Howard Duff

Birthday: 1913-11-24
Deathday: 1990-07-08
Birthplace:
Gender: Male
Owned By: Unowned

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, 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. His first film role was as an inmate in Brute Force. His other movies include The Naked City (1948), 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).

He appeared in a number of films with his first wife, actress/director Ida Lupino. One of Duff's 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. In 1951 Steve Dunne took over the role of Sam Spade. 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. 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 San Francisco nightclub, Dante's Inferno, in the NBC adventure/drama series Dante. In 1964, Duff guest starred as Harold Baker on the episode "Prodigy" of NBC's medical drama about psychiatry The Eleventh Hour, starring Jack Ging and Ralph Bellamy. In 1990, he guest starred on an episode of The Golden Girls (episode: The Mangiacavallo Curse Makes a Lousy Wedding Present).

From September 1966 through January 1969, Duff portrayed Detective Sergeant Sam Stone in the ABC police drama Felony Squad with costar Dennis Cole. In the 1980s, he appeared on dramas such as NBC's Flamingo Road and Knots Landing, and Dallas, both on CBS.

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Credits

Year Title Character
1990-10-10 Too Much Sun O.M.
1989-10-30 Settle the Score Cy Whately
1987-08-14 No Way Out Senator William 'Billy' Duvall
1987-05-17 Roses Are for the Rich Denton
1986-05-15 Monster in the Closet Father Martin Finnegan
1985-10-21 Love on the Run Lionel Rockland
1983-01-11 This Girl For Hire Wolfe Macready
1982-10-31 The Wild Women of Chastity Gulch Col. Samuel Isaacs
1982-05-20 Lily for President? General
1980-05-12 Flamingo Road Sheriff Titus Semple
1980-05-12 Double Negative Lester Harlen
1980-02-15 Valentine Magic on Love Island A.J. Morgan
1979-12-26 Young Maverick - Dead Man's Hand Herman Rusk
1979-12-07 Kramer vs. Kramer John Shaunessy
1978-09-26 Battered Bill Thompson
1978-08-29 A Wedding Dr. Jules Meecham
1978-03-03 Ski Lift to Death Ben Forbes
1978-02-21 Actor Winfield Sheehan
1977-02-23 In the Glitter Palace Raymond Dawson Travers
1977-02-10 The Late Show Harry Regan
1974-02-11 Tight as a Drum Hollister
1973-01-31 Snatched Duncan Wood
1972-11-29 The Heist Lieutenant Nicholson
1971-10-31 A Little Game Dunlap
1971-03-23 In Search of America Ray Chandler
1969-12-08 The D.A.: Murder One Lynn D. Compton
1968-10-01 Panic in the City Dave Pomeroy
1964-07-08 Calhoun Sid Rayner
1962-11-24 War Gods of Babylon Sardanapolo
1962-06-21 Boys' Night Out Doug Jackson
1957-05-01 Sierra Stranger Jess Collins
1956-04-19 While the City Sleeps Lt. Burt Kaufman
1956-04-01 The Broken Star Thornton W. Wills
1956-04-01 Blackjack Ketchum Desperado Tom "Blackjack" Ketchum
1955-12-04 Flame of the Islands Doug Duryea
1955-02-01 Women's Prison Dr. Crane
1954-11-16 The Yellow Mountain Pete Menlo
1954-09-03 Private Hell 36 Police Sgt. Jack Farnham
1954-07-03 Tanganyika Dan Harder
1953-10-25 Jennifer Jim Hollis
1953-07-01 Spaceways Dr. Stephen Mitchell
1953-05-31 Roar of the Crowd Johnny Tracy
1952-05-19 Models Inc. Lennie Stone
1952-05-09 Steel Town Jim Denko
1951-09-01 The Lady from Texas Dan Mason
1950-09-01 Shakedown Jack Early
1950-06-08 Spy Hunt Steve Quain
1950-01-06 Woman in Hiding Keith Ramsey
1949-09-20 Calamity Jane and Sam Bass Sam Bass
1949-06-01 Illegal Entry Bert Powers
1949-04-27 Red Canyon Lin Sloane
1949-04-20 Johnny Stool Pigeon George Morton
1948-05-01 All My Sons George Deever
1948-03-04 The Naked City Frank Niles
1947-07-16 Brute Force Robert 'Soldier' Becker