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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 The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual c ...
as Best Featured Actor in a Musical for his work in ''
Fiorello! ''Fiorello!'' is a musical about New York City mayor Fiorello La Guardia, a reform Republican, which debuted on Broadway in 1959, and tells the story of how La Guardia took on the Tammany Hall political machine. The book is by Jerome Weidman an ...
'', a musical about
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
mayor
LaGuardia LaGuardia Airport is a civil airport in East Elmhurst, Queens, New York City. Covering , the facility was established in 1929 and began operating as a public airport in 1939. It is named after former New York City mayor Fiorello La Guardi ...
. 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 ''The Blue Dahlia'' is a 1946 American crime film and film noir with an original screenplay by Raymond Chandler''Variety'' film review; January 30, 1946, page 12.''Harrison's Reports'' film review; February 2, 1946, page 19. directed by George M ...
'' 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 Benjamin Franklin ( April 17, 1790) was an American polymath who was active as a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher, and political philosopher. Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the leading int ...
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 Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev (– 11 September 1971) was the First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964 and chairman of the country's Council of Ministers from 1958 to 1964. During his rule, Khrushchev s ...
in '' The Missiles of October'' (1974); Franklin D. Roosevelt in ''
The Private Files of J. Edgar Hoover ''The Private Files of J. Edgar Hoover'' is a 1977 American biographical drama film written, produced, and directed by Larry Cohen. It stars Broderick Crawford as Hoover, alongside an ensemble cast including Jose Ferrer, Michael Parks, Rip Torn, ...
'' (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 ''I, Robot'' is a fixup (compilation) novel of science fiction short stories or essays by American writer Isaac Asimov. The stories originally appeared in the American magazines ''Super Science Stories'' and ''Astounding Science Fiction'' be ...
" (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 The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the Primetime ...
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''.


Early life

Da Silva was born in
Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S ...
, the son of Bertha (née Sen) and Benjamin Silverblatt, a dress cutter. His parents were both
Yiddish Yiddish (, or , ''yidish'' or ''idish'', , ; , ''Yidish-Taytsh'', ) is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated during the 9th century in Central Europe, providing the nascent Ashkenazi community with a ve ...
-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 Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. One of its predecessors was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools; it became the Carnegie Institute of Technolog ...
and studied acting with
Eva Le Gallienne Eva Le Gallienne (January 11, 1899 – June 3, 1991) was a British-born American stage actress, producer, director, translator, and author. A Broadway star by age 21, Le Gallienne gave up her Broadway appearances to devote herself to founding t ...
beginning in 1928 at the Civic Repertory Theatre. He changed his surname to the Portuguese
Da Silva Silva is a surname in Portuguese-speaking countries, such as Portugal and Brazil. It is derived from the Latin word , meaning "forest" or "woodland". It is the family name of the House of Silva. The name is also widespread in Galician-speaking ...
(the name is sometimes misspelled Howard De Silva).


Career

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 ''The Cradle Will Rock'' is a 1937 play in music by Marc Blitzstein. Originally a part of the Federal Theatre Project, it was directed by Orson Welles and produced by John Houseman. A Brechtian allegory of corruption and corporate greed, it i ...
'' (1938). 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 Marino who opposed
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 City political organization founded in 1786 and incorporated on May 12, 1789 as the Tammany Society. It became the main loc ...
in the Pulitzer winning musical ''
Fiorello! ''Fiorello!'' is a musical about New York City mayor Fiorello La Guardia, a reform Republican, which debuted on Broadway in 1959, and tells the story of how La Guardia took on the Tammany Hall political machine. The book is by Jerome Weidman an ...
''. In 1969, Da Silva originated the role of
Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin ( April 17, 1790) was an American polymath who was active as a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher, and political philosopher. Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the leading int ...
in the musical '' 1776''. Four days before the show opened on Broadway, he suffered a minor
heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which ma ...
but refused to seek medical assistance because he wanted to make sure critics saw his performance. After the four official critic performances were over, the cast left to go to the cast party and Da Silva went to the hospital and immediately took a leave of absence from the production. 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 Pine Brook Country Club is a private lake association in Nichols, Connecticut, a village within the Town of Trumbull. It began when Benjamin Plotkin purchased Pinewood Lake and the surrounding countryside on Mischa Hill. Plotkin built an audito ...
, located in the countryside of
Nichols, Connecticut Nichols, a historic village in southeastern Trumbull in Fairfield County, Connecticut, is 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 ...
, with the Group Theatre (New York) formed by Harold Clurman,
Cheryl Crawford Cheryl Crawford (September 24, 1902 – October 7, 1986) was an American theatre producer and director. Biography Born in Akron, Ohio, Crawford majored in drama at Smith College. Following graduation in 1925, she moved to New York City and ...
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 (MP 595) of political songs and ballads entitled ''Politics and Poker''. Da Silva returned to the stage, and was nominated for the 1960
Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual c ...
for Best Featured Actor in a Musical for his role as "Ben Marino" in ''
Fiorello! ''Fiorello!'' is a musical about New York City mayor Fiorello La Guardia, a reform Republican, which debuted on Broadway in 1959, and tells the story of how La Guardia took on the Tammany Hall political machine. The book is by Jerome Weidman an ...
'' (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 The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...
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 ''Love, American Style'' is an anthology comedy television series that aired on ABC from 1969 to 1974. The series was produced by Paramount Television. During the 1971–72 and 1972–73 seasons, it was a part of ABC's Friday primetime lineup ...
'', '' Kung Fu'', and ''
Archie Bunker's Place ''Archie Bunker's Place'' is an American television sitcom produced as a continuation of ''All in the Family''. It aired on CBS from September 23, 1979, to April 4, 1983. While not as popular as its predecessor, the show maintained a large enough ...
''. Da Silva also played President Franklin D. Roosevelt in ''
The Private Files of J. Edgar Hoover ''The Private Files of J. Edgar Hoover'' is a 1977 American biographical drama film written, produced, and directed by Larry Cohen. It stars Broderick Crawford as Hoover, alongside an ensemble cast including Jose Ferrer, Michael Parks, Rip Torn, ...
'' (1977), Hollywood mogul Louis B. Mayer in '' Mommie Dearest'' (1981), and American statesman
Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin ( April 17, 1790) was an American polymath who was active as a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher, and political philosopher. Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the leading int ...
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 The year 1974 in film involved some significant events. Highest-grossing films (U.S.) The top ten 1974 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows: Events *February 7 – ''Blazing Saddles'' is released in the United ...
with
Robert Redford Charles Robert Redford Jr. (born August 18, 1936) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is the recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award from four nominations, a British Academy Film Award, two Golden Globe Awards, the Cec ...
, 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 Greta Garbo (born Greta Lovisa Gustafsson; 18 September 1905 – 15 April 1990) was a Swedish-American actress. Regarded as one of the greatest screen actresses, she was known for her melancholic, somber persona, her film portrayals of tragic ch ...
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 Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication Media (communication), medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of Transmission (telecommunications), television tra ...
''
Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the ...
'' broadcast in the United States.


Blacklisting

Da Silva became one of hundreds of artists
blacklisted Blacklisting is the action of a group or authority compiling a blacklist (or black list) of people, countries or other entities to be avoided or distrusted as being deemed unacceptable to those making the list. If someone is on a blacklist, ...
in the entertainment industry during the House Committee on Unamerican Activities investigation into alleged
Communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, ...
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 Waldo Brian Donlevy (February 9, 1901 – April 6, 1972) was an American actor, noted for playing dangerous tough guys from the 1930s to the 1960s. He usually appeared in supporting roles. Among his best-known films are ''Beau Geste'' (193 ...
.Humphries (2010), p.146 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 William Shatner (born March 22, 1931) is a Canadian actor. In a career spanning seven decades, he is best known for his portrayal of James T. Kirk in the ''Star Trek'' franchise, from his 1965 debut as the captain of the starship ''Enterpris ...
when he created the television series ''For the People''.


Personal life and death

Da Silva's first wife was Evelyn Horowitz. They were married on August 13, 1930, in
Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
, New York City, when Howard was a member of Eva LeGallienne's Civic Repertory Company. His marriage was kept a secret for a while as Le Gallienne did not want members of her company to be distracted by marriage entanglements. Howard and Evelyn were politically active and were involved in the movement to support the loyalists in Spain among other causes. They were later divorced. His second wife was stage actress Jane Louise Taylor, born in 1913 in New York. They were married in January 1941 in Yuma,
Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...
, and had one son. They were divorced on July 28, 1948 in
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...
,
California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
. His third wife was actress Marjorie Nelson; they were married on August 19, 1950, in Hollywood, California. Da Silva and Nelson had two daughters and were divorced on May 9, 1961 in Juárez,
Mexico Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North America. It is borders of Mexico, bordered to the north by the United States; to the so ...
. His fourth wife was Nancy Nutter; they were married in May or June 1961 in Greenwich, England. They had one son and one daughter. Da Silva died of
lymphoma Lymphoma is a group of blood and lymph tumors that develop from lymphocytes (a type of white blood cell). In current usage the name usually refers to just the cancerous versions rather than all such tumours. Signs and symptoms may include en ...
, aged 76, in
Ossining, New York Ossining may refer to: *Ossining (town), New York, a town in Westchester County, New York state *Ossining (village), New York, a village in the town of Ossining * Ossining High School, a comprehensive public high school in Ossining village * Ossin ...
.


Acting credits


Stage


Film


Television


''Doctor Who''

Howard Da Silva provided linking narration for North American broadcasts of ''
Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the ...
'', 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 TVO Media Education Group (often abbreviated as TVO and stylized on-air as tvo) is a publicly funded English-language educational television network and media organization serving the Canadian province of Ontario. It is operated by the Ontario ...
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.


Radio

From 1974 to 1977, Da Silva was a regular player on CBS Radio Mystery Theater.


Citations


References

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


External links

* *
CBS Radio Mystery Theater at Internet Archive



Politics and Poker
on
Folkways Records Folkways 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 The Folkways Records & Service ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Da Silva, Howard 1909 births 1986 deaths American male film actors American male musical theatre actors American male stage actors American male television actors American people of Russian-Jewish descent Deaths from cancer in New York (state) Deaths from lymphoma Hollywood blacklist Jewish American male actors Outstanding Performance by a Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or Movie Primetime Emmy Award winners Male actors from Cleveland Singers from Ohio 20th-century American male actors 20th-century American singers American male radio actors 20th-century American male singers 20th-century American Jews Federal Theatre Project people