Bogart Ben SantleyJames CraigReunion in FranceAnton StregelJoan Crawford, John WayneNative LandJimLeo Hurwitz, Paul StrandPaul RobesonDocumentary1943Keeper of the FlameJason RickardsSpencer Tracy, Katharine HepburnTonight We Raid CalaisSgt. BlockLee J. Cobb, Beulah Bondi1945 Duffy's TavernTough guyEd Gardner, Bing CrosbyNatRay Milland1946 Eddie HarwoodAlan Ladd, Veronica LakeTwo Years Before the MastCaptain Francis A. Thompson Brian Donlevy, Barry Fitzgerald1947Blaze of Noon Mike Gafferty Anne Baxter, William HoldenVariety GirlHimselfDeForest Kelley, Olga San JuanUnconqueredMartin GarthGary Cooper, Paulette Goddard1948They Live by NightChickamawFarley Granger1949WilsonAlan LaddBorder IncidentOwen ParksonRicardo Montalbán, George Murphy1950 Carl DurhamDan Duryea, Gale StormWyoming Mail CavanaughStephen McNallyTripoliCapt. DemetriosMaureen O'HaraThree HusbandsDan McCabeEve Arden1951Fourteen HoursDeputy Police Chief MoskarHenry HathawayRichard BasehartSlaughter TrailCapt. DempsterGig Young, Virginia Greyhis footage reshotw/ different actor1962David and LisaDr. Alan SwinfordKeir Dullea, Janet Margolin1964ProspectorPaul Newman, Laurence Harvey, Claire BloomHamletClaudiusBruce Minnix, Joseph PappMichael Alaimo19721776Dr. Benjamin Franklin (PA)William Daniels, Blythe Danner, Ken Howard1974Meyer WolfsheimRobert Redford, Mia Farrow1975I'm a Stranger Here Myself NarratorJohn Houseman1976Hollywood on TrialHimselfDalton Trumbo, Ring Lardner Jr., Walter Bernstein 1977Franklin D. RooseveltBroderick Crawford, Celeste Holm, José Ferrer1981Mommie Dearest Louis B. MayerFrank PerryFaye Dunaway1984Garbo TalksAngelo Dokakis Greta Garbo, Anne Bancroft, Ron Silver

YearTitle Role Notes Refs. 1950My Heart's in the Highlands 1951My Heart's in the Highlands 1959Dupont Dufour Sr. Thieves Carnival 1963Peter ColeThe BagmanEast Side/West SideWallace MapesI Believe E Except After CDr. McClendonDisaster Call 1964Arnold FermullerThe Man WhoThurman CutlerI, Robot 1965For the PeopleAnthony Celese13 episodesBen CaseyUlysses Pagoras The Day They Stole Country GeneralBen CaseyCantor Nathan BirmbaumA Nightingale Named Nathan 1966Captain Basil Calhoun The Foreign Legion AffairGonzalesTo Hang a Dead ManPete Dawes Death is the Door Prize 1967N. Y. P. D. Dimitchik Old Gangsters Never DieGentle BenPhillip GarrettBattle of Wedlow Woods 1968MannixAram Karmalis You Can Get Killed Out There 1972Keep the FaithRabbi MossmanTV film 1973Love, American StyleDoctor Wazanskyi Love and the End of the LineKung FuOtto SchultzThe Hoots 1974Smile Jenny, You're DeadLt. Humphrey Kenner TV filmNikita KhrushchevTV film 1977InsightArnstein – Violinist Arnstein's Miracle 1978When the Boat Comes InHostAmerican broadcastGreat PerformancesEddieVerna:USO Girl 1983Archie Bunker's PlaceAbe Rabinowitz The PromotionMasqueradeGeneral Breznin Pilot 1984American PlayhouseCriticThe Cafeteria

Howard da Silva provided linking narration for North American broadcasts of Doctor Who, providing continuity announcements for episodes from season 12 through season 15, ostensibly to help North American audiences get acclimatized to the nature of serial storytelling, which was then uncommon on non soap operatic television in the United States and Canada. His narration accompanied the earliest runs of Doctor Who as broadcast on American PBS stations and Canadian broadcasters like TVOntario during the 1970s and early 1980s. Typically, after Doctor Who had been run on a station for a while, the linking narration was removed as unnecessary. Nevertheless, the announcements were so familiar a part of some viewers' experience of Doctor Who that they became a standard extra feature on BBC DVD releases of early Tom Baker serials.

From 1974 to 1977, da Silva was a regular player on CBS Radio Mystery Theater. YearDateTitleEp. No. 1974July 31"The Only Blood"125Dec 5"The Body Snatchers"183Dec 24"A Very Private Miracle"191 1975Jan 14"Faith and the Faker"205Feb 14"The Shadow of the Past"223Mar 20"The Doppelganger"242Apr 18"A Challenge for the Dead"259May 8"Taken for Granite" 270June 6"The Transformer"287July 2"Come Back with Me"301Aug 5"Hung Jury"321Aug 19"Welcome for a Dead Man"329Sept 18"The Coffin with the Golden Nails"346Sept 28"The Other Self "354Oct 23"The Sealed Room Murder"366Nov 17"The Moonlighter"380Nov 28"The Frammis"387Dec 15"Burn, Witch, Burn" 396 1976Jan 19"There's No Business Like"418Feb 19"Goodbye, Benjamin Flack"434Apr 24"The Prince of Evil"475Aug 30"The Night Shift"511Oct 22"Somebody Help Me! "540Dec 14"The Smoking Pistol"565 1977Jan 4"This Breed Is Doomed"577Feb 25"Legend of Phoenix Hill"607