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Howard Da Silva

Howard Da Silva

Actor · Died February 16, 1986, aged 76 · Cleveland, Ohio, USA

Howard da Silva (born Howard Silverblatt, May 4, 1909 – February 16, 1986) was an American actor, director and musical performer on stage, film, television and radio. He was cast in dozens of productions on the New York stage, appeared in more than two dozen television programs, and acted in more than fifty feature films. Adept at both drama and musicals on the stage, he originated the role of Jud Fry in the original 1943 run of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical Oklahoma!, and also portrayed the prosecuting attorney in the 1957 stage production of Compulsion. Da Silva was nominated for a 1960 Tony Award as Best Featured Actor in a Musical for his work in Fiorello!, a musical about New York City mayor LaGuardia. In 1961, da Silva directed Purlie Victorious, by Ossie Davis.

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Biography from TMDB.

Born
May 4, 1909
Died
February 16, 1986 (aged 76)
From
Cleveland, Ohio, USA
Works as
Actor
Titles
37 on MovieCove · 66 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 39 days to Oct 28Down 35% in 30 days

What are Howard Da Silva's films like?

Across their 27 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Morality and Bonds.

Genres

Drama11 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 77th percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Drama movies
Crime6 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 73rd percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Crime movies
Action3 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 46th percentile
: browse their Action movies
Biography3 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 70th percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Biography movies
Adventure2 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 84th percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Adventure movies
Comedy2 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 39th percentile
: browse their Comedy movies

Their MovieCove films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Midcredits score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.

Themes

share of theme weight
Morality
26%
Bonds
22%
Survival
16%
Power
16%
Self
12%
Ideas
4%
Society
3%
Justice9 titles, browse their movies with this themeRomantic love4 titles, browse their movies with this themeFamily bonds6 titles, browse their movies with this themeFreedom5 titles, browse their movies with this themeSurvival4 titles, browse their movies with this themeObsession3 titles, browse their movies with this themeRevenge2 titles, browse their movies with this themeFriendship3 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 27 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Serious: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their serious movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

A split, not a type: Light 7 · Serious 8 · Dark 12

Stylized: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their stylized movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

A split, not a type: Grounded 13 · Stylized 12 · Heightened 2

Charged: How hard the emotional peaks hit while you watch. Browse their charged movies.
Feel · Intensity
gentleintense

Gentle 3 · Charged 12 · Intense 12

Shifting: How much it swings between very different feelings. Browse their shifting movies.
Feel · Swings
steadyswings

Steady 10 · Shifting 15 · Whiplash 2

Straight-faced: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their straight-faced movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

Straight-faced 21 · Some laughs 6 · Funny 0

Even-paced: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their even-paced movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

Slow burn 9 · Even-paced 13 · Relentless 5

Engaged: How much focus it asks of you — look away and lose the thread? Browse their engaged movies.
Demand · Attention
casualfull focus

Casual 11 · Engaged 14 · Full focus 2

Affecting: How much it costs you emotionally; whether you need recovery time. Browse their affecting movies.
Demand · Emotional cost
easyheavy

A split, not a type: Easy watch 9 · Affecting 5 · Heavy 13

Resolved: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their resolved movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

Resolved 20 · Open-ended 6 · Ambiguous 1

Roles they play

17 analyzed roles

Usually the Shadow: 9 of 17 analyzed roles.

Shadow
9 of 17
Threshold guardian
3 of 17
Mentor
2 of 17
Hero
1 of 17
Trickster
1 of 17
Ally
1 of 17
Show the 17 roles

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Tense
18
Melancholic
14
Thrilling
7
Dread
4
Bittersweet
5
Other
25

How their films linger

Thought-provoking10 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteBittersweet11 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteRousing7 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFun6 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHaunting4 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteUnsettling5 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end · 1 with a twist

  • Happy11
  • Bittersweet12
  • Tragic3
  • Ambiguous1

AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.

Where can I watch Howard Da Silva's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 12 of their 37 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (9).

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for Howard Da Silva's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.

Filmography

66 credits, 37 with a MovieCove page; 1 appearance as themselves is hidden until asked for.

  • Garbo Talks(1984)

    as Angelo Dakakis

    Midcredits score: 56th percentile of all films

  • Masquerade (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1983)

    Show 1 episode · as General Breznin

  • American Playhouse (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1982)

    Show 1 episode · as Critic

  • Mommie Dearest(1981)

    as L.B. Mayer

    Midcredits score: 70th percentile of all films

  • The Greatest Man in the World (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1981)

    as Conkin

  • Power (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1980)

    Show 2 episodes · as Jack Eisenstadt

  • Archie Bunker's Place(1979)

    Show 1 episode · Actor

    Midcredits score: 24th percentile of all shows

  • Verna: USO Girl (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1978)

    as Eddie

  • The Private Files of J. Edgar Hoover(1977)

    as Pres. Franklin D. Roosevelt

    Midcredits score: 44th percentile of all films

  • I'm a Stranger Here Myself (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1975)

    as Narrator (voice)

  • The Missiles of October(1974)

    as Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev

    Midcredits score: 95th percentile of all films

  • The Missiles of October (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1974)

    Show 2 episodes · as Nikita Khrushchev - Soviet Premier

  • The Great Gatsby(1974)

    as Meyer Wolfsheim

    Midcredits score: 55th percentile of all films

  • Smile Jenny, You're Dead(1974)

    as Lt. Humphrey Kenner

    Midcredits score: 63rd percentile of all films

  • 1776(1972)

    as Dr. Benjamin Franklin

    Midcredits score: 90th percentile of all films

  • Kung Fu(1972)

    Show 1 episode · as Otto Schultz

    Midcredits score: 80th percentile of all shows

  • Great Performances (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1971)

    Show 1 episode · as Eddie

  • Mannix(1967)

    Show 1 episode · Actor

    Midcredits score: 71st percentile of all shows

  • Nevada Smith(1966)

    as Warden

    Midcredits score: 77th percentile of all films

  • The Loner (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1965)

    Show 1 episode · Actor

  • For the People (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1965)

    Show 13 episodes · Actor

  • The Outrage(1964)

    as Prospector

    Midcredits score: 45th percentile of all films

  • The Man from U.N.C.L.E.(1964)

    Show 1 episode · as Captain Basil Calhoun

    Midcredits score: 79th percentile of all shows

  • Hamlet (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1964)

    as Claudius

  • The Fugitive (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1963)

    Show 1 episode · as Pete Dawes

  • The Outer Limits(1963)

    Show 1 episode · as Thurman Cutler (as Howard da Silva)

    Midcredits score: 92nd percentile of all shows

  • David and Lisa(1962)

    as Dr. Swinford

    Midcredits score: 86th percentile of all films

  • Ben Casey (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1961)

    Show 2 episodes · Actor

  • The Defenders (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1961)

    Show 1 episode · as Arnold Fermuller · as Peter Cole

  • Fourteen Hours(1951)

    as Deputy Police Chief Moskar

    Midcredits score: 83rd percentile of all films

  • M (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1951)

    as Inspector Carney

  • Three Husbands(1950)

    as Dan McCabe

    Midcredits score: 21st percentile of all films

  • Tripoli (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1950)

    as Capt. Demetrios

  • Wyoming Mail(1950)

    as Cavanaugh

    Midcredits score: 33rd percentile of all films

  • The Underworld Story (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1950)

    as Carl Durham

  • They Live by Night(1948)

    as Chicamaw One-Eye Mobley

    Midcredits score: 92nd percentile of all films

  • Border Incident(1949)

    as Owen Parkson

    Midcredits score: 78th percentile of all films

  • The Great Gatsby(1949)

    as Wilson

    Midcredits score: 58th percentile of all films

  • Unconquered(1947)

    as Garth

    Midcredits score: 76th percentile of all films

  • Variety Girl(1947)

    as Howard Da Silva

    Midcredits score: 58th percentile of all films

  • Blaze of Noon (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1947)

    as Mike Gafferty

  • Two Years Before the Mast(1946)

    as Captain Francis A. Thompson

    Midcredits score: 77th percentile of all films

  • The Blue Dahlia(1946)

    as Eddie Harwood

    Midcredits score: 82nd percentile of all films

  • The Lost Weekend(1945)

    as Nat the Bartender

    Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all films

  • Duffy's Tavern (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1945)

    as Tough Guy

  • Tonight We Raid Calais(1943)

    as Sgt. Block

    Midcredits score: 46th percentile of all films

  • Keeper of the Flame(1942)

    as Jason Rickards

    Midcredits score: 68th percentile of all films

  • Reunion in France(1942)

    as Anton Stregel

    Midcredits score: 55th percentile of all films

  • The Omaha Trail (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1942)

    as Ben Santley

  • The Big Shot (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1942)

    as Sandor

  • Juke Girl (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1942)

    as Cully

  • Native Land (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1942)

    as Jim

  • Bullet Scars (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1942)

    as Frank Dillon

  • Wild Bill Hickok Rides(1942)

    as Ringo

    Midcredits score: 39th percentile of all films

  • Steel Against the Sky(1941)

    as Bugs

    Midcredits score: 30th percentile of all films

  • At the Stroke of Twelve (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1941)

    as Angie the Ox

  • Blues in the Night(1941)

    as Sam Paryas

    Midcredits score: 67th percentile of all films

  • Sergeant York(1941)

    as Lem

    Midcredits score: 93rd percentile of all films

  • Nine Lives Are Not Enough (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1941)

    as City Editor

  • Bad Men of Missouri(1941)

    as Greg Bilson

    Midcredits score: 27th percentile of all films

  • Strange Alibi (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1941)

    as Prison Guard Monson

  • The Sea Wolf(1941)

    as Harrison

    Midcredits score: 92nd percentile of all films

  • I'm Still Alive (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1940)

    as Red Garvey

  • Abe Lincoln in Illinois(1940)

    as Jack Armstrong

    Midcredits score: 85th percentile of all films

  • Marie Antoinette(1938)

    as Toulon (uncredited)

    Midcredits score: 87th percentile of all films

  • Once in a Blue Moon (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1935)

    Actor

Career shape

Star power in the 97th percentile of 239,109 people with a billed film role, over a full career of 66 titles from 1935 to 1984; peak year 1973.

Biggest box office

The Great Gatsby (1974)

$21M worldwide

Highest rated

The Lost Weekend (1945)

Midcredits 97th

Most popular right now

The Great Gatsby (1974)

Film career

MilestoneBreakout
19351984

Peak 1973 · back in prominent film roles after a quiet stretch. Top draw in 5 MovieCove titles. Film roles by billing, audience size and rating; 25+ votes. A show carries a single first-air date, so shows are not on the curve.

By role

only this rolewith another role
Acting66 of 66: 66 only acting, 0 with another role · typical Midcredits score71st

By decade

1930s2 · acting1940s29 · acting1950s6 · acting1960s12 · acting1970s11 · acting1980s6 · acting

Billing

usually 6th · top billed in 0% of 21 roles
40455065

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored. Billing is TMDB cast order for roles with 25+ votes, billed in the top 30; the columns are the share of top-billed roles in each era, 5-year spans from the year on the label, merged until each holds at least 5 roles.

How do Howard Da Silva's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 69th percentile, the median of all 32; across their 27 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 71st percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

71stpercentile
Typical film, the median of 27

Approval · how many liked their films

68thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 27

Reach · how many have seen their films

58thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 27

Midcredits score across 37 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up18
  • 50th to 74th10
  • 25th to 49th7
  • Below 25th2

Shape of the crowd

None of their 37 titles divides audiences: 20 are Crowd Pleasers.

  • Universally Loved7
  • Crowd Pleaser20
  • Broadly Agreed5
  • Mixed5

Most loved · actor

The Lost Weekend (1945)

Midcredits 97th · 85% liked

Reviewers score the acting 72/100 in their films, across 27 reviewed titles; fans 79, detractors 47. The element that speaks to their work as an actor.

Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.

Is Howard Da Silva's work okay for kids?

Across up to 5 MovieCove titles with content scores, 1 of the 5 categories sits near the median of all films.

Their medianMedian of all filmsMiddle 80% of their titles
Violence & Gore3 titlesmedian 35 · moderateMedian of all films: 44
Sex & Nudity5 titles5–37 · median 29 · mildnear the median of all filmsMedian of all films: 32
Profanity3 titlesmedian 46 · moderateMedian of all films: 36
Alcohol & Drugs3 titlesmedian 41 · moderateMedian of all films: 33
Frightening / Intense3 titlesmedian 46 · moderateMedian of all films: 39

Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted. The band's colour is the severity of their median, named beside it.

Who does Howard Da Silva work with?

People who share at least 2 of Howard Da Silva's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Alan Ladd shares the most, 3.

Directors

Writers

Actors

Composers and cinematographers

Producers