John Houseman (born Jacques Haussmann; September 22, 1902 â€" October
31, 1988) was a Romanian-born British-American actor and producer of
theatre, film, and television. He became known for his highly
publicized collaboration with director Orson Welles from their days in
the Federal Theatre Project through to the production of Citizen Kane
and his collaboration, as producer of The Blue Dahlia, with writer
Raymond Chandler on the screenplay. He is perhaps best known for his
role as Professor Charles W. Kingsfield in the film The Paper Chase
(1973), for which he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.
He reprised his role as Kingsfield in the 1978 television series
adaptation.Houseman was also known for his commercials for the
brokerage firm Smith Barney. He had a distinctive English accent, a
product of his schooling.Houseman was born Jacques Haussmann on
September 22, 1902, in Bucharest, Romania, the son of May (née
Davies) and Georges Haussmann, who ran a grain business. His mother
was British, from a Christian family of Welsh and Irish descent. His
father was an Alsatian-born Jew. He was educated in England at Clifton
College, became a British subject, and worked in the grain trade in
London before emigrating to the United States in 1925, where he took
the stage name of John Houseman. He became a United States citizen in
1943.
31, 1988) was a Romanian-born British-American actor and producer of
theatre, film, and television. He became known for his highly
publicized collaboration with director Orson Welles from their days in
the Federal Theatre Project through to the production of Citizen Kane
and his collaboration, as producer of The Blue Dahlia, with writer
Raymond Chandler on the screenplay. He is perhaps best known for his
role as Professor Charles W. Kingsfield in the film The Paper Chase
(1973), for which he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.
He reprised his role as Kingsfield in the 1978 television series
adaptation.Houseman was also known for his commercials for the
brokerage firm Smith Barney. He had a distinctive English accent, a
product of his schooling.Houseman was born Jacques Haussmann on
September 22, 1902, in Bucharest, Romania, the son of May (née
Davies) and Georges Haussmann, who ran a grain business. His mother
was British, from a Christian family of Welsh and Irish descent. His
father was an Alsatian-born Jew. He was educated in England at Clifton
College, became a British subject, and worked in the grain trade in
London before emigrating to the United States in 1925, where he took
the stage name of John Houseman. He became a United States citizen in
1943.
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