Howard Alexander Petrie was an American radio, television, and film actor.

Early life

Howard Petrie was born in Beverly, Massachusetts

Beverly, Massachusetts

Beverly is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 39,343 on , which differs by no more than several hundred from the 39,862 obtained in the 2000 census. A resort, residential and manufacturing community on the North Shore, Beverly includes Beverly Farms and Prides...

 on November 22, 1906. When Howard was three years old his family moved to Concord, Massachusetts

Concord, Massachusetts

Concord is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the town population was 17,668. Although a small town, Concord is noted for its leading roles in American history and literature.-History:...

  The Petries later lived in Arlington, Massachusetts

Arlington, Massachusetts

Arlington is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, six miles northwest of Boston. The population was 42,844 at the 2010 census.-History:...

 and then Somerville, Massachusetts

Somerville, Massachusetts

Somerville is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, located just north of Boston. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 75,754 and was the most densely populated municipality in New England. It is also the 17th most densely populated incorporated place in...

, where Howard Petrie received his secondary school education. A talented musician, he conducted his high school glee club and played with various instrumental groups. He was a member of the debating team, a captain in the School Regiment and Chairman of the Senior Night Committee.

Petrie appeared in school dramatic productions including a starring role as "Marquis de la Seigliere" in the senior class play and the Jules Sandeau

Jules Sandeau

Leonard Sylvain Julien Sandeau was a French novelist.He was born at Aubusson , and was sent to Paris to study law, but spent much of his time in unruly behaviour with other students. He met George Sand, then Madame Dudevant, at Le Coudray in the house of a friend, and when she came to Paris in...

 three-act comedy, Mademoiselle de la Seigliere.

Radio career

After he graduated from Somerville High School in 1924, Petrie worked briefly as a bank clerk and a securities salesman. While on a sales call to a radio station, his sonorous bass voice landed him a job. He joined WBZ

WBZ (AM)

WBZ is the call sign for an AM radio station in Boston, Massachusetts owned by CBS Radio, itself owned by the CBS Corporation. Originally based in and broadcast from Springfield, Massachusetts, WBZ was the first commercial radio station in the United States...

 Radio in Boston

Boston

Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...

 in 1929 as a junior announcer. After ten months at the WBZ studios, Petrie left for New York City in June, 1930 where he joined the staff of NBC

NBC

The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...

. Petrie soon became the head announcer for many of the network's shows. His first major network assignment was on Everything Goes, starring Garry Moore

Garry Moore

Garry Moore was an American entertainer, game show host and comedian best known for his work in television...

. He was the announcer for scores of shows including Abbie's Irish Rose, Big Sister, Camel Caravan, Blondie

Blondie (radio)

Blondie is a radio situation comedy adapted from the long-run Blondie comic strip by Chic Young. The radio program had a long run on several networks from 1939 to 1950....

, The Ray Bolger Show, The Judy Canova Show, The Jimmy Durante Show, and The Garry Moore Show.

While at NBC he met his future wife, Alice Wood who was employed at NBC between 1931 and 1936. The Petries had one son.

In 1936, Petrie won the prestigious Batten, Barten and Durstine Award for Good Announcing. In 1942 he was the recipient of the H.P. Davis Memorial Announcers' Award for "personality, adaptability, diction, voice and versatility." Petrie moved to California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

 in 1943 to become the announcer for The Judy Canova Show. As a "personality announcer," he became a character in the show.

Film and television career

In 1947, a movie producer who was looking for a tall man for a character role, saw Petrie on the radio stage and offered him the part. At 6 feet four and 240 pounds, Petrie played numerous "big man" roles. He worked as a character actor in over thirty feature films and forty television shows. He often appeared in Westerns in both mediums.

Later years and death

Howard Petrie had been living in semi-retirement at his home, Autumn Hill, in Walpole, New Hampshire

Walpole, New Hampshire

Walpole is a town in Cheshire County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 3,734 at the 2010 census.The town's central settlement, where 605 people resided at the 2010 census, is defined as the Walpole census-designated place , and is east of New Hampshire Route 12...

, when he died in Keene, New Hampshire

Keene, New Hampshire

Keene is a city in Cheshire County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 23,409 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Cheshire County.Keene is home to Keene State College and Antioch University New England, and hosts the annual Pumpkin Fest...

, on March 24, 1968.

Selected filmography

Film
Year	Film	Role	Notes
1947	The Fabulous Joe	George Baxter
	The Hal Roach Comedy Carnival	George Baxter, in "Fabulous Joe"
1950	Fancy Pants Fancy Pants Fancy Pants is a 1950 American comedy film, directed by George Marshall starring Lucille Ball and Bob Hope.-Plot:A B-grade stage actor is convinced to play the role of a butler for a Western family who are about to host President Theodore Roosevelt....	Secret Service Man	Uncredited
	Walk Softly, Stranger Walk Softly, Stranger Walk Softly, Stranger is a 1950 film that tells the story of a small-time crook on the run who later becomes reformed by the love of a crippled woman. This would be the last RKO credit for famed film producer Dore Schary, who would leave the studio soon after the completion of the film. Privately,...	Bowen
	Rocky Mountain Rocky Mountain (film) Rocky Mountain is a 1950 war film directed by William Keighley and starring Errol Flynn. It takes place during the American Civil War.-Plot:...	Cole Smith/California Beal
1951	Cattle Drive Cattle Drive Cattle Drive is a 1951 western film directed by Kurt Neumann and starring Joel McCrea. Much of the film was shot in the Death Valley National Park, California and Paria, Utah.-Plot synopsis:...	Cap
	The Golden Horde The Golden Horde (film) The Golden Horde is a 1951 Historical Adventure film directed by George Sherman and starring Ann Blyth and David Farrar. Many of the exterior scenes were shot in Death Valley National Park, California, USA.-Plot synopsis:...	Tugluk	Alternative title: The Golden Horde of Genghis Khan
1952	Bend of the River Bend of the River Bend of the River is a 1952 American Western film directed by Anthony Mann and starring James Stewart in their second collaboration. The film is based on the novel Bend of the Snake by Bill Gulick.-Plot:...	Tom Hendricks	Alternative title: Where the River Bends
	Red Ball Express Red Ball Express (film) Red Ball Express is a 1952 World War II war film directed by Budd Boetticher and starring Jeff Chandler. The film is based on the real Red Ball Express convoys that took place after the D-Day landings in Normandy in June 1944...	Major General Lee Gordon
	Carbine Williams Carbine Williams Carbine Williams is a 1952 American drama film directed by Richard Thorpe and starring James Stewart. The film follows the life of its namesake, David Marshall Williams, who invented the operating principle for the M1 Carbine while in a North Carolina prison...	Sheriff
1953	Fair Wind to Java	Reeder
	The Veils of Bagdad	Karsh
1954	Seven Brides for Seven Brothers	Pete Perkins
	The Bounty Hunter	Sheriff Brand
1955	Rage at Dawn Rage at Dawn Rage at Dawn is a 1955 American Western film by RKO Pictures starring Randolph Scott and Forrest Tucker, and featuring Denver Pyle, Edgar Buchanan, and J. Carrol Naish...	Lattimore, Prosecuting Attorney	Alternative title: Seven Bad Men
	How to Be Very, Very Popular	Desk Sergeant
1956	The Maverick Queen	Butch Cassidy
	A Kiss Before Dying A Kiss Before Dying (1956 film) A Kiss Before Dying is a 1956 American color film noir, directed by Gerd Oswald. The screenplay was written by Lawrence Roman, based on Ira Levin's 1953 novel of the same name, which won the 1954 Edgar Award for "Best First Novel." The drama stars Robert Wagner, Jeffrey Hunter, Virginia Leith,...	Howard Chesser, Chief of Police
1957	The Tin Star The Tin Star The Tin Star was first a short story then a movie American western film directed by Anthony Mann and starring Henry Fonda and Anthony Perkins, in one of Perkins' first roles. The film became one of the few low budget westerns to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Writing, Story or Screenplay...	Mayor Harvey King
Television
Year	Title	Role	Notes
1954	Waterfront	Hugh Perry	1 episode
1955	The Ford Television Theatre	Baker	1 episode
1956	Gunsmoke Gunsmoke Gunsmoke is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman MacDonnell and writer John Meston. The stories take place in and around Dodge City, Kansas, during the settlement of the American West....	Abe Brant	1 episode
1957	Broken Arrow Broken Arrow (TV series) Broken Arrow is a Western series which ran on ABC-TV in prime time from 1956 through 1958 on Tuesdays at 9 p.m. Eastern time. Repeat episodes were shown by ABC on Sunday afternoons during the 1959–60 season...	Sam Carson	1 episode
	Letter to Loretta	Scoutmaster	1 episode
	Casey Jones Casey Jones John Luther Jones was an American railroad engineer from Jackson, Tennessee, who worked for the Illinois Central Railroad...	George Newsome	1 episode
1958	The Californians The Californians (TV series) The Californians is a 54-episode half-hour Western television series, set in the San Francisco gold rush of the 1850s, which aired on NBC from September 24, 1957, to May 26, 1959...	Stryker	1 episode
	Alcoa Theatre Alcoa Theatre Alcoa Theatre is a half-hour anthology series telecast on NBC at 9:30 pm on alternate Monday nights from October 7, 1957 to September 16, 1960. The program also aired under the title Turn of Fate, with the stories depicting the difficulties faced by individuals who are suddenly thrust into...	Lieutenant Gifford	1 episode
1959	Frontier Justice Frontier Justice (TV series) For the NBC western anthology, see Frontier .Frontier Justice is a CBS television Western anthology series which had thirty-one telecasts over the summers of 1958, 1959, and 1961. It was a repackaging of episodes from CBS's Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theater, and was hosted by Lew Ayres, Melvyn...	Kroll	1 episode
	Bonanza Bonanza Bonanza is an American western television series that both ran on and was a production of NBC from September 12, 1959 to January 16, 1973. Lasting 14 seasons and 430 episodes, it ranks as the second longest running western series and still continues to air in syndication. It centers on the...	Major Ormsby	1 episode
	Lawman Lawman (tv series) Lawman is an American Western television series originally telecast from 1958 to 1962 starring John Russell as Marshal Dan Troop and featuring Peter Brown as Deputy Marshal Johnny McKay on the ABC Television Network. The series was set in Laramie, Wyoming during the mid to late 1870s. Warner Bros....	Hal Mead	1 episode
	Maverick Maverick (TV series) Maverick is a western television series with comedic overtones created by Roy Huggins. The show ran from September 22, 1957 to July 8, 1962 on ABC and stars James Garner as Bret Maverick, a cagey, articulate cardsharp. Eight episodes into the first season, he was joined by Jack Kelly as his brother...	Mike Burke	1 episode
	Colt .45 Colt .45 (TV series) Colt .45 is an American Western television series shown on ABC between 1957 and 1960. The half-hour show derives from the 1950 Warner Brothers film of the same name starring Randolph Scott and formed part of the William T...	John Porter	1 episode
	The DuPont Show with June Allyson The DuPont Show with June Allyson The DuPont Show with June Allyson is an American anthology drama series which aired on CBS from September 21, 1959 to April 3, 1961 with rebroadcasts continuing until June 12, 1961...	Abbott	1 episode
1960	Shotgun Slade Shotgun Slade Shotgun Slade is an American western television series starring Scott Brady that aired in syndication from October 24, 1959, until 1961. Created by Frank Gruber, the stories were written by John Berardino, Charissa Hughes, and Martin Berkeley...	Major Kennedy	1 episode
	M Squad M Squad M Squad is an American police drama television series that ran from 1957 to 1960 on NBC. Its format would later inspire the creation of spoof TV show Police Squad! Its sponsor was the Pall Mall cigarette brand; Lee Marvin, the program's star, appeared in its commercials during the...	Mr. Patrick - Head of heist team	1 episode
	Have Gun – Will Travel	Jack Foster	1 episode
	Mr. Lucky	John Dort	1 episode
	Johnny Ringo Johnny Ringo (TV series) Johnny Ringo is a Western television series starring Don Durant that aired on CBS from October 1, 1959, until June 30, 1960. It was loosely based on the life of the notorious gunfighter Johnny Ringo, who tangled with Wyatt Earp, John "Doc" Holliday, and "Buckskin" Franklin Leslie.This fictional...	Ed Blanchard	1 episode
	Bat Masterson Bat Masterson (TV series) Bat Masterson is an American Western television series which showed a fictionalized account of the life of real-life marshal/gambler/dandy Bat Masterson. The title character was played by Gene Barry and the half-hour black and white shows ran on NBC from 1958 to 1961...	Hugh Blaine	4 episodes
	The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp is a Western television series loosely based on the adventures of frontier marshal Wyatt Earp. The half-hour black and white series ran on ABC-TV from 1955 to 1961 and featured Hugh O'Brian as Earp. An off-camera barbershop quartet sang the theme song and hummed...	Governor Gibbs	2 episodes
	Bronco Bronco (TV series) Bronco is a Western series on ABC from 1958 through 1962. It was shown by the BBC in the United Kingdom. The program starred Ty Hardin as Bronco Layne, a former Confederate officer who wandered the Old West, meeting such well-known individuals as Wild Bill Hickok, Billy the Kid, Jesse James,...	Rigby	1 episode
	Hennesey Hennesey Hennesey is an American military sitcom that aired on CBS from 1959 to 1962. The series, which aired for three seasons, stars Jackie Cooper in the title role.-Synopsis:...	Admiral Wright	1 episode
	Peter Gunn Peter Gunn Peter Gunn is an American private eye television series which aired on the NBC and later ABC television networks from 1958 to 1961. The show's creator was Blake Edwards...	Lockland	1 episode
1960–1962	Death Valley Days Death Valley Days Death Valley Days is an American radio and television anthology series featuring true stories of the old American West, particularly the Death Valley area. Created in 1930 by Ruth Woodman, the program was broadcast on radio until 1945. It continued from 1952 to 1975 as a syndicated television series...	Joseph Hooker	2 episodes
1961	National Velvet	Bjorensen	1 episode
	The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis is an American sitcom that aired on CBS from 1959 to 1963. The series and some episode scripts were adapted from a 1951 collection of short stories of the same name, written by Max Shulman, that also inspired the 1953 film The Affairs of Dobie Gillis with Debbie...	Col. McCurdy	1 episode
1964–1965	The Edge of Night The Edge of Night The Edge of Night is an American television mystery series/soap opera produced by Procter & Gamble. It debuted on CBS on April 2, 1956, and ran as a live broadcast on that network until November 28, 1975; the series then moved to ABC, where it aired from December 1, 1975, until December 28, 1984...	Otto Zimerman	Unknown episodes

External links

• Library of American Broadcasting "Howard Petrie" article and photo
• Howard Petrie photos Selected images from Howard Petrie's career.
• Howard Petrie at Radioindex.com