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Howland Chamberlain
Howland Chamberlain
Born	August 2, 1911; Bronx, New York City, U.S.
Died	September 1, 1984 (aged 73); Oakland, California, U.S.
Other names	Howard Chamberlain, Howland Chamberlin

Howland Chamberlain (August 2, 1911 – September 1, 1984) was an American actor. He was sometimes billed as Howard Chamberlain, or with an alternate spelling of his last name as Howland Chamberlin.^[1]

Chamberlain was born in The Bronx.^[2] In the 1930s, he moved from New York to Los Angeles to try his hand at acting. Beginning in 1933, he obtained supporting parts at the Pasadena Community Playhouse. He appeared in Foolscap, or The Last Judgment (billed as Howard Chamberlain),^[3] Richard III, and King John.^[4] In 1935, he returned to New York for a role in the Broadway play, Achilles Had a Heel, but it only ran for eight performances.^[5] In the late 1930s, he was active in the Federal Theatre Project's regional center in Los Angeles. It was at this time that he met his future wife, Leona Adele Hines, whom he married in June 1939.^[6]

In 1946, Chamberlain made his film debut in the Oscar-winning drama The Best Years of Our Lives. From 1947–1952, he was a steadily working character actor, appearing in over 15 movies. He also landed guest spots in early television series such as Dick Tracy, Racket Squad, Fireside Theatre, and Adventures of Superman.^[7] Chamberlain was often cast in film noirs where he specialized in playing nervous types, like the frightened bookkeeper Freddie Bauer in Force of Evil (1948). Although Chamberlain was uncredited in High Noon (1952), his brief screen time as the cynical hotel desk clerk was memorable.

Because of the Hollywood blacklist, High Noon would be his last film work for more than 20 years. He was first brought to the attention of Congressional investigators in 1940 when Rena Vale named him to the Special Committee on Un-American Activities, chaired by Congressman Martin Dies.^[8] Vale told the Dies Committee that in 1938 the Federal Theater Project's L.A. chapter was a front for the Communist Party USA, and that Chamberlain was an active member in it. He was also reportedly named to the FBI as a Communist by Ronald Reagan.^[9] In September 1951, Chamberlain was called before the House Un-American Activities Committee. He declined to answer questions, invoking the Fifth Amendment's shield against self-incrimination.^[10] At that point, his acting career came to a halt.

Not much is known about how Chamberlain earned a living as a blacklistee over the next two decades, but he eventually landed the role of Patch Riley in the 1974 TV movie A Touch of the Poet, based on the Eugene O'Neill play.^[11] He returned to the Broadway stage in 1976 with a minor part, and understudy assignments, in Larry Gelbart's long-running comedy, Sly Fox. With the blacklist no longer barring him from work, Chamberlain started getting cast once again in TV shows and movies. Among his more significant roles was as Judge Atkins in Robert Benton's award-winning 1979 film Kramer vs. Kramer.^[12] His last two performances were in Barbarosa (1982) and Electric Dreams (1984).

Howland Chamberlain died on September 1, 1984, in Oakland, California.^[1] He was 73.

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1946	The Best Years of Our Lives	Thorpe
1947	The Web	James Nolan
1947	Brute Force	Joe's Lawyer	uncredited
1947	Driftwood	Hiram Trumbell
1948	Feudin', Fussin' and A-Fightin'	Doc Overholt
1948	Angel in Exile	J. H. Higgins
1948	A Song Is Born	Mr. Setter
1948	Force of Evil	Freddie Bauer
1949	Thieves' Highway	Mr. Faber	uncredited
1949	And Baby Makes Three	Otto Stacy - Lawyer
1950	Francis	Maj. Nadel
1950	House by the River	District Attorney
1950	Edge of Doom	Mr. Murray, the Funeral Director
1950	Surrender	The Casino Manager
1950	Mister 880	Duff	uncredited
1951	No Questions Asked	Beebe
1951	Pickup	'The Professor', tramp
1951	The Racket	Roy Higgins	uncredited
1951	The Big Night	Flanagan
1952	High Noon	Hotel Clerk	Uncredited
1979	Kramer vs. Kramer	Judge Atkins
1982	Barbarosa	Emil
1984	Electric Dreams	Neighbor