Howard Da Silva

Howard da Silva (born Howard Silverblatt, May 4, 1909 – February 16, 1986) was an American actor, director, and singer whose career spanned more than five decades across stage, film, television, and radio. Born in Cleveland, Ohio to Yiddish‑speaking Jewish immigrants, he initially worked as a steelworker before graduating from the Carnegie Institute of Technology and studying with Eva Le Gallienne at the Civic Repertory Theatre. Changing his surname to the Portuguese‑sounding Da Silva, he quickly became a fixture of the New York theatrical scene, originating the chilling role of Jud Fry in Rodgers and Hammerstein’s original 1943 production of Oklahoma! and later portraying Benjamin Franklin in the landmark musical 1776. Da Silva’s film work included notable noir villains such as Eddie Harwood in The Blue Dahlia and the sadistic Captain Francis Thompson in Two Years Before the Mast, while his historical portrayals ranged from Jack Armstrong in Abe Lincoln in Illinois to Nikita Khrushchev in The Missiles of October and Franklin D. Roosevelt in The Private Files of J. Edgar Hoover. On television he earned an Emmy for his supporting role in Verna: USO Girl (1978) and appeared in celebrated series such as The Outer Limits, The Man from U.N.C.L.E. and Archie Bunker's Place. Despite being blacklisted during the McCarthy era—a period that halted his film work from 1951 to 1961—he revived his career in New York, earning a Tony nomination for Fiorello! and later returning to the screen with performances in David and Lisa and the film version of 1776. In his later years he lent his voice to the CBS Radio Mystery Theater and narrated early U.S. broadcasts of Doctor Who. Da Silva died of lymphoma at age 76 in Ossining, New York, leaving behind a legacy of versatile, powerful performances that continue to influence American acting.