Olin Howland

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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Olin Ross Howland (February 10, 1886 – September 20, 1959) was an American film and theatre actor. Howland was born in Denver, Colorado, to Joby A. Howland, one of the youngest enlisted participants in the Civil War, and Mary C. Bunting. His older sister was the famous stage actress Jobyna Howland. 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, 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) and Gone with the Wind (1939) as a carpetbagger businessman. 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 sentiment in his scenes with James Stewart in the film The Spirit of St. Louis (1957), as 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) were his last films. He also played in telelevision shows during the 1950s. In 1958 and 1959, he was cast as Charley Perkins in five episodes of ABC's sitcom The Real McCoys, starring Walter Brennan. Howland never married and had no children. He worked until his death in Hollywood, California, at the age of 73.

Filmography

Movies and shows, newest first

2003
Complicated Women
Movie Self (archive footage)
1987
Creepy Classics
Movie Old Man - (archive footage)
1958
The Blob
Movie The Old Man
1957
Bombers B-52
Movie Joe (uncredited)
1957
The Real McCoys
TV show
1957
The Spirit of St. Louis
Movie Surplus Dealer (uncredited)
1957
The Storm Rider
Movie Will Collins
1956
The Adventures of Jim Bowie
TV show
1955
The McConnell Story
Movie Sam
1954
A Star Is Born
Movie Charley (uncredited)
1954
Them!
Movie Jensen
1953
So This Is Love
Movie Mailman
1952
Mr. & Mrs. North
TV show
1952
Hopalong Cassidy
TV show
1952
The Fabulous Senorita
Movie Justice of the Peace (as Olin Howlin)
1951
I Love Lucy
TV show Mr. Skinner

More credits

1951
Fighting Coast Guard
Movie Desk Clerk (as Olin Howlin)
1951
Santa Fe
Movie Dan Dugan
1950
Lux Video Theatre
TV show Sheriff
1950
Never a Dull Moment
Movie Hunter (uncredited)
1950
Charlie's Haunt
Movie Storyteller on Bench
1950
A Ticket to Tomahawk
Movie
1950
Rock Island Trail
Movie Saloonkeeper
1950
Father Makes Good
Movie Milo Williams
1950
The Nevadan
Movie Rusty (uncredited)
1949
Mr. Soft Touch
Movie Skinny Santa Claus (Uncredited)
1949
Leave It to Henry
Movie Milo Williams
1949
Hellfire
Movie Bartender (uncredited)
1949
Grand Canyon
Movie Windy
1949
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court
Movie Sam - Connecticut Postman (uncredited)
1949
Little Women
Movie Mr. Davis - Schoolteacher (uncredited)
1949
Bad Men of Tombstone
Movie Store Proprietor (as Olin Howlin)
1948
Last of the Wild Horses
Movie Remedy Williams
1948
The Paleface
Movie Jonathan Sloane, undertaker
1948
Station West
Movie Cook
1948
Relentless
Movie Veterinarian (uncredited)
1948
The Dude Goes West
Movie Finnegan
1948
The Return of the Whistler
Movie Jeff Anderson
1947
I Walk Alone
Movie Ed the Watchman (uncredited)
1947
Living in a Big Way
Movie Gardener