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John Houseman | |
|---|---|
 Houseman inThe Fog (1980) | |
| Born | Jacques Haussmann (1902-09-22)September 22, 1902 |
| Died | October 31, 1988(1988-10-31) (aged 86) Malibu, California, U.S. |
| Citizenship |
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| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1930–1988 |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 2 |
| Relatives | Charles Siepmann (stepbrother) |
John Houseman (bornJacques Haussmann; September 22, 1902 – October 31, 1988) was aBritish-American theatre and film producer, actor, director, and teacher. He became known for his highly publicized collaboration with directorOrson Welles from their days in theFederal Theatre Project through to the production ofCitizen Kane. He enjoyed a distinguished career as an influential producer of both the stage and screen, and was the founding director of the drama department of theJuilliard School[1] and co-founder ofThe Acting Company.[2]
Houseman was nominated for anAcademy Award for Best Picture for producingWilliam Shakespeare's Julius Caesar (1953). As an actor, Houseman won theBest Supporting Actor Oscar for his portrayal of Professor Charles W. Kingsfield in the 1973 filmThe Paper Chase, which he reprised in the 1978television series adaptation.
He was also nominated for four actingGolden Globe Awards (winning once), and aPrimetime Emmy Award for producing. In 1979, Houseman was inducted into theAmerican Theater Hall of Fame.[3]
Houseman was born September 22, 1902, inBucharest, Romania, the son of May (née Davies), agoverness, and Georges Haussmann, who ran a grain business.[4] His mother was British, from aChristian family ofWelsh andIrish descent.[5] His father wasJewish and fromAlsace–Lorraine (in present-dayFrance).[6][7][8][9]
Haussmann was educated atClifton College in England,[10] became a British subject, and worked in thegrain trade in London. He moved toArgentina as a speculator in the international grain markets before immigrating to the United States in 1925. He had a successful business career and was on the Chicago Board of Trade.[11]
Houseman had married actressZita Johann weeks before the1929 stock market crash, with international markets in chaos. Johann encouraged him to reinvent himself with a new career path in the theater. He changed his birth name, Jacques Haussmann, taking the stage name John Houseman and began by translating works in German and French into English for the New York stage.[11] He became a United States citizen in 1943.[12][13]
On Broadway, Houseman co-wroteThree and One (1933) andAnd Be My Love (1934). ComposerVirgil Thomson recruited him to directFour Saints in Three Acts (1934), Thomson's collaboration withGertrude Stein.[14] He later directedThe Lady from the Sea (1934) andValley Forge (1934).[citation needed]
In 1934, Houseman was looking to castPanic, a play he was producing based on a drama byArchibald MacLeish concerning aWall Street financier whose world crumbles about him when consumed by the crash of 1929. Although the central figure is a man in his late fifties, Houseman became obsessed by the notion that a young man namedOrson Welles he had seen inKatharine Cornell's production ofRomeo and Juliet was the only person qualified to play the leading role. Welles consented and, after preliminary conversations, agreed to leave the play he was in after a single night to take the lead in Houseman's production.Panic opened at the Imperial Theatre on March 15, 1935. Among the cast was Houseman's ex-wife,Zita Johann, who had co-starred withBoris Karloff three years earlier in Universal'sThe Mummy.
Although the play opened to indifferent notices and ran for a mere three performances, it nevertheless led to the forging of a theatrical team, a fruitful but stormy partnership in which Houseman said Welles "was the teacher, I, the apprentice."
He supervised the direction ofWalk Together Chillun in 1936.
In 1936, theFederal Theatre Project of theWorks Progress Administration put unemployed theatre performers and employees to work. The Negro Theatre Unit of the Federal Theatre Project was headed byRose McClendon, a well-known black actress, and Houseman. He describes the experience in one of his memoirs:
Within a year of its formation, the Federal Theatre had more than fifteen thousand men and women on its payroll at an average wage of approximately twenty dollars a week. During the four years of its existence its productions played to more than thirty million people in more than two hundred theatres as well as portable stages, school auditoriums and public parks the country over.[15]
Houseman immediately hired Welles and assigned him to directMacbeth for theFTP's Negro Theater Unit, a production that became known as the "Voodoo Macbeth", as it was set in the Haitian court of KingHenri Christophe (and with voodoo witch doctors for the threeWeird Sisters) and starred Jack Carter in the title role. Theincidental music was composed byVirgil Thomson. The play premiered at theLafayette Theatre on April 14, 1936, to enthusiastic reviews and remained sold out for each of its nightly performances. The play was regarded by critics and patrons as an enormous, if controversial, success. After 10 months with the Negro Theater Project, however, Houseman felt he was faced with the dilemma of risking his future:
... on a partnership with a 20-year-old boy in whose talent I had unquestioning faith but with whom I must increasingly play the combined and tricky roles of producer, censor, adviser, impresario, father, older brother and bosom friend.[15]
Houseman later produced for the Negro Theatre UnitTurpentine (1936) without Welles.
In 1936, Houseman and Welles were running aWPA unit in midtown Manhattan for classic productions called Project No. 891. Their first production wasChristopher Marlowe'sTragical History of Dr. Faustus which Welles directed while also playing the title role.
Houseman and Welles put onHorse Eats Hat (1936). Houseman, without Welles, helped in the direction ofLeslie Howard's production ofHamlet (1936).
In June 1937, Project No. 891 produced their most controversial work withThe Cradle Will Rock. Written byMarc Blitzstein, the musical was about Larry Foreman, a worker in Steeltown (played in the original production byHoward da Silva), which is run by the boss, Mister Mister (played in the original production byWill Geer). The show was thought to have had left-wing and unionist sympathies (Foreman ends the show with a song about "unions" taking over the town and the country), and became legendary as an example of a "censored" show. Shortly before the show was to open, FTP officials in Washington announced that no productions would open until after July 1, 1937, the beginning of the new fiscal year.
In his memoir,Run-Through, Houseman wrote about the circumstances surrounding the opening night at theMaxine Elliott Theatre. All the performers had been enjoined not to perform on stage for the production when it opened on July 14, 1937. The cast and crew left their government-owned theatre and walked 20 blocks to another theatre, with the audience following. No one knew what to expect; when they got there Blitzstein himself was at the piano and started playing the introduction music. One of the amateur performers, Olive Stanton, who played the part of Moll, the prostitute, stood up in the audience, and began singing her part. All the other performers, in turn, stood up for their parts. Thus the "oratorio" version of the show was born. Apparently, Welles had designed some intricate scenery, which ended up never being used. The event was so successful that it was repeated several times on subsequent nights, with everyone trying to remember and reproduce what had happened spontaneously the first night. The incident, however, led to Houseman being fired and Welles's resignation from Project No. 891.[citation needed]
That same year, 1937, after detaching themselves from theFederal Theatre Project, Houseman and Welles didThe Cradle Will Rock as an independent production on Broadway. They also founded the acclaimed New York drama company, theMercury Theatre. Houseman wrote of their collaboration at this time:
On the broad wings of the Federal eagle, we had risen to success and fame beyond ourselves as America's youngest, cleverest, most creative and audacious producers to whom none of the ordinary rules of the theater applied.[15]
Armed with a manifesto written by Houseman[citation needed] declaring their intention to foster new talent, experiment with new types of plays, and appeal to the same audiences that frequented the Federal Theater the company was designed largely to offer plays of the past, preferably those that "...seem to have emotion or factual bearing on contemporary life." The company mounted several notable productions, the most remarkable being its first commercial production ofJulius Caesar. Houseman called the decision to use modern dress "an essential element in Orson's conception of the play as a political melodrama with clear contemporary parallels."
Houseman and Welles later presentedThe Shoemaker's Holiday (1938),Heartbreak House (1938) andDanton's Death (1938).
Beginning in the summer of 1938, the Mercury Theatre was featured in a weekly dramaticradio program on theCBS network, initially promoted asFirst Person Singular before gaining the official titleThe Mercury Theatre on the Air. An adaptation ofTreasure Island was scheduled for the program's first broadcast, for which Houseman worked feverishly on the script. However, a week before the show was to air, Welles decided that a program far more dramatic was required. To Houseman's horror,Treasure Island was abandoned in favor ofBram Stoker'sDracula, with Welles playing the infamous vampire. During an all night session at Perkins' Restaurant, Welles and Houseman hashed out a script.[citation needed]
The Mercury Theatre on the Air featured an impressive array of talents, includingAgnes Moorehead,Bernard Herrmann, andGeorge Coulouris.
The Mercury Theatre on the Air subsequently became famous for its notorious 1938 radio adaptation ofH. G. Wells'The War of the Worlds, which had put much of the country in a panic.[16] By all accounts, Welles was shocked by the panic that ensued. According to Houseman, "he hadn't the faintest idea what the effect would be". CBS was inundated with calls; newspaper switchboards were jammed.
Without Welles, Houseman stagedDouglas Moore'sThe Devil and Daniel Webster (1939).
While Houseman was teaching atVassar College, he produced Welles' never-completed second short film,Too Much Johnson (1938). The film was never publicly screened and no print of the film was thought to have survived. Footage was rediscovered in 2013.[17]
The Welles-Houseman collaboration continued in Hollywood. In the spring of 1939, Welles began preliminary discussions with RKO's head of production, George Schaefer, with Welles and his Mercury players being given a two-picture deal, in which Welles would produce, direct, perform, and have full creative control of his projects.
For his motion picture debut, Welles first considered adaptingJoseph Conrad'sHeart of Darkness for the screen. A 200-page script was written. Some models were constructed, while the shooting of initial test footage had begun. However, little, if anything, had been done either to whittle down the budgetary difficulties or begin filming. When RKO threatened to eliminate the payment of salaries by December 31 if no progress had been made, Welles announced that he would pay his cast out of his own pocket. Houseman proclaimed that there wasn't enough money in their business account to pay anyone. During a corporate dinner for the Mercury crew, Welles exploded, calling his partner a "bloodsucker" and a "crook". As Houseman attempted to leave, Welles began hurling dish heaters at him, effectively ending both their partnership and friendship.
Houseman later, however, played a pivotal role in usheringCitizen Kane (1941), which starred Welles. Welles telephoned Houseman asking him to return to Hollywood to "babysit" screenwriterHerman J. Mankiewicz while he completed the script, and keep him away from alcohol. Still drawn to Welles, as was virtually everyone in his sphere, Houseman agreed. Although Welles took credit for thescreenplay ofKane, Houseman stated that the credit belonged to Mankiewicz, an assertion that led to a final break with Welles. Houseman took some credit himself for the general shaping of the story line and for editing the script. In an interview with Penelope Huston forSight & Sound magazine (Autumn, 1962) Houseman said that the writing ofCitizen Kane was a delicate subject:
I think Welles has always sincerely felt that he, single-handed, wroteCitizen Kane and everything else that he has directed—except, possibly, the plays ofShakespeare. But the script ofKane was essentially Mankiewicz's. The conception and the structure were his, all the dramatic Hearstian mythology and the journalistic and political wisdom he had been carrying around with him for years and which he now poured into the only serious job he ever did in a lifetime of film writing. But Orson turnedKane into a film: the dynamics and the tensions are his and the brilliant cinematic effects—all those visual and aural inventions that add up to makeCitizen Kane one of the world's great movies—those were pure Orson Welles.
In 1975, during an interview with Kate McCauley, Houseman stated that film criticPauline Kael in her essay "Raising Kane", had caused an "idiotic controversy" over the issue: "The argument is Orson's own fault. He wanted to be given all the credit because he's a hog. Actually, itis his film. So it's a ridiculous argument."[18][19]
After he and Welles went their separate ways, Houseman went on to directThe Devil and Daniel Webster (1939) andLiberty Jones (1941) and produced the Mercury Theatre's stage production ofNative Son (1941) on Broadway, directed by Welles.
In Hollywood Houseman became a vice-president ofDavid O. Selznick Productions. His most notable achievement during that time was helping adapt and produce the adaptation ofJane Eyre (1943) which starredJoan Fontaine and Welles.
In the aftermath of theattack on Pearl Harbor, Houseman quit his job and became the head of the overseas radio division of theOffice of War Information (OWI), working for theVoice of America whilst also managing its operations in New York City.[20]
In 1945 Houseman signed a contract with Paramount Pictures to produce movies. His first credit for that studio wasThe Unseen (1945). He followed it withMiss Susie Slagle's (1945) andThe Blue Dahlia (1946), both withVeronica Lake. The latter, starringAlan Ladd and written byRaymond Chandler, has become a classic.
He left Paramount and returned to Broadway to directLute Song (1946) withMary Martin.
Back in Hollywood he producedLetter from an Unknown Woman (1948) forMax Ophuls at Universal.
Houseman went toRKO where he producedThey Live by Night (1948), the directorial debut ofNicholas Ray. He also didThe Company She Keeps (1949) andOn Dangerous Ground (1951).
He returned to Broadway to produceJoy to the World (1949) andKing Lear (1950–51), the latter withLouis Calhern.
RKO's head of production had beenDore Schary. When Schary moved to MGM he offered Houseman a contract at the studio, which the producer accepted.
Houseman's stint at MGM began withHoliday for Sinners (1952); then he had a huge success withThe Bad and the Beautiful (1952), directed byVincente Minnelli. He followed it with the film adaptation ofJulius Caesar (1953) (for which he received anAcademy Award nomination for Best Picture)
Also popular wasExecutive Suite (1954), a highly creative adaptation byErnest Lehman ofCameron Hawley's bestselling novel. However,Her Twelve Men (1954), Minnelli'sThe Cobweb (1955) andFritz Lang'sMoonfleet (1955) all lost money. So didLust for Life (1956), a biopic directed by Minnelli ofVincent van Gogh, although it was extremely well-received critically.
Houseman moved into television producing, notably doingThe Seven Lively Arts (1957) and episodes ofPlayhouse 90.
He also returned to theatre, producing revivals ofMeasure for Measure (1957) andThe Duchess of Malfi (1957).
Houseman was enticed back to MGM as a producer, and given his own production company, John Houseman Productions. His films wereAll Fall Down (1962),Two Weeks in Another Town (1962) andIn the Cool of the Day (1963).
Houseman returned to television where he madeThe Great Adventure andJourney to America (1964). He returned to Hollywood briefly to produceThis Property Is Condemned (1966), then returned to TV forEvening Primrose (1966).
He returned to Broadway, directingPantagleize (1967).
Houseman became the founding director of the Drama Division at TheJuilliard School, and held this position from 1968 until 1976.[21][22] The first graduating class in 1972 includedKevin Kline andPatti LuPone; subsequent classes under Houseman's leadership includedChristopher Reeve,Mandy Patinkin,Kevin Conroy andRobin Williams.[23]
Unwilling to see that very first class disbanded upon graduation, Houseman and his Juilliard colleague Margot Harley formed them into an independent, touring repertory company they named the "Group 1 Acting Company."[24] The organization was subsequently renamedThe Acting Company, and has been active for more than 40 years. Houseman served as the producing artistic director through 1986, and Harley has been the company's producer since its founding.[25] Writing inThe New York Times in 1996,Mel Gussow called it "the major touring classical theater in the United States."[26]John Houseman served as the Chair of the Division of Drama at the University of Southern California (USC) School of Dramatic Arts from 1977 to 1979.
Houseman continued to be involved in theatre, producingThe School for Wives (1971),The Three Sisters (1973),The Beggar's Opera (1973),Scapin (1973),Next Time I'll Sing to You (1974),The Robber Bridegroom (1975),Edward II (1975), andThe Time of Your Life (1975)
He directedThe Country Girl (1972),Don Juan in Hell (1973),Measure for Measure (1973), andClarence Darrow (1974) (withHenry Fonda).
In 1979, Houseman earned induction into theAmerican Theater Hall of Fame.[27]
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Houseman had acted occasionally during the early part of his career and he had a brief but important part inSeven Days in May (1964).
He first became widely known to the public for hisGolden Globe andAcademy Award-winning role as Professor Charles W. Kingsfield in the filmThe Paper Chase (1973). The film was a success and launched Houseman into an unexpected late career as a character actor.
Houseman played Energy Corporation Executive Bartholomew in the filmRollerball (1975), and was in the thrillersThree Days of the Condor (1975) andSt. Ives (1976).
He appeared on TV inFear on Trial (1975),The Adams Chronicles (1976),Truman at Potsdam (1976),Hazard's People (1976) andSix Characters in Search of an Author (1976). Houseman was reunited withThe Paper Chase co-starLindsay Wagner in 1976's "Kill Oscar", a three-part joint episode of the popular science fiction seriesThe Bionic Woman andThe Six Million Dollar Man; he played the scientific genius Dr. Franklin.
He continued appearing on TV inCaptains and the Kings (1976),The Displaced Person (1977), a version ofOur Town (1977),Washington: Behind Closed Doors (1977),The Best of Families (1977),Aspen (1978),The Last Convertible (1978),The French Atlantic Affair (1978) andThe Associates (1980).
In films he parodiedSydney Greenstreet in theNeil Simon filmThe Cheap Detective (1978) and was inOld Boyfriends (1979),John Carpenter'sThe Fog (1980),Wholly Moses! (1980) andMy Bodyguard (1980).
Houseman briefly returned to producing with the TV movieGideon's Trumpet (1980), in which he also appeared, andChoices of the Heart (1983). He produced one more show on Broadway,The Curse of an Aching Heart (1982).
He acted inThe Babysitter (1980),A Christmas Without Snow (1980),Ghost Story (1981),Mork & Mindy,Murder by Phone (1982) (second billed),Marco Polo (1982), andAmerican Playhouse (1982).
Later film appearances includedBright Lights, Big City (1988) andAnother Woman (1988).
In 1988, he appeared in his last two roles—cameos in the filmsThe Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! andScrooged. He played a driving instructor (whose mannerisms parodied many of his prior roles) in the former, and himself in the latter. Both films were released after his death.
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Having played aHarvard Law School professor in the filmThe Paper Chase (1973), he reprised the role ina television series of the same name, which ran from 1978 to 1979 and 1983 to 1986. During that time, he received twoGolden Globe nominations for "Best Actor in a TV Series—Drama".
In the 1980s Houseman became more widely known for his role as grandfather Edward Stratton II inSilver Spoons, which starredRick Schroder, and for his commercials for brokerage firmSmith Barney, which featured thecatchphrase, "They make money the old fashioned way... theyearn it." Another was Puritan brand cooking oil, with "less saturated fat than the leading oil", featuring the famous 'tomato test'.
He played Jewish author Aaron Jastrow (loosely based on the real life figure ofBernard Berenson) in the highly acclaimed 1983 miniseriesThe Winds of War (receiving a fourth Golden Globe nomination). He declined to reprise the role in the sequelWar and Remembrance miniseries (the role then went to SirJohn Gielgud).
However he was in the miniseriesA.D. (1984),Noble House (1986), andLincoln (1988).
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Between and sometimes during engagements, he contributed articles and book reviews to national publications, and wrote three volumes of memoirs, which are a chronicle of an era as well as a testimony to his phenomenal powers of recall:Run Through (1972),Front and Center (1979) andFinal Dress (1983). In 1986 he publishedEntertainers and the Entertained. A fourth volume,Unfinished Business: Memoirs, 1902 to 1988, a distillation of his earlier books with some new material, was published in 1988.
Houseman was married toZita Johann from 1929 to 1933. She was a stage actress when they married and he was a successful grain dealer until the 1929 stock market crash, at which point he became destitute and she encouraged him to pursue a new career in the theater.[citation needed]
Houseman was in a relationship with actressJoan Fontaine after her marriage to actorBrian Aherne ended in 1945.[28]
In 1952, Houseman married Joan Courtney, a British actress born in 1916. They had two sons together. Under the name "Joan Houseman," she acted in TV and film in the 1950s and 1960s. The couple was married until his death in 1988.[citation needed]
On October 31, 1988, Houseman died at age 86 ofspinal cancer at his home inMalibu, California.[13]
Houseman was portrayed byCary Elwes in theTim Robbins–directed filmCradle Will Rock (1999). ActorEddie Marsan plays the role of Houseman inRichard Linklater's filmMe & Orson Welles (2009). Houseman was played by actorJonathan Rigby in theDoctor Who audio dramaInvaders from Mars set around theWar of the Worlds broadcast. ActorSam Troughton portrayed Houseman in the 2020 filmMank.
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 | Great Performances | Dr. Fawcett | Episode: "Beyond the Horizon" |
| Fear on Trial | Mike Collins | Television film | |
| 1976 | The Adams Chronicles | JudgeRichard Gridley | Miniseries; 1 episode |
| Truman at Potsdam | Winston Churchill | Television film | |
| Hazard's People | John Hazard | ||
| Six Characters in Search of an Author | The Director | ||
| The Six Million Dollar Man | Dr. Lee Franklin | Episode: "Kill Oscar: Part 2" | |
| The Bionic Woman | 2 episodes | ||
| Captains and the Kings | Judge Newell Chisholm | Miniseries; 2 episodes | |
| 1977 | The American Short Story | Father Flynn | Episode: "The Displaced Person" |
| Washington: Behind Closed Doors | Myron Dunn | Miniseries; 6 episodes | |
| The Best of Families | Himself (Host) | Miniseries | |
| Aspen | Joseph Merrill Drummond | Miniseries; 2 episodes | |
| 1978–86 | The Paper Chase | Charles W. Kingsfield Jr. | Main cast; Seasons 1–4 Nominated –CableACE Award for Best Actor in a Dramatic Presentation Nominated –Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Drama(1978–1979) |
| 1979 | The Last Convertible | Dr. Wetherell | Miniseries; 3 episodes |
| The French Atlantic Affair | Dr. Archady Clemens | ||
| 1980 | The Associates | Professor Kingsfield | Episode: "Eliot's Revenge" |
| Gideon's Trumpet | Earl Warren | Television film | |
| The Babysitter | Dr. Lindquist | ||
| A Christmas Without Snow | Ephraim Adams | ||
| 1982 | Mork & Mindy | Milt | Episode: "Mork, Mindy, and Mearth Meet MILT" |
| Marco Polo | Patriarch of Aquileia | Miniseries; 1 episode | |
| 1982–87 | Silver Spoons | Edward Stratton Jr. | Recurring role; Seasons 1–5 |
| 1983 | American Playhouse | Network Newscaster | Episode: "Network Newscaster" |
| The Winds of War | Aaron Jastrow | Miniseries; 7 episodes Nominated –Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film | |
| Freedom to Speak | Benjamin Franklin | Miniseries; 3 episodes | |
| 1985 | A.D. | Gamaliel | Miniseries; 5 episodes |
| 1988 | Noble House | Sir Geoffrey Allison | Miniseries; 4 episodes |
| Lincoln | Gen.Winfield Scott | Miniseries; 2 episodes | |
| 227 | Himself | Episode: "They're Playing Our Song" |
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1957–58 | The Seven Lively Arts | 10 episodes |
| 1958–59 | Playhouse 90 | 7 episodes |
| 1960 | Dillinger | Television film |
| 1963 | The Great Adventure | 3 episodes |
| 1966 | ABC Stage 67 | Episode: "Evening Primrose" |
| 1980 | Gideon's Trumpet | Television film Nominated –Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Television Movie |
| 1983 | Choices of the Heart | Television film |
:2 was invoked but never defined (see thehelp page).The success of The Acting Company's first season had greatly benefited the School and lifted the Drama Division's stock with Lincoln Center's Board.Reprinting of the 1999 book, which described the relationship between the Juilliard School and The Acting Company at the time of the latter's founding.
Seven years after Mr. Houseman's death, and after a steeplechase course of obstacles, the Acting Company endures as the major touring classical theater in the United States. Now under the sole leadership of Ms. Harley, the company takes plays to 45 cities from Orono, Me., to Sheridan, Wyo.Descriptive article on the occasion of the Company's 25th anniversary.
