Howard Duff
- Birthday
- Nov 24, 1913
Bio: Hardcase leading man Howard Duff built his reputation on radio, where among several other assignments he was cast as Dashiell Hammett's two-fisted private eye Sam Spade. He made so vivid an impression in this role that, when cast in his first film Brute Force (1947), he was given special billing in the credits as "radio's Sam Spade." His burgeoning film career was… More Bio: Hardcase leading man Howard Duff built his reputation on radio, where among several other assignments he was cast as Dashiell Hammett's two-fisted private eye Sam Spade. He made so vivid an impression in this role that, when cast in his first film Brute Force (1947), he was given special billing in the credits as "radio's Sam Spade." His burgeoning film career was slowed down in the early 1950s by the iniquities of the Hollywood Blacklist. Duff's no-nonsense image was softened into sitcom buffoonery when, in 1957, he was cast in TV's Mr. Adams and Eve. His co-star was his then-wife Ida Lupino, and the series' producer was Lupino's previous husband Collier Young. Ida was a frequent director for Duff's subsequent TV series Dante (1960), in which he more-or-less reprised his Sam Spade characterization. Duff's later TV assignments included a three-year starring stint on Felony Squad (1966-69) and supporting roles in the prime time serials Flamingo Road and Knot's Landing. In the 1970s, Howard Duff returned to filmmaking as a character actor, scoring critical successes with his roles as an eternally inebriated relative in Altman's A Wedding (1978) and as Dustin Hoffman's attorney in Kramer vs. Kramer (1979). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
Most Popular
Filmography
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Spy Hunt (2012)
- Actor
-
Calhoun: County Agent (2011)
- Actor
-
Snow Blind (2008)
- Actor
-
Too Much Sun (1991)
- O.M. Rivers
- 20%
-
No Way Out (1987)
- Sen. Willy Duvall
- 97%
- See all 35 films
Howard Duff Videos
Kramer Vs. Kramer
1 minutes 25 seconds
Too Much Sun
2 minutes 12 seconds
No Way Out
2 minutes 32 seconds
Monster In The Closet
1 minutes 23 seconds
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