Howard Da Silva
Encyclopedia
Howard Da Silva was an American
actor
.
, Ohio
, the son of Benjamin and Bertha Silverblatt. His parents were both Yiddish
speaking Jews born in Russia
. He had a job as a steelworker before beginning his acting career
on the stage
. He changed his surname to the Portuguese Da Silva, despite not having any relationship with Portugal or Brazil. (The name is sometimes misspelled Howard De Silva)
musicals, including the role of "Larry Foreman" in the legendary first production of Marc Blitzstein
's musical, The Cradle Will Rock
(1937). Later, he costarred in the original 1943 stage production of Rodgers and Hammerstein
's Oklahoma!
, playing the role of the psychopathic "Jud Fry". He was the easygoing Ben who opposed Tammany Hall
in the Pulitzer winning musical Fiorello!
. In 1969, he originated the role of Benjamin Franklin
in the musical 1776
and played him in the 1972 film version as well. During the show's run on Broadway, he suffered a minor heart attack
, and was unable to appear on the cast recording
. While Da Silva recuperated, his understudy, Rex Everhart
, took over the role.
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), playing 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 of political songs and ballads entitled Politics and Poker.
In the 1950s, after being blacklisted
as a result of the investigations into alleged communist
influence in the movie industry by the House Committee on Un-American Activities and unable to find movie or TV
work, Da Silva returned to the stage. He was nominated for the 1960 Tony Award
for Best Featured Actor in a Musical for his role as "Ben Marino" in Fiorello!
(1959).
Da Silva married actress Marjorie Nelson in 1949. After being blacklisted, Da Silva and Nelson left Los Angeles for New York to perform in The World of Sholom Aleichem. Da Silva and Nelson divorced in 1960.
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). He was the narrator for the U.S. released versions of the British TV
program Doctor Who
. Da Silva portrayed Soviet Premier Khrushchev in the 1974 television docudrama The Missiles of October
. 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 Franklin D. Roosevelt
in The Private Files of J. Edgar Hoover
(1977), Louis B. Mayer
in Mommie Dearest
(1981), "Angelo Dokakis" in Garbo Talks
(1984), and Benjamin Franklin
in 1776
(1972), as well as a documentary depicting the life of Ben Franklin shown at Franklin's house in Philadelphia. 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.
Da Silva also appeared as a voice actor in 26 episodes of a 1970s attempt to revive radio drama called The CBS Radio Mystery Theater
between July 1974 and February 1977.
Howard Da Silva died of lymphoma
at the age of 76 in Ossining, New York
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
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...
.
Early life
He was born Howard Silverblatt in ClevelandCleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
, Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
, the son of Benjamin and Bertha Silverblatt. His parents were both Yiddish
Yiddish language
Yiddish is a High German language of Ashkenazi Jewish origin, spoken throughout the world. It developed as a fusion of German dialects with Hebrew, Aramaic, Slavic languages and traces of Romance languages...
speaking Jews born in Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
. He had a job as a steelworker before beginning his acting career
Career
Career is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as a person's "course or progress through life ". It is usually considered to pertain to remunerative work ....
on the stage
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
. He changed his surname to the Portuguese Da Silva, despite not having any relationship with Portugal or Brazil. (The name is sometimes misspelled Howard De Silva)
Career
Da Silva appeared in a number of BroadwayBroadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
musicals, including the role of "Larry Foreman" in the legendary first production of Marc Blitzstein
Marc Blitzstein
Marcus Samuel Blitzstein, better known as Marc Blitzstein , was an American composer. He won national attention in 1937 when his pro-union musical The Cradle Will Rock, directed by Orson Welles, was shut down by the Works Progress Administration...
's musical, The Cradle Will Rock
The Cradle Will Rock
The Cradle Will Rock is a 1937 musical by Marc Blitzstein. Originally a part of the Federal Theatre Project, it was directed by Orson Welles, and produced by John Houseman. The show was recorded and released on seven 78-rpm discs in 1938, making it the first cast album recording.The musical is a...
(1937). Later, he costarred in the original 1943 stage production of Rodgers and Hammerstein
Rodgers and Hammerstein
Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II were a well-known American songwriting duo, usually referred to as Rodgers and Hammerstein. They created a string of popular Broadway musicals in the 1940s and 1950s during what is considered the golden age of the medium...
's Oklahoma!
Oklahoma!
Oklahoma! is the first musical written by composer Richard Rodgers and librettist Oscar Hammerstein II. The musical is based on Lynn Riggs' 1931 play, Green Grow the Lilacs. Set in Oklahoma Territory outside the town of Claremore in 1906, it tells the story of cowboy Curly McLain and his romance...
, playing the role of the psychopathic "Jud Fry". He was the easygoing Ben who opposed Tammany Hall
Tammany Hall
Tammany Hall, also known as the Society of St. Tammany, the Sons of St. Tammany, or the Columbian Order, was a New York political organization founded in 1786 and incorporated on May 12, 1789 as the Tammany Society...
in the Pulitzer winning musical Fiorello!
Fiorello!
Fiorello! is a musical about New York City mayor Fiorello H. LaGuardia, a reform Republican who took on Tammany Hall. The book is by Jerome Weidman and George Abbott, drawn substantially from the 1955 volume Life With Fiorello by Ernest Cuneo, with lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and music by Jerry Bock...
. In 1969, he originated the role of Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Franklin
Dr. Benjamin Franklin was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. A noted polymath, Franklin was a leading author, printer, political theorist, politician, postmaster, scientist, musician, inventor, satirist, civic activist, statesman, and diplomat...
in the musical 1776
1776 (musical)
1776 is a musical with music and lyrics by Sherman Edwards and a book by Peter Stone. The story is based on the events surrounding the signing of the Declaration of Independence...
and played him in the 1972 film version as well. During the show's run on Broadway, he suffered a minor heart attack
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
, and was unable to appear on the cast recording
Cast recording
A cast recording is a recording of a musical that is intended to document the songs as they were performed in the show and experienced by the audience. An original cast recording, as the name implies, features the voices of the show's original cast...
. While Da Silva recuperated, his understudy, Rex Everhart
Rex Everhart
Rex Everhart was an American film and musical theatre actor.Everhart appeared in such films as 1978's Superman...
, took over the role.
Da Silva did summer stock at the Pine Brook Country Club
Pine Brook Country Club
-Introduction:Pine Brook Country Club began when Benjamin Plotkin purchased Pinewood Lake and the surrounding countryside on Mischa Hill in the historic village of Nichols, Connecticut. Plotkin built an auditorium with a revolving stage and forty rustic cabins and incorporated as the Pine Brook...
, located in the countryside of Nichols, Connecticut
Nichols, Connecticut
Nichols, a historic village in southeastern Trumbull on the Gold Coast of Fairfield County, was named after the family who maintained a large farm in its center for almost 300 years. The Nichols Farms Historic District, which encompasses part of the village, is listed on the National Register of...
, with the Group Theatre (New York) formed by Harold Clurman
Harold Clurman
Harold Edgar Clurman was a visionary American theatre director and drama critic, "one of the most influential in the United States". He was most notable as one of the three founders of the New York City's Group Theatre...
, Cheryl Crawford
Cheryl Crawford
Cheryl Crawford was an American theatre producer and director.Born in Akron, Ohio, Crawford majored in drama at Smith College. Following graduation, she moved to New York City and enrolled at the Theatre Guild's school...
and Lee Strasberg
Lee Strasberg
Lee Strasberg was an American actor, director and acting teacher. He cofounded, with directors Harold Clurman and Cheryl Crawford, the Group Theatre in 1931, which was hailed as "America's first true theatrical collective"...
in the 1930s and early 1940s.
Da Silva appeared in over 60 motion pictures
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
. Some of his memorable roles include a leading mutineer in The Sea Wolf
The Sea Wolf (1941 film)
The Sea Wolf is a 1941 black-and-white film adaptation of Jack London's novel The Sea Wolf with Edward G. Robinson, Ida Lupino, and John Garfield. The film was written by Robert Rossen and directed by Michael Curtiz....
(1941), playing Ray Milland
Ray Milland
Ray Milland was a Welsh actor and director. His screen career ran from 1929 to 1985, and he is best remembered for his Academy Award–winning portrayal of an alcoholic writer in The Lost Weekend , a sophisticated leading man opposite a corrupt John Wayne in Reap the Wild Wind , the murder-plotting...
's bartender in The Lost Weekend (1945) and the half-blind criminal "Chicamaw 'One-Eye' Mobley" in They Live by Night
They Live by Night
They Live by Night is a film noir, based on Edward Anderson's Depression era novel Thieves Like Us. The film was directed by Nicholas Ray and starred Farley Granger as "Bowie" Bowers and Cathy O'Donnell as "Keechie" Mobley...
(1949). He also released an album on Monitor Records of political songs and ballads entitled Politics and Poker.
In the 1950s, after being blacklisted
Hollywood blacklist
The Hollywood blacklist—as the broader entertainment industry blacklist is generally known—was the mid-twentieth-century list of screenwriters, actors, directors, musicians, and other U.S. entertainment professionals who were denied employment in the field because of their political beliefs or...
as a result of the investigations into alleged communist
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
influence in the movie industry by the House Committee on Un-American Activities and unable to find movie or TV
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
work, Da Silva returned to the stage. He was nominated for the 1960 Tony Award
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
for Best Featured Actor in a Musical for his role as "Ben Marino" in Fiorello!
Fiorello!
Fiorello! is a musical about New York City mayor Fiorello H. LaGuardia, a reform Republican who took on Tammany Hall. The book is by Jerome Weidman and George Abbott, drawn substantially from the 1955 volume Life With Fiorello by Ernest Cuneo, with lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and music by Jerry Bock...
(1959).
Da Silva married actress Marjorie Nelson in 1949. After being blacklisted, Da Silva and Nelson left Los Angeles for New York to perform in The World of Sholom Aleichem. Da Silva and Nelson divorced in 1960.
Da Silva was nominated for the British BAFTA Film Award
British Academy of Film and Television Arts
The British Academy of Film and Television Arts is a charity in the United Kingdom that hosts annual awards shows for excellence in film, television, television craft, video games and forms of animation.-Introduction:...
for Best Foreign Actor for his performance as "Dr. Swinford" in David and Lisa
David and Lisa
David and Lisa is a small independent film directed by Frank Perry, often cited as one of his best works. Based on the novel by Theodore Isaac Rubin, the screenplay, written by Frank Perry's wife Eleanor, tells the story of a bright young man suffering from a severe case of obsessive-compulsive...
(1962). He was the narrator for the U.S. released versions of the British TV
Television program
A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...
program Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
. Da Silva portrayed Soviet Premier Khrushchev in the 1974 television docudrama The Missiles of October
The Missiles of October
The Missiles of October is a 1974 docudrama made-for-television play about the Cuban missile crisis. The title evokes the book The Guns of August by Barbara Tuchman about the missteps among the great powers and the failed chances to give an opponent a graceful way out, which led to the First...
. He won the Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
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
Sissy Spacek
Sissy Spacek is an American actress and singer. She came to international prominence for her for role as Carrie White in Brian De Palma's 1976 horror film Carrie for which she earned her first Academy Award nomination...
.
Da Silva's TV guest appearances, after the era in which blacklisting was strongest, include such programs as The Outer Limits
The Outer Limits (1963 TV series)
The Outer Limits is an American television series that aired on ABC from 1963 to 1965. The series is similar in style to the earlier The Twilight Zone, but with a greater emphasis on science fiction, rather than fantasy stories...
; Ben Casey
Ben Casey
Ben Casey is an American medical drama series which ran on ABC from 1961 to 1966. The show was known for its opening titles, which consisted of a hand drawing the symbols "♂, ♀, *, †, ∞" on a chalkboard, as cast member Sam Jaffe intoned, "Man, woman, birth, death, infinity." Neurosurgeon Joseph...
; The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
The Man from U.N.C.L.E. is an American television series that was broadcast on NBC from September 22, 1964, to January 15, 1968. It follows the exploits of two secret agents, played by Robert Vaughn and David McCallum, who work for a fictitious secret international espionage and law-enforcement...
; The Fugitive
The Fugitive (TV series)
The Fugitive is an American drama series produced by QM Productions and United Artists Television that aired on ABC from 1963 to 1967. David Janssen stars as Richard Kimble, a doctor from the fictional town of Stafford, Indiana, who is falsely convicted of his wife's murder and given the death...
; Gentle Ben
Gentle Ben
Gentle Ben is a children's novel by author Walt Morey, first published in 1965. The book concerns the friendship between the title character, a bear, and a young boy named Mark...
; Mannix
Mannix
Mannix is an American television detective series that ran from 1967 through 1975 on CBS. Created by Richard Levinson and William Link and developed by executive producer Bruce Geller, the title character, Joe Mannix, is a private investigator. He is played by Mike Connors...
; Love, American Style
Love, American Style
Love, American Style is an hour-long TV anthology produced by Paramount Television and originally aired between September 1969 and January 1974...
; Kung Fu
Kung Fu (TV series)
Kung Fu is an American television series that starred David Carradine. It was created by Ed Spielman, directed and produced by Jerry Thorpe, and developed by Herman Miller, who was also a writer for, and co-producer of, the series...
; and Archie Bunker's Place
Archie Bunker's Place
Archie Bunker's Place is an American sitcom originally broadcast on the CBS network, conceived in 1979 as a spin-off and continuation of All in the Family. While not as popular as its predecessor, the show maintained a large enough audience to last for four seasons, until its cancellation in 1983...
.
Da Silva also played Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...
in The Private Files of J. Edgar Hoover
The Private Files of J. Edgar Hoover
The Private Files of J. Edgar Hoover is a 1977 film directed by Larry Cohen. It stars Broderick Crawford and James Wainwright. The all star cast includes Jose Ferrer, Michael Parks, Celeste Holm, Ronee Blakely, Tanya Roberts in a cameo role, and in final screen appearances, Jack Cassidy and Dan...
(1977), Louis B. Mayer
Louis B. Mayer
Louis Burt Mayer born Lazar Meir was an American film producer. He is generally cited as the creator of the "star system" within Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in its golden years. Known always as Louis B...
in Mommie Dearest
Mommie Dearest (film)
Mommie Dearest is a 1981 American biographical drama film about Joan Crawford, starring Faye Dunaway. The film was directed by Frank Perry. The story was adapted for the screen by Robert Getchell, Tracy Hotchner, Frank Perry, and Frank Yablans, based on the 1978 autobiography of the same name by...
(1981), "Angelo Dokakis" in Garbo Talks
Garbo Talks
Garbo Talks is a 1984 American comedy-drama film directed by Sidney Lumet and starring Anne Bancroft, Ron Silver, Carrie Fisher, and Betty Comden as Greta Garbo.The movie was written by Larry Grusin and also stars Catherine Hicks and Steven Hill...
(1984), and Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Franklin
Dr. Benjamin Franklin was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. A noted polymath, Franklin was a leading author, printer, political theorist, politician, postmaster, scientist, musician, inventor, satirist, civic activist, statesman, and diplomat...
in 1776
1776 (musical)
1776 is a musical with music and lyrics by Sherman Edwards and a book by Peter Stone. The story is based on the events surrounding the signing of the Declaration of Independence...
(1972), as well as a documentary depicting the life of Ben Franklin shown at Franklin's house in Philadelphia. He appeared in two different film adaptations of F. Scott Fitzgerald
F. Scott Fitzgerald
Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald was an American author of novels and short stories, whose works are the paradigm writings of the Jazz Age, a term he coined himself. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest American writers of the 20th century. Fitzgerald is considered a member of the "Lost...
's 1925 novel The Great Gatsby
The Great Gatsby
The Great Gatsby is a novel by the American author F. Scott Fitzgerald. First published in1925, it is set on Long Island's North Shore and in New York City from spring to autumn of 1922....
. In the 1949 production
The Great Gatsby (1949 film)
The Great Gatsby is a 1949 film made by Paramount Pictures. It was directed by Elliott Nugent and produced by Richard Maibaum, from a screenplay by Richard Maibaum and Cyril Hume based on the novel of the same title by F. Scott Fitzgerald and the play by Owen Davis. The music score was by Robert...
with Alan Ladd as Gatsby, Da Silva played garage owner George Wilson; in the 1974 film
The Great Gatsby (1974 film)
The Great Gatsby is a 1974 romantic drama film distributed by Newdon Productions and Paramount Pictures. It was directed by Jack Clayton and produced by David Merrick, from a screenplay by Francis Ford Coppola based on F...
with Robert Redford, Da Silva was Meyer Wolfsheim, the flamboyant gambler with the interesting cufflinks.
Da Silva also appeared as a voice actor in 26 episodes of a 1970s attempt to revive radio drama called The CBS Radio Mystery Theater
CBS Radio Mystery Theater
CBS Radio Mystery Theater was a radio drama series created by Himan Brown that was broadcast on CBS affiliates from 1974 to 1982....
between July 1974 and February 1977.
Howard Da Silva died of lymphoma
Lymphoma
Lymphoma is a cancer in the lymphatic cells of the immune system. Typically, lymphomas present as a solid tumor of lymphoid cells. Treatment might involve chemotherapy and in some cases radiotherapy and/or bone marrow transplantation, and can be curable depending on the histology, type, and stage...
at the age of 76 in Ossining, New York
Ossining (village), New York
Ossining is a village in Westchester County, New York, United States. The population was 25,060 at the 2010 census. As a village, it is located in the Town of Ossining.-Geography:Ossining borders the eastern shores of the widest part of the Hudson River....
.
External links
- Howard DaSilva on Filmreference.com http://www.filmreference.com/film/78/Howard-Da-Silva.html
- Politics and Poker on Folkways RecordsFolkways RecordsFolkways Records was a record label founded by Moses Asch that documented folk, world, and children's music. It was acquired by the Smithsonian Institution in 1987, and is now part of Smithsonian Folkways.-History:...