Howard Smith

Howard Smith was a character actor whose busiest years came when he was in his 50s, 60s, and even 70s. Though he worked with some of the biggest directors of the 20th century, including Orson Welles, Henry Hathaway, and Frank Capra, Smith's own legacy could be described by the title of the 1957 drama "A Face in the Crowd," in which he appeared with yet another directing giant, Elia Kazan. Smith's early work is made up of a curious 20-year gap from his first role, in the 1918 silent film "Young America," to his 2nd, in Welles' comedy short, "Too Much Johnson," in 1938. He had another seven-year gap before his next role, inaugurating his television career on the comedy "The Front Page," but by the late '40s, he was in the thick of things, appearing in two consecutive Hathaway film noirs, as well as Capra's political/marital comedy, "State of the Union," starring Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn. Though still himself under the radar, he remained active through the rest of his life. In 1951, Smith played Charley in the film version of the drama "Death of a Salesman" during an otherwise unremarkable run of films well into the '60s. On television, he made brief stints on many of the playhouse and variety shows of the '50s, culminating in the early '60s with his most substantial part, as Harvey Griffin on the comedy "Hazel," where he appeared for 27 episodes. Smith passed away at age 74.