Esther Howard

Esther Howard
Born	4 April 1892 Helena, Montana U.S.
Died	8 March 1965 (aged 72) Hollywood, California
Occupation	actress
Years active	1917–1952
Spouse(s)	Arthur Albertson (? - 26 October 1926 his death)

Esther Howard (4 April 1892–8 March 1965) was a film character actress who played a wide range of supporting roles, from man-hungry spinsters to amoral criminals, appearing in over 100 movies in her 23-year film career.

Career

Esther Howard was born in Helena, Montana in 1892, and she made her Broadway debut in 1917,^[1] in a play called Eve's Daughter, which was not a success.^[2]. Nevertheless, Howard continued to appear regularly on the Great White Way for the next twelve years, performing in comedies and musicals until 1929, when she was featured in The New Moon, a Sigmund Romberg musical,^[3] which was her final Broadway production.^[1]

In 1930, Howard changed her focus to making movies,^[4] appearing in a Vitaphone comedy short, The Victim.^[5] From that point until her retirement in 1952, Howard worked regularly – a least one film she appeared in was released every year, and usually more. She was often cast as an oversexed dowager or a decrepit old hag, and was known for her versatility and expressive face.^[6] Notable among her many roles were "Mrs. Stillman" in 1933's The Iron Master, "Jessie Florian" in Raymond Chandler's Murder My Sweet with Dick Powell (1944), a murderess in Laurel and Hardy's The Big Noise (1944), the determined Mrs. Kraft out to solve a murder in Born to Kill (1947) and Kirk Douglas’ mother in the multi-Oscar nominated Champion (1949).

Beginning in the early 1940s, Howard was part of Preston Sturges' unofficial "stock company" of character actors, appearing in seven films written and directed by Sturges.^[7] Her performances in Sturges' films were among her best, especially the wife of the "Wienie King" in The Palm Beach Story (1942).

From 1937, Howard was a regular player in short-subjects produced at Columbia Pictures, where she was frequently cast opposite comedian Andy Clyde.^[6] Her last film was a Columbia comedy short, Caught on the Bounce (1952), in which she played Joe Besser's aunt.^[8]

Howard died of a heart attack^[9] in Hollywood, California on 8 March 1965 at the age of 72, and is buried in Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California.

Notes

External links

• Esther Howard at the Internet Broadway Database
• Esther Howard at the Internet Movie Database
• Esther Howard at Allmovie
• Esther Howard at the TCM Movie Database
• Esther Howard at Find a Grave