Wikipedia

Olin Howland

Olin Ross Howland (February 10, 1886 – September 20, 1959) was an American film and theatre actor.

Olin Howland
Howland in Angel and the Badman (1947)
Born(1886-02-10)February 10, 1886
Denver, Colorado, U.S.
DiedSeptember 20, 1959(1959-09-20) (aged 73)
Hollywood, California, U.S.
OccupationActor
Years active1918–1959
RelativesJobyna Howland (sister)

Life and career

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Howland was born in Denver, Colorado, to Job "Joby" A. Howland and Mary A. Bunting.[1] Howland’s father, Job, served during the Civil War as a musician in Company F of the 51st Indiana Infantry, mustering in on 14 December 1861, when he was twelve.[2][3] His sister was stage actress Jobyna Howland.[4]

From 1909 to 1927, Howland appeared on Broadway in musicals, occasionally performing in silent films. The musicals include Leave It to Jane (1917), Two Little Girls in Blue (1921) and Wildflower (1923). He was in the film Janice Meredith (1924) with Marion Davies. With the advent of sound films, his theatre background proved an asset, and he concentrated mostly on films thereafter, appearing in nearly two hundred movies between 1918 and 1958.

Howland often played eccentric and rural roles in Hollywood. His parts were often small and uncredited, and he never got a leading role. He was a personal favorite of David O. Selznick,[citation needed] who cast him in his movies Nothing Sacred (1937) as a strange luggage man, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1938) as the teacher Mr. Dobbins, Made for Each Other[5] (1939) as the farmer, and Gone with the Wind (1939) as a carpetbagger businessman.[6] He also played in numerous westerns from Republic Pictures, including the John Wayne films In Old California (1942) and Angel and the Badman (1947). As a young man, Howland learned to fly at the Wright Flying School and soloed on a Wright Model B. This lent special poignancy to his scenes with James Stewart in the film The Spirit of St. Louis (1957); Stewart was also a pilot in real life. The Spirit of St. Louis and Them! (1954), where he played a drunken old man, and The Blob (1958), as the first victim, were his last films.[citation needed]

He also played in television shows during the 1950s. One of Olin's memorable television appearances was in an episode of "I Love Lucy." Entitled "First Stop", air date January 17, 1955 Olin played the humorous role of a cafe and motel proprietor offering dubious accommodations to the road-weary Ricardos and Mertzes as they traveled by car en-route from New York to California. In 1958 and 1959, he was cast as Charley Perkins in five episodes of ABC's sitcom The Real McCoys, starring Walter Brennan.

Howland was also a dancer, a dancing teacher, and a headliner in vaudeville shows. He toured Europe performing dancing exhibitions.[7]

Howland never married and had no children. He worked until his death in Hollywood, California, at the age of 73.

Selected filmography

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References

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  1. ↑ "Editor's Wish List" (PDF). The Howland Quarterly. Vol. 90, no. 2. Pilgrim John Howland Society. June 2025. p. 14. Actors Jobyna and Olin Howland were children of Job A. Howland and Mary A. Bunting, who were married 4 Nov. 1875, Indianapolis.
  2. ↑ Howland, Franklyn (1885). A Brief Genealogical and Biographical History of Arthur, Henry, and John Howland and Their Descendants, of the United States and Canada. New Bedford, Massachusetts: The author. p. 424. The latter was born in Hoosic Falls, N. Y., 6, 10, 1849.
  3. ↑ Hartpence, Wm. R. (1894). History of the Fifty-first Indiana Veteran Volunteer Infantry. Harrison, Ohio: Published by the author. pp. 384–385. Company F. [Original muster-in, December 14, 1861.] ... Musicians. Job A. Howland, discharged Oct. 14, '62, disability.
  4. ↑ "Olin Howland". Internet Broadway Database. The Broadway League. Archived from the original on March 23, 2022. Retrieved March 23, 2022.
  5. ↑ "Made for Each Other (1939): Cast & credits". Film history of the 20th century in the virtual world. VirtualHistory.com. Retrieved January 15, 2025.
  6. ↑ Hal Erickson (2014). "Olin Howland". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. Archived from the original on April 22, 2014. Retrieved February 3, 2016.
  7. ↑ "Olin Howland, actor, to broadcast on WJAS". The Pittsburgh Press. Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh. January 19, 1930. p. 59. Retrieved April 19, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ↑ Ankerich, Michael G. (1993). Broken Silence: Conversations with 23 Silent Film Stars. McFarland & Company. ISBN 978-0-89950-835-1.
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