Howard da Silva

Common card · No. 208895

Howard da Silva (born Howard Silverblatt; May 4, 1909 – February 16, 1986) was an American actor, singer, and theatre director. 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 50 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 performances as historic figures...

Read on Wikipedia · Image Trailer screenshot (Paramount Pictures), Public domain