Howard Duff | |
|---|---|
 Duff in 1969 | |
| Born | Howard Green Duff (1913-11-24)November 24, 1913 Charleston, Washington, U.S. |
| Died | July 8, 1990(1990-07-08) (aged 76) |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1943–1990 |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 1 |
Howard Green Duff (November 24, 1913 – July 8, 1990) was an American actor. He started in radio during World War II before appearing in many Hollywood features and television programs from 1947 to 1990. He also directed for television. His career was marked by accusations of disloyalty during thered scare of the 1950s.
Duff was born in Charleston, Washington (todaya part of Bremerton), in 1913.[1] He graduated fromRoosevelt High School inSeattle in 1932, where he began acting in school plays after he was cut from the school basketball team.
Duff worked locally in Seattle-area theater until entering theUnited States Army Air Corps duringWorld War II. He was eventually assigned to their radio service, and announced re-broadcasts prepared for the Armed Forces Radio Service (AFRS). In this role, he served as the announcer for the dramaSuspense, dated March 16, 1943.
Duff's most memorable radio role was asDashiell Hammett's private eyeSam Spade inThe Adventures of Sam Spade (1946–1950).[2] Due to accusations of Duff being a communist and with his TV and film career starting to take hold, he ultimately left the program in 1950 at the start of its final season;Stephen Dunne took over the voice role of Spade.[3][4]
Duff was signed to a long-term contract withUniversal, and made his film debut alongsideBurt Lancaster as an inmate in 1947'sBrute Force. The movie was produced byMark Hellinger and directed byJules Dassin, who gave Duff a bigger role in their next film,The Naked City (1948).[5] He subsequently reunited with Lancaster for the family dramaAll My Sons (also 1948), based on theplay of the same name byArthur Miller.
More substantial roles soon followed, with Duff taking the lead in numerous Westerns and films noir includingIllegal Entry,Red Canyon,Johnny Stool Pigeon,Calamity Jane and Sam Bass (all 1949);[6]Spy Hunt,Shakedown andWoman in Hiding (all 1950). The latter film saw Duff act alongside his future wifeIda Lupino; the couple would subsequently co-star in a further four films during the 1950s.
In 1951, Duff made a pilot for a new radio series,The McCoy.[7] Following his marriage to Lupino in October 1951, Duff was granted a release from his contract with Universal.[8]
Duff appeared in the 1952 filmThat Kind of Girl (akaModels Inc),[9] and also featured inSpaceways, andRoar of the Crowd (both 1953), the latter forMonogram Pictures, which ultimately madeJennifer (also 1953), the second movie in which he starred alongside his wife.
His other film appearances beside his wife;Don Siegel'sPrivate Hell 36 (1954);Lewis Seiler'sWomen's Prison (1955), andFritz Lang'sWhile the City Sleeps (1956) continued Duff's successful run of movies during the 1950s.
In addition to his movie roles, Duff also experienced success in television, with appearances in the 1950s seriesThe Star and the Story,Climax! andCrossroads. From January 1957 to July 1958, he appeared with Lupino in the CBS sitcomMr. Adams and Eve, which revolved around the private lives of two fictitious film stars, Howard Adams and Eve Drake, who were married to each other. They also served as producers.[10]
Other TV roles included an appearance inNBC'sWestern seriesBonanza, playing a youngSamuel Langhorne Clemens in his early life in the West as a satirical and crusading journalist, in the first-season episode "Enter Mark Twain". Duff also featured in episodes of numerous TV series during the 1960s includingThe Twilight Zone,Burke's Law,Combat! (episode “Missing in Action”),The Eleventh Hour,Mr. Novak andBatman (episode "The Entrancing Dr. Cassandra", alongside wife Ida Lupino). In 1960, Duff portrayed Arthur Curtis onThe Twilight Zone in an episode titled “A World of Difference.” In 1963 Duff appeared as Ed Frazer onThe Virginian in the episode titled "A Distant Fury."[11]: 428
Duff had the lead role in the short-lived TV seriesDante (which ran for only one season; 1960–61),[10] but found greater success as Detective Sergeant Sam Stone in the ABC police dramaFelony Squad (1966–69). Duff appeared in all 73 episodes of the series during its three-season run, alongside his co-starsDennis Cole andBen Alexander. He also directed one episode; "The Deadly Abductors".[12]
Duff also directed seven episodes of the 1965–1966 television sitcomCamp Runamuck.
Duff continued to make guest appearances in TV series during the 1970s includingThe Streets of San Francisco,Police Story,The Rockford Files, and$weepstake$, amongst others, and also featured in the TV moviesA Little Game (1971) andSnatched (1973). In 1971 Duff appeared as Stuart Masters inThe Men from Shiloh (the retitled final season of theTV WesternThe Virginian) in the episode titled "The Town Killer".
Duff was part of anensemble cast in the 1978 comedy filmA Wedding, and had a prominent role as theattorney toDustin Hoffman's character in theAcademy Award-winningKramer vs. Kramer (1979). In 1980 he played Charles Slade in the 1980 mini seriesThe Dream Merchants.
Duff portrayed villain Jules Edwards in Part 1 of the 1981 mini-seriesEast of Eden, and was part of the main cast in the TV seriesFlamingo Road (1980–82), appearing in all 38 episodes of the show.[13]
He continued to make guest appearances in TV series during the 1980s, includingCharlie's Angels (1980) (as bumbling private eye Harrigan in the episode "Harrigan's Angel");Murder, She Wrote (1984);Magnum, P.I. (1988) (as Capt. Thomas Magnum, II, the grandfather of main characterThomas Magnum, played byTom Selleck); andDallas (also 1988).[14] Duff also had a recurring role as Paul Galveston during the sixth season ofKnots Landing (1984–85), appearing in 10 episodes. He returned for one more episode in 1990.
Although Duff made few film appearances during the 1980s, he did have a prominent role in the 1987 thrillerNo Way Out, alongsideKevin Costner andGene Hackman. In 1990, shortly before his death, Duff made his final acting appearances in the TV seriesMidnight Caller andThe Golden Girls, and the filmToo Much Sun.
Duff had a tempestuous relationship with actressAva Gardner in the late 1940s. In October 1951, he marriedIda Lupino.[1][15][16]
After he was listed inRed Channels as acommunist subversive in 1950, he lost his radio work and might have forfeited his entire career had it not been for his marriage. Duff and Lupino had a daughter, Bridget Duff (born April 23, 1952). The couple separated in 1966 but did not divorce until 1984. He subsequently married Judy Jenkinson. Like former wife Lupino, Duff was a staunchDemocrat.[17]
Duff died at age 76 of aheart attack on July 8, 1990, inSanta Barbara, California.[18]
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