Howard
Da Silva was
born in Cleveland, Ohio, on 4th May, 1909.
He moved to Hollywood where he acted in several films including I'm
Still Alive (1940), Strange Alibi
(1941), The Sea Wolf (1941), Sergeant
York (1941), Native Land
(1942), Five Were Chosen (1942),
The Lost Weekend (1945), The
Blue Dahlia (1946), and Variety
Girl (1947).
In 1947 the House of Un-American Activities
Committee (HUAC) began an investigation into the Hollywood Motion
Picture Industry. The HUAC interviewed 41 people who were working
in Hollywood. These people attended voluntarily and became known as
"friendly witnesses". When Robert
Taylor was interviewed he claimed: "I can name a few who
seem to sort of disrupt things once in a while. Whether or not they
are Communists I don't know. One chap we have currently, I think is
Howard Da Silva. He always seems to have something to say at the wrong
time."
Called before the HUAC, Da Silva, refused to answer any questions
and was blacklisted. After this was lifted he appeared in David
and Lisa (1962), Hamlet
(1964), Nevada Smith
(1966), The Great Gatsby
(1974), Hollywood on Trial (1976)
and the Private Files of J. Edgar Hoover
(1977). Howard Da Silva died in New
York on 16th February, 1986.
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