Howard Duff
| Howard Duff | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Born | Howard Green Duff November 24, 1913 Charleston, Washington, U.S. |
| Died | July 8, 1990 (aged 76) Santa Barbara, California, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1947–1990 |
| Spouse | Ida Lupino (1951–1984) Judy Jenkinson Duff |
Howard Green Duff (November 24, 1913 – July 8, 1990) was an American actor of film, television, stage, and radio.
Duff was born in Charleston, Washington,[1] now a part of Bremerton. He graduated from Roosevelt High School in Seattle in 1932 where he began acting in school plays only after he was cut from the basketball team. Thereafter, he worked locally in the theater in Seattle until he entered the military during the Second World War where he was assigned to the Army Air Force's radio service. After the war his career improved and he quickly got his first film role as an inmate in Brute Force. His other movies include The Naked City (1948),[2] All My Sons (1948), Calamity Jane and Sam Bass (1949), Panic in the City (1968), In Search of America (1971), A Wedding (1978) and No Way Out (1987).
Duff appeared in a number of films with his first wife, actress/director Ida Lupino. One of his later performances was as Dustin Hoffman's attorney in the Academy Award-winning Kramer vs. Kramer (1979).
On radio, Duff played Dashiell Hammett's private eye Sam Spade from 1946–1950, starring in The Adventures of Sam Spade on three different networks - ABC, CBS and NBC.[3] In 1951 Steve Dunne took over the role of Sam Spade.[4] Duff also appeared in an episode of Climax! entitled Escape From Fear in 1955.
On television, Duff appeared with his then wife Ida Lupino in the CBS comedy Mr. Adams and Eve from January 1957 through September 1958, in which they played husband and wife film stars named Howard Adams and Eve Drake.[5] He played the young Samuel Langhorne Clemens, in his early life in the West as a satirical and crusading journalist, in the TV series Bonanza ("Enter Mark Twain," season 1, episode 5, 1959). In 1960 he played the male main character in The Twilight Zone episode "A World of Difference" as Arthur Curtis/Jerry Raigan. From October 1960 through April 1961, Duff played Willie Dante, owner of the fictional San Francisco nightclub, Dante's Inferno, in the NBC adventure/drama series Dante.[5] In 1964, Duff guest-starred as Harold Baker in the episode Prodigy of NBC's medical drama about psychiatry, The Eleventh Hour, starring Jack Ging and Ralph Bellamy. From September 1966 through January 1969, Duff portrayed Detective Sergeant Sam Stone in the ABC police drama Felony Squad with costar Dennis Cole.[5] In 1977, he guest starred in the Rockford Files episode, There's One in Every Port; and in 1990, The Golden Girls's The Mangiacavallo Curse Makes a Lousy Wedding Present. In the 1980s, he appeared on NBC's Flamingo Road; and Knots Landing and Dallas, the latter both on CBS.
[edit] Personal life
Duff had a tempestuous relationship with actress Ava Gardner in the late 1940s. He married Ida Lupino in 1951.[1] After he was listed in Red Channels as a Communist subversive in 1950, he lost his radio work, and might have lost his entire career if not for his marriage. They had a daughter, Bridget Duff (born April 23, 1952). They separated in 1966 and divorced in 1984. He later married Judy Jenkinson.
Duff died at age 76 of a heart attack on July 8, 1990 in Santa Barbara, California. He was survived by his daughter, his nieces, his second wife, and his granddaughter.
[edit] References
- ^ a b "Actor Howard Duff, Radio's Sam Spade, Dies at 72", Seattle Post-Intelligencer, July 10, 1990
- ^ Maltin, Leonard - TV Movies 1981-82 Edition, New American Library, 1980
- ^ Buxton, Frank and Owens, Bill - The Big Broadcast - 1920-1950, The Viking Press, 1972
- ^ Dunning, John - Tune in Yesterday, Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1976
- ^ a b c Brooks, Tim and Marsh, Earl - The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network TV Shows 1946-Present, Ballantine, 1979
Howard left Ida Lupino in September 1972 for Judy. Lupino filed for divorce in 1983.
