Howard Da Silva (born Howard Silverblatt, May , â€" February , ) 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 run of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical Oklahoma!, and
also portrayed the prosecuting attorney in the stage production of
Compulsion. Da Silva was nominated for a Tony Award as Best Featured
Actor in a Musical for his work in Fiorello!, a musical about New York
City mayor LaGuardia. In , 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 ). 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 () and film () versions of Abe Lincoln in
Illinois written by Robert Sherwood; Benjamin Franklin in the â€"
stage musical and a reprisal of the role for the film version of the
production; Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev in The Missiles of October
(); Franklin D. Roosevelt in The Private Files of J. Edgar Hoover ();
and Louis B. Mayer in Mommie Dearest ().Da Silva's American television
character work included the defense attorney representing the robot in
The Outer Limits episode "I, Robot" (), and district attorney Anthony
Cleese in For the People (). For his performance as Eddie in the Great
Performances production of Verna: USO Girl (), the actor received a
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Performance by a Supporting Actor
in a Comedy or Drama Special.In the s, Da Silva appeared in episodes
of the radio series, the CBS Radio Mystery Theater.
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 run of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical Oklahoma!, and
also portrayed the prosecuting attorney in the stage production of
Compulsion. Da Silva was nominated for a Tony Award as Best Featured
Actor in a Musical for his work in Fiorello!, a musical about New York
City mayor LaGuardia. In , 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 ). 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 () and film () versions of Abe Lincoln in
Illinois written by Robert Sherwood; Benjamin Franklin in the â€"
stage musical and a reprisal of the role for the film version of the
production; Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev in The Missiles of October
(); Franklin D. Roosevelt in The Private Files of J. Edgar Hoover ();
and Louis B. Mayer in Mommie Dearest ().Da Silva's American television
character work included the defense attorney representing the robot in
The Outer Limits episode "I, Robot" (), and district attorney Anthony
Cleese in For the People (). For his performance as Eddie in the Great
Performances production of Verna: USO Girl (), the actor received a
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Performance by a Supporting Actor
in a Comedy or Drama Special.In the s, Da Silva appeared in episodes
of the radio series, the CBS Radio Mystery Theater.
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