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Howard Irving Smith (August 12, 1893 in Attleboro, Massachusetts – January 10, 1968 in Hollywood, California) was an American character actor with a 50-year career in vaudeville, theatre, radio, films and television. In 1938 he performed in Orson Welles's short-lived stage production and once-lost film, ''Too Much Johnson'', and in the celebrated radio production, "The War of the Worlds". He portrayed Charley in the original Broadway production of ''Death of a Salesman'' and recreated the role in the 1951 film version. On television Smith portrayed the gruff Harvey Griffin in the situation comedy, ''Hazel''. ==Biography== Howard Irving Smith〔Ancestry.com. U.S., World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942 (on-line ). Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Retrieved 2014-12-19.〕 was born August 12, 1893, in Attleboro, Massachusetts,〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Howard Smith )〕 to parents George H. Smith and Sybelle Pollard Smith.〔Ancestry.com. Massachusetts, Birth Records, 1840-1915 (on-line ). Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2013. Retrieved 2014-12-19.〕 Smith began as a concert singer, but his hopes of a opera career were ended after his service in the 77th Infantry Division in World War I. Enrico Caruso suggested that he try a musical act in vaudeville. He formed a team with his friend Harry Meeker and later, as a comedian, he shared bills with Frank Fay, Sophie Tucker, James Barton and Bessie Clayton. In 1928, with big-time vaudeville ending, Smith landed a job on radio's popular ''The Collier Hour'', and received $35 for three minutes work. His radio career continued with ''The March of Time'', ''Cavalcade of America'', ''Forty Minutes in Hollywood'' and ''Crime Doctor''.〔 Smith created the role of Sergeant Velie in ''The Adventures of Ellery Queen''.〔 He played the role of Will Brown, Homer's father, on radio's ''The Aldrich Family''〔Dunning, John, ''On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio''. New York: Oxford University Press, Inc., 1998 ISBN 978-0-19-507678-3 hardcover; revised edition of ''Tune In Yesterday'' (1976)〕 and later reprised the role on the NBC television series.〔Brooks, Tim, and Earle Marsh, ''The Directory to Prime Time Network TV Shows 1946–Present''. New York: Ballantine Books, 1988 (fourth edition), ISBN 0-345-35610-1〕 A member of the repertory company of Orson Welles's CBS Radio series ''The Mercury Theatre on the Air'' and ''The Campbell Playhouse'', Smith played the role of the ill-fated bomber commander in the 1938 production of "The War of the Worlds".〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=The Mercury Theatre )〕〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Celebrating the 70th Anniversary of Orson Welles’s panic radio broadcast The War of the Worlds )〕 Smith appears as Cuban plantation owner Joseph Johnson in Welles's rediscovered film ''Too Much Johnson'' — slapstick sequences that were to be integrated into a theatre production that was briefly staged in August 1938 before it was shelved.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Too Much Johnson: Becoming Orson Welles )〕〔Wood, Bret, ''Orson Welles: A Bio-Bibliography''. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1990 ISBN 0-313-26538-0〕 After New York stage appearances in ''Solitaire'', ''Decision'' and ''Dear Ruth'', Smith created the role of Charley in the original Broadway production of ''Death of a Salesman''.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Death of a Salesman )〕 He may be best remembered for his recreation of the role in the 1951 screen version.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Howard I. Smith )〕 His other film credits include ''Kiss of Death'', ''Call Northside 777'', ''The Street with No Name'', ''State of the Union'',〔 ''A Face in the Crowd'' and ''No Time for Sergeants''. He made his film debut in 1918, in ''Young America''.〔 On television, Smith played the overbearing boss Oliver Misrell in ''The Twilight Zone'' first-season episode, "A Stop at Willoughby" (1960), and also appeared in the 1962 episode, "Cavender Is Coming". In 1962 he was cast in the ''Perry Mason'' season six episode, "The Case of the Unsuitable Uncle", as character Frank Warden. He was regularly featured on the 1960s TV series ''Hazel'', as George Baxter's gruff client Harvey Griffin.〔〔 His wife, actress and singer Lillian Boardman, died in 1953.〔 Smith died January 10, 1968, in Hollywood, following a heart attack. He was cremated and buried at Kensico Cemetery in Valhalla, New York.〔〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Howard Smith )〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア(Wikipedia)』 ■ウィキペディアで「Howard Smith (actor)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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