1. Theatre, Film, and Television Biographies
2. Judy Cornwell to Howard Da Silva

Howard Da Silva Biography (1909-1986)

Born Howard Silverblatt, May 4, 1909, in Cleveland, OH; died of lymphoma, February 16, 1986, in Ossining, NY; son of Benjamin (a dress cutter) and Bertha(Sen) Silverblatt; married Marjorie Nelson, 1950 (divorced, 1960); married Nancy Nutter (an actress), June 30, 1961; children: two sons, three daughters.

Nationality

American

Gender

Male

Birth Details

May 4, 1909

Cleveland, Ohio, United States

Death Details

February 16, 1986

Ossining, New York, United States

Famous Works

• Credits
• OFF-BROADWAY DEBUT--The Lower Depths, Civic Repertory Theatre, 1929.
• Credits; PRINCIPAL STAGE APPEARANCES
• Stationmaster, The Cherry Orchard, New Amsterdam Theatre, New York City,1933.
• Astrov, Uncle Vanya, artist, When We Dead Awaken, Don Victorio, Fortunato, all Brattle Hall Theatre, Cambridge, MA, 1933-34.
• (as Howard Solness) foreman, Ten Million Ghosts, St. James Theatre, New York City, 1936.
• Lewis, Golden Boy, Belasco Theatre, New York City, 1937.
• Larry Foreman, The Cradle Will Rock, Venice Theatre, then Windsor Theatre, both New York City, 1937.
• old man, Casey Jones, Fulton Theatre, New York City, 1938.
• Jack Armstrong, Abe Lincoln in Illinois, Plymouth Theatre, New York City,1938.
• Speed, Summer Night, St. James Theatre, 1939.
• guide, Two on an Island, Broadhurst Theatre, New York City, 1940.
• Jud Fry, Oklahoma!, St. James Theatre, 1943.
• Friend Ed, Burning Bright, Broadhurst Theatre, 1950.
• Mendele, The World of Sholom Aleichem, Barbizon Plaza Theatre, New York City, 1953.
• Doc, Mister Roberts, Warwick Musical Theatre, Warwick, RI, then Oakdale Musical Theatre, Wallingford, CT, both 1954.
• fixer, Lt. Charles, The Adding Machine, Neel Fedoseitch Mamaev, Diary ofa Scoundrel, both Phoenix Theatre, New York City, 1956.
• title role, Volpone, Rooftop Theatre, New York City, 1957.
• Prosecutor Horn, Compulsion, Ambassador Theatre, New York City, 1957.
• Ben Marino, Fiorello!, Broadhurst Theatre, 1959. Ottaker, Romulus, MusicBox Theatre, New York City, 1962.
• Calchas, La Belle, Shubert Theatre, Philadelphia, PA, 1962.
• Max Hartman, In the Counting House, Biltmore Theatre, New York City, 1962.
• Paul Hirsch, Dear Me, the Sky Is Falling, Music Box Theatre, 1963.
• Claudius, Hamlet, New York Shakespeare Festival, Delacorte Theatre, New York City, 1964.
• Archbishop, The Unknown Soldier and His Wife, Vivian Beaumont Theatre, New York City, 1967.
• Benjamin Franklin, 1776, 46th Street Theatre, New York City, 1969.
• title role, Volpone, Walnut Street Theatre, Philadelphia, PA, 1972.
• With the Civic Repertory Theatre, New York City: Slave, The Would-Be Gentleman, apothecary, Romeo and Juliet, both 1929.
• Scaevola, The Green Cockatoo, orderly, The Three Sisters, Schumann, Siegfried, Cookson, Ostrich, Peter Pan, Hodges, Alison's House, second coastguardsman, The Good Hope, all 1930.
• guest, Camille, Mufti, The Would-Be Gentleman, Senator Lewis, Inheritors,stationmaster, The Cherry Orchard, all 1931.
• Wolf Biefeld, Liliom, Ferapont, The Three Sisters, countryman, Cradle Song, Dr. Samuel Johnson, Dear Jane, cook, White Knight, Alice in Wonderland, all 1932.
• Sepp Kriz, Sailors of Cattaro, 1934.
• Hansy McCulloh, Black Pit, 1935.
• Also appeared in Rain from Heaven, Between Two Worlds, The Master Builder, all Cleveland Playhouse, Cleveland, OH, 1935; Monday's Heroes, The Banker'sDaughter, both Actors Laboratory Theatre, Hollywood, CA, 1948-49; concert readings of Mark Twain, Sholom Aleichem, and Anton Chekhov, Actors Concert Theatre, 1951-52; The Prodigious Snob, The Silver Tassle, The Caucasian Chalk Circle, The Cherry Orchard, The World of Sholom Aleichem, A Phoenix Too Frequent, The Gamblers, all Crystal Lake Theatre, Crystal Lake, NY, 1955; Anastasia,Tea and Sympathy, The Lesser Comores, The World of Sholom Aleichem, all BucksCounty Playhouse, New Hope, PA, 1956; Nature's Way, Holiday for Lovers, TheLittle Foxes, Visit to a Small Planet, Three Men on a Horse, all Valley Playhouse Theatre, Chagrin Falls, OH, 1958; The Caucasian Chalk Circle, Queensborough Community College, Queens, NY, 1975; The Most Dangerous Man in America, Coconut Grove Playhouse, Coconut Grove, FL, 1976.
• Credits; PRINCIPAL STAGE WORK; ALL AS DIRECTOR
• Waiting for Lefty, The Inheritors, both People's Theatre, Cleveland, OH,1935.
• The Cradle Will Rock, Mansfield Theatre, New York City, 1947.
• Proud Accents, Actors Laboratory Theatre, Hollywood, CA, 1949.
• concert readings of Mark Twain, Sholom Aleichem, and Anton Chekhov, Actors Concert Theatre, 1951-52.
• (also producer) The World of Sholom Aleichem, Barbizon Plaza Theatre, NewYork City, 1953.
• Sandhog, Phoenix Theatre, New York City, 1954.
• (also producer) The Prodigious Snob, The Silver Tassle, The Cherry Orchard, The Caucasian Chalk Circle, The World of Sholom Aleichem,A Phoenix Too Frequent, The Gamblers, all Crystal Lake Theatre, Crystal Lake, NY, 1955.
• The World of Sholom Aleichem, Anastasia, Tea and Sympathy, The Lesser Comores, all Bucks County Playhouse, New Hope, PA, 1956.
• (also producer) Tevya and His Daughters, Carnegie Hall Playhouse, New York City, 1957.
• (also producer) Nature's Way, Holiday for Lovers, The Little Foxes, Visitto a Small Planet, Three Men on a Horse, all Valley Playhouse Theatre, Chagrin Falls, OH, 1958.
• The Cradle Will Rock, City Center Theatre, New York City, 1960.
• Purlie Victorious, Cort Theatre, New York City, 1961.
• Fiorello!, Paper Mill Playhouse, Milburn, NJ, 1962.
• Cages, York Playhouse, New York City, 1963.
• The Advocate, American National Theatre Academy Playhouse, 1963.
• Thistle in My Bed, Gramercy Arts Theatre, New York City, 1963.
• The Cradle Will Rock, Theatre Four, New York City, 1964.
• My Sweet Charlie, Longacre Theatre, New York City, 1966.
• Also directed productions at Stage Arts Laboratory, 1935.
• Credits; MAJOR TOURS
• Thorvald, A Doll's House, Brack, Hedda Gabler, Halvard Solness, The Master Builder, all with the Civic Repertory Theatre, U.S. cities, 1933-34.
• Benjamin Franklin, 1776, U.S. cities, 1972 and 1973.
• Also appeared in and directed The World of Sholom Aleichem, U.S.
• cities, 1953.
• FILM DEBUT--Once in a Blue Moon Paramount, 1936.
• Credits; PRINCIPAL FILM APPEARANCES
• Jack Armstrong, Abe Lincoln in Illinois, RKO, 1940.
• Benjamin Franklin, 1776, Columbia, 1972. Appeared in I'm Still Alive, RKO, 1941.
• The Sea Wolf, Blues in the Night, Navy Blues, Bad Men of Missouri, Strange Alibi, Sergeant York, Nine Lives Are Not Enough, Wild Bill Hickock Rides Again, Steel Against the Sky, all Warner Brothers, 1941.
• Juke Girl, Bullet Scars, Big Shot all Warner Brothers, 1942.
• Keeper of the Flame, Reunion, Omaha Trail, all Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM),1942.
• Tonight We Raid Calais, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1942.
• Duffy's Tavern, Blue Dahlia, The Lost Weekend, all Paramount, 1945.
• Two Years Before the Mast, Paramount, 1946.
• Blaze of Noon, Unconquered, both Paramount, 1947.
• They Live by Night, RKO, 1948.
• Border Incident, MGM, 1949.
• The Great Gatsby, Paramount, 1949.
• Three Husbands, The Underworld Story, both United Artists, 1950.
• Wyoming Mail, Universal, 1950.
• Tripoli, Paramount, 1950.
• Fourteen Hours, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1951.
• Slaughter Trail, RKO, 1951.
• M, Columbia, 1951.
• David and Lisa, Continental, 1962.
• The Outrage, MGM, 1964.
• Nevada Smith, Paramount, 1966.
• Mommie Dearest, Paramount, 1981.
• Garbo Talks, United Artists, 1984.
• Also appeared in Five Were Chosen, 1942; Hollywood on Trial; The PrivateFiles of J. Edgar Hoover.
• Credits; PRINCIPAL TELEVISION APPEARANCES; EPISODIC
• Hollywood Premiere, NBC, 1949.
• "My Heart's in the Highlands," Silver Theatre, NBC, 1950.
• Blue Hotel, CBC, 1961.
• Man on Back, CBC, 1962.
• The Defenders, CBS, 1963.
• The Nurses, CBS, 1963.
• East Side/West Side, CBS, 1963.
• narrator, "A Heritage of Freedom," Look Up and Live, CBS.
• Also appeared on The Outer Limits, ABC; Ben Casey, ABC; The Man from U.N.C.L.E., NBC; The Loner, CBS; The Fugitive, ABC.
• Credits; SERIES
• Anthony Celese, For the People, CBS, 1965.
• title role, also co-directed) The Walter Fortune Story, NBC, 1950.
• Credits; SPECIALS
• Verna: USO Girl, PBS, 1978.
• Appeared as Claudius, Hamlet, CBS.
• Mr. Peachum, The Beggar's Opera, NET.
• Khrushchev, The Missiles of October, ABC, 1975; and in Stop, Thief, 1976.
• Guest: Camera Three, CBS.
• Credits; PRINCIPAL RADIO APPEARANCES
• Performed in the plays of Arch Oboler and Norman Corwin, CBS, 1940.
• Credits; PRINCIPAL RADIO WORK
• director, Great Classics, (Federal Theatre, WPA project), WHN, WEVD, 1936.
• Writings
• PLAYS,PRODUCED (Co-author) The Most Dangerous Man in America, Coconut Grove Playhouse, Miami Beach, FL, 1976.
• Also (with Felix Coon) The Zulu and the Zayda.