Home >

Olin Howland

Olin Howland

Birthday: 1886-02-10 | Place of Birth: Denver, Colorado, USA

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.

...

Known For

Acting

Year
Title

Role

1951
Santa Fe

as    Dan Dugan

1947
Angel and the Badman

as    Bradley

1946
Crime Doctor's Man Hunt

as    Marcus Le Blaine

1945
Santa Fe Saddlemates

as    Dead Eye

1945
Sheriff of Cimarron

as    Pinky Snyder

1944
Man from Frisco

as    Eben Whelock

1943
A Stranger in Town

as    Homer Todds

1943
Dixie

as    Mr. Deveraux (as Olin Howlin)

1942
This Gun for Hire

as    Blair Fletcher

1942
Ridin' Down the Canyon

as    Jailer

1942
The Man Who Wouldn't Die

as    Jonathan Meek

1942
Secrets of the Underground

as    Oscar Mayberry

1942
Home in Wyomin'

as    Sunrise (as Olin Howlin)

1941
Belle Starr

as    Jasper Trench

1939
Zenobia

as    Attorney Culpepper

1939
Nancy Drew... Reporter

as    Police Sergeant Entwhistle

1938
Little Tough Guy

as    Baxter

1938
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

as    Mr. Dobbins - Schoolmaster

1938
When Were You Born

as    Peter Finlay

1938
The Girl of the Golden West

as    Trinidad Joe

1937
Nothing Sacred

as    Baggage Man

1936
Man Hunt

as    Court Starrett

1936
Satan Met a Lady

as    Detective Dunhill

1936
Road Gang

as    Prison Farm Doctor

1936
The Case of the Velvet Claws

as    Wilbur Strong

1935
The Case of the Curious Bride

as    Wilbur Strong

1934
Wagon Wheels

as    Bill O'Leary

1933
Blondie Johnson

as    Eddie