Howard da Silva

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''. Provided by Wikipedia