Trailer screenshot (Paramount Pictures) · Public domain

Howard da Silva (born Howard Silverblatt) worked across stage, film and television for decades, equally at home in drama and musicals. He originated the role of Jud Fry in the original 1943 Broadway run of Oklahoma!, earned a Tony nomination for Fiorello! (1960), and originated Benjamin Franklin in the stage musical 1776 (1969), reprising the role in the 1972 film. He also directed Ossie Davis's Purlie Victorious in 1961 and later played Louis B. Mayer in Mommie Dearest (1981).