Reed Howes | |
|---|---|
 Reed Howes, 1925 | |
| Born | Hermon Reed Howes (1900-07-05)July 5, 1900 Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| Died | August 6, 1964(1964-08-06) (aged 64) |
| Resting place | Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery |
| Other names | Reed Howe |
| Occupation(s) | Actor, model |
| Years active | c.1923–1964 |
| Spouses |
|
Hermon Reed Howes (July 5, 1900 – August 6, 1964) was an American model who later became an actor in silent and sound films.
Howes spent the beginning of his childhood in Washington, D.C. before moving with his parents toOgden,Utah. He served in theUS Navy in the closing stages ofWorld War I and was the Pacific Fleet Swim Team's captain.[1] In 1919, while attending Harvard, he saved the lives of a young woman and another man after they nearly drowned in the ocean atYork Beach,Maine.[2]
Howes married three times in his life: to Lillian Pechin in 1923,[3] Catherine Tabor in 1932,[4] and Mary Donovan Howard in 1937.[5]
_03.png)
In the early 1920s Howes began modeling shirts and detachable collars produced byCluett Peabody & Company. Howes was one of several men known asArrow Collar Men[1] (others wereEarle Williams[6]Neil Hamilton,Fredric March,Brian Donlevy,Jack Mulhall, and possiblyRalph Forbes) who were the models seen in the Cluett Peabody company's advertisements for the apparel drawn by illustratorJ. C. Leyendecker. A 1924 advertisement by film companyFBO capitalizing on Howes Arrow Collar popularity has Howes: "Acknowledged and acclaimed America's handsomest man To be starred in a series of Eight Productions".[7]
 | This sectiondoes notcite anysources. Please helpimprove this section byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged andremoved.(February 2022) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Howes began making silent pictures in Hollywood in 1923. At this stage of his career his youthful good looks led to him supporting or co-starring with many of filmdoms well-known and beautiful female stars of the time, i.e.,Marie Prevost,Clara Bow,Mildred Harris,Marjorie Daw,Viola Dana,Louise Fazenda andVirginia Brown Faire. He also appeared in low budget pictures with lesser known female stars, i.e.,Gladys Hulette, Ruth Dwyer,Carmelita Geraghty,Ethel Shannon andAlice Calhoun.
Indeed, many of Howes's silent pictures are 'racing car-romance' movies, the kindWallace Reid made popular before his untimely death in 1923. Howes seems to have picked up whereWally Reid left off and in fact Howes resembles Wally in looks or more precisely a cross between Wallace Reid andNeil Hamilton. The majority of Howes silents were produced byHarry Joe Brown (who also directed) and released through the Rayart company.Al Rogell directed a lot of them.[citation needed] The studios Howes worked for in the silent era wereFBO,Warner Brothers,Fox,Paramount andUniversal.
| This sectiondoes notcite anysources. Please helpimprove this section byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged andremoved.(June 2023) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Howes made his sound film debut in Warner'sThe Singing Fool starringAl Jolson. He closed out the silent era in a programmer production of longtime colleagueHarry Joe Brown. In the talking era Howes shifted to playing heavies (villains), first in crime films and then in Westerns, with which he would be associated for the remainder of his career. He continued in these roles throughout the 1940s and 1950s before retiring due to ill health. His health declined further, and he died in 1964 at the Motion Picture Country Home and Hospital, where he had been confined for months. He was 64.
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1953 | Death Valley Days | Salem Officer | Season 1 Episode 11 "The Lady with the Blue Silk Umbrella" |
| 1953 | Death Valley Days | Bartender Arnie | Season 2, Episode 1, "The Diamond Babe" |
| 1957 | Cheyenne | uncredited as Rancher in episode "Top Hand" |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
