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 performances as 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.

Da Silva was born in Cleveland, Ohio, the son of Bertha (née Sen) and Benjamin Silverblatt, a dress cutter. His parents were both immigrants, Yiddish-speaking Jews born in the Russian Empire. His mother was a women's-rights activist. Before beginning his acting career on the stage, he was employed as a steelworker.^{[citation needed]}

Da Silva was a graduate of the Carnegie Institute of Technology. He studied acting with Eva Le Gallienne beginning in 1928 at the Civic Repertory Theatre. He changed his surname for acting purposes, adopting the Portuguese Da Silva (his name is sometimes misspelled Howard De Silva).

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 (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 in the Pulitzer winning musical Fiorello!.

In 1969, da Silva originated the role of Benjamin Franklin in the musical 1776. Four days before the show opened on Broadway, he suffered a minor heart attack 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.