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Finding Aid for the Howard Duff Collection
282
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Title: Howard Duff Collection
Collection number: 282
Creator: Duff,
Howard
Repository:
University of California, Los Angeles. Library.
Performing Arts Special Collections
Los Angeles, California 90095-1575
Physical location: COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE: Advance notice
required for access.
Collection is open for research.
Property rights in the physical objects belong to the UCLA Performing Arts Special Collections.
Literary rights, including copyright, are retained by the creators and their
heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the
copyright and pursue the copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to
publish if the Performing Arts Special Collectionsdoes not hold the copyright.
[Identification of item], Howard Duff Collection, 282, Performing Arts Special
Collections, University of California, Los Angeles.
Prolific character actor Howard Duff was born on November 24, 1913 in
Bremerton, Washington and raised in Seattle. Duff's career spans the early days
of radio when he played detective Sam Spade to his numerous roles in television,
theater, and film.
Duff began acting in school plays at Roosevelt High School only after he was
cut from the school's basketball team. Upon graduating from high school in 1932,
Duff got a job as a news reader and disc jockey with KOMO radio station. When he
wasn't on the air, Duff honed his voice by reading everything from soup
commercials to Shakespeare.
Also at this time, Duff began acting with the Seattle Repertory Playhouse.
His first big role was in "Treasure Island". During the next five years, Duff
starred in classics by Chekhov, Shakespeare, and Ibsen. In 1938, Duff got a job
with a children's radio serial in San Francisco. When the broadcast moved to
Hollywood, Duff followed.
When World War II began, Duff joined the Armed Forces Radio Service where he
directed a weekly radio show called "Tonight at Fort Lewis". He also worked on
the Bob Hope radio show before being discharged as a staff sergeant in 1945.
Duff returned to Hollywood and in 1946, he got his big break. Duff landed the
role of hard-boiled detective Sam Spade. His Sam Spade celebrity attracted the
attention of writer-producer Mark Hellinger, who put Duff under contract with
Universal. Duff's first film was "Brute Force" (1947) starring Burt Lancaster.
Duff continued to star in the "Adventures of Sam Spade" radio show until 1951
when he was blacklisted and fired. Duff's name appeared in an unofficial
newsletter called Red Channels. Duff wasn't a Communist but he did attend a 1948
Hollywood dinner for Progressive Party presidential candidate Henry Wallace who
was endorsed by the Communist Party.
Duff's career didn't recover until 1957 when his name was cleared and his new
television series "Mr. Adams and Eve" debuted. Duff starred in the show with his
wife Ida Lupino, whom he married in 1951. The series lasted from 1957-1958.
Duff and Lupino separated in 1966 but didn't officially divorce until 1984.
Soon after, Duff married Judy Jenkinson, a New York theatre casting and
production executive, whom he met in 1973 when she was an assistant producer for
the Arthur Miller play "The Price" in which Duff starred.
Duff appeared in over fifty television shows including "The Golden Girls",
"Knots Landing", "Dallas", "Magnum P.I.", "Charlie's Angels", "Murder, She
Wrote", "The Mod Squad", "Batman", and "The Twilight Zone". He had recurring
roles as detective Sam Stone on the "Felony Squad" (1966-1969) and Sheriff Titus
Semple on "Flamingo Road" (1981-1982).
Duff also appeared in over thirty films including "Kramer Vs. Kramer", Robert
Altman's "A Wedding", "No Way Out", "Too Much Sun", "The Naked City", and "All
My Sons".
Duff died of a heart attack at the age of 76 on July 9, 1990 in Santa
Barbara, CA. He is survived by his wife Judy, his brother Douglas, and his
daughter from his first marriage, Bridget Donovan.
This collection contains a vast array of materials related to the life and
career of actor Howard Duff. The majority of the collection consists of film and
television scripts. Also included are photographs, both personal and
professional, radio sound recordings, correspondence, legal records, theater
ephemera, military service materials, and sketches by Duff. Of particular
interest are oral history transcripts, Duff's personal items including a wallet,
make-up kit, passport, and eyeglasses, as well as materials related to Duff's
first marriage to actress Ida Lupino.
The collection is organized into the following series:
- Series 1. Artifacts
- Series 2. Films, 1949-1989. 3 boxes
- Series 3. Personal Papers, 1944-1990
- Series 4. Photographs, 1947-1988
- Series 5. Radio, 1946-1990
- Series 6. Television Programs. 14 boxes
- Series 7. Theater, 1973-1987