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Howard Duff

Howard Duff

Acting

November 24, 1913 – July 8, 1990 (died at 76)
Male
57 Movies
70 TV Shows

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.

Kramer vs. Kramer
Kramer vs. Kramer

Kramer vs. Kramer

1979 7.6

as John Shaunessy

Age 66 (now 76)
The Naked City
The Naked City

The Naked City

1948 7.2

as Frank Niles

Age 34 (now 76)
No Way Out
No Way Out

No Way Out

1987 6.9

as Senator William 'Billy' Duvall

Age 73 (now 76)
While the City Sleeps
While the City Sleeps

While the City Sleeps

1956 6.9

as Lt. Burt Kaufman

Age 42 (now 76)
Shakedown
Shakedown

Shakedown

1950 6.4

as Jack Early

Age 36 (now 76)
A Wedding
A Wedding

A Wedding

1978 6.3

as Dr. Jules Meecham

Age 64 (now 76)
Private Hell 36
Private Hell 36

Private Hell 36

1954 6.3

as Police Sgt. Jack Farnham

Age 40 (now 76)
Woman in Hiding
Woman in Hiding

Woman in Hiding

1950 6.3

as Keith Ramsey

Age 36 (now 76)
Johnny Stool Pigeon
Johnny Stool Pigeon

Johnny Stool Pigeon

1949 6.3

as George Morton

Age 35 (now 76)
Monster in the Closet
Monster in the Closet

Monster in the Closet

1986 4.9

as Father Martin Finnegan

Age 72 (now 76)
Know Your Enemy: Japan
Know Your Enemy: Japan

Know Your Enemy: Japan

1945 5.9

as Narrator

Age 31 (now 76)
Spaceways
Spaceways

Spaceways

1953 4.8

as Dr. Stephen Mitchell

Age 39 (now 76)
All My Sons
All My Sons

All My Sons

1948 6.5

as George Deever

Age 34 (now 76)
Jennifer
Jennifer

Jennifer

1953 6.0

as Jim Hollis

Age 39 (now 76)
The Late Show
The Late Show

The Late Show

1977 6.3

as Harry Regan

Age 63 (now 76)
Spy Hunt
Spy Hunt

Spy Hunt

1950 6.1

as Steve Quain

Age 36 (now 76)