Acting · Denver, Colorado, USA · Born February 9, 1886
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Olin Ross Howland (February 10, 1886 – September 20, 1959) was an American film and theatre actor. Howland was born in Denver, Colorado, to Joby A. Howland, one of the youngest enlisted participants in the Civil War, and Mary C. Bunting. His older sister was the famous stage actress Jobyna Howland. From 1909 to 1927, Howland appeared on Broadway in musicals, occasionally performing in silent films. The musicals include Leave It to Jane (1917), Two Little Girls in Blue (1921) and Wildflower (1923). He was in the film Janice Meredith (1924) with Marion Davies. With the advent of sound films, his theatre background proved an asset, and he concentrated mostly on films thereafter, appearing in nearly two hundred movies between 1918 and 1958. Howland often played eccentric and rural roles in Hollywood. His parts were often small and uncredited, and he never got a leading role. He was a personal favorite of David O. Selznick, who cast him in his movies Nothing Sacred (1937) as a strange luggage man, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1938, as the teacher Mr. Dobbins) and Gone with the Wind (1939) as a carpetbagger businessman. He also played in numerous westerns from Republic Pictures, including the John Wayne films In Old California (1942) and Angel and the Badman (1947). As a young man, Howland learned to fly at the Wright Flying School and soloed on a Wright Model B. This lent special sentiment in his scenes with James Stewart in the film The Spirit of St. Louis (1957), as Stewart was also a pilot in real life. The Spirit of St. Louis and Them (1954),where he played a drunken old man, and The Blob (1958) were his last films. He also played in telelevision shows during the 1950s. In 1958 and 1959, he was cast as Charley Perkins in five episodes of ABC's sitcom The Real McCoys, starring Walter Brennan. Howland never married and had no children. He worked until his death in Hollywood, California, at the age of 73.
MovieComplicated Women
2003
as Self (archive footage)
MovieCreepy Classics
1987
as Old Man - (archive footage)
MovieThe Blob
1958
as The Old Man
MovieBombers B-52
1957
as Joe (uncredited)
TVThe Real McCoys
1957
MovieThe Spirit of St. Louis
1957
as Surplus Dealer (uncredited)
MovieThe Storm Rider
1957
as Will Collins
TVThe Adventures of Jim Bowie
1956
MovieThe McConnell Story
1955
as Sam
MovieA Star Is Born
1954
as Charley (uncredited)
MovieThem!
1954
as Jensen
MovieSo This Is Love
1953
as Mailman
TVMr. & Mrs. North
1952
TVHopalong Cassidy
1952
MovieThe Fabulous Senorita
1952
as Justice of the Peace (as Olin Howlin)
TVI Love Lucy
1951
as Mr. Skinner
MovieFighting Coast Guard
1951
as Desk Clerk (as Olin Howlin)
MovieSanta Fe
1951
as Dan Dugan
Lux Video Theatre
1950
as Sheriff
MovieCharlie's Haunt
1950
as Storyteller on Bench
MovieNever a Dull Moment
1950
as Hunter (uncredited)
MovieA Ticket to Tomahawk
1950
MovieRock Island Trail
1950
as Saloonkeeper
MovieFather Makes Good
1950
as Milo Williams
MovieThe Nevadan
1950
as Rusty (uncredited)
MovieMr. Soft Touch
1949
as Skinny Santa Claus (Uncredited)
MovieLeave It to Henry
1949
as Milo Williams
MovieHellfire
1949
as Bartender (uncredited)
MovieGrand Canyon
1949
as Windy
MovieA Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court
1949
as Sam - Connecticut Postman (uncredited)
MovieLittle Women
1949
as Mr. Davis - Schoolteacher (uncredited)
MovieBad Men of Tombstone
1949
as Store Proprietor (as Olin Howlin)
MovieLast of the Wild Horses
1948
as Remedy Williams
MovieThe Paleface
1948
as Jonathan Sloane, undertaker
MovieStation West
1948
as Cook
MovieRelentless
1948
as Veterinarian (uncredited)
MovieThe Dude Goes West
1948
as Finnegan
MovieThe Return of the Whistler
1948
as Jeff Anderson
MovieI Walk Alone
1947
as Ed the Watchman (uncredited)
MovieLiving in a Big Way
1947
as Gardener
MovieEasy Come, Easy Go
1947
as Gas Man
MovieAngel and the Badman
1947
as Bradley
MovieApache Rose
1947
as Alkali
MovieCrime Doctor's Man Hunt
1946
as Marcus Le Blaine
MovieHome Sweet Homicide
1946
as Luke
MovieThe Strange Love of Martha Ivers
1946
as Newspaper Clerk (uncredited)
MovieDakota
1945
as Devlin's Driver
MovieFallen Angel
1945
as Joe Ellis (uncredited)
MovieSing Your Way Home
1945
as Steward (uncredited)
MovieSenorita from the West
1945
as Justice of Peace
MovieCaptain Eddie
1945
as Census Taker
MovieSanta Fe Saddlemates
1945
as Dead Eye
MovieSheriff of Cimarron
1945
as Pinky Snyder
MovieHer Lucky Night
1945
as Prince de la Mour
MovieGrissly's Millions
1945
as Andrews
MovieShe Gets Her Man
1945
as Hank (uncredited)
MovieI'll Be Seeing You
1944
as Train Vendor (uncredited)
MovieCan't Help Singing
1944
as Bigelow (as Olin Howlin)
MovieThe Town Went Wild
1944
as Bit Part
MovieNothing But Trouble
1944
as Painter's Foreman (uncredited)
MovieIn the Meantime, Darling
1944
as Moorehousse
MovieSing, Neighbor, Sing
1944
as Joe the Barber
MovieMan from Frisco
1944
as Eben Whelock
MovieBermuda Mystery
1944
as Gas Station Owner
MovieTwilight on the Prairie
1944
as Jed (as Olin Howlin)
MovieThe Falcon and the Co-Eds
1943
as Goodwillie, Bluecliff Driver
MovieThe Good Fellows
1943
as Reynolds
MovieThe Sky's the Limit
1943
as Driver (uncredited)
MovieDixie
1943
as Mr. Deveraux
MovieA Stranger in Town
1943
as Homer Todds
MovieThe Falcon Strikes Back
1943
as Sheriff (uncredited)
MovieRidin' Down the Canyon
1942
as Jailer
MovieWhen Johnny Comes Marching Home
1942
as Trullers
MovieSecrets of the Underground
1942
as Oscar Mayberry
MovieYou Can't Escape Forever
1942
as Cemetery Organist (uncredited)
MovieMrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch
1942
as Jacob Diezel
MovieTen Gentlemen from West Point
1942
as Carpenter (uncredited)
MovieHenry and Dizzy
1942
as Frank Stevens
MovieIn Old California
1942
as Undetermined Minor Role
MovieAlmost Married
1942
as Bright
MovieDr. Broadway
1942
as The Professor
MovieHome in Wyomin'
1942
as Sunrise (as Olin Howlin)
MovieThe Man Who Wouldn't Die
1942
as Jonathan Meek
MovieThis Gun for Hire
1942
as Blair Fletcher
MovieBlondie's Blessed Event
1942
as Office Worker (uncredited)
Sappy Birthday
1942
MovieTwo-Faced Woman
1941
as Frank (uncredited)
MovieYou're in the Army Now
1941
as Farmer
MovieEllery Queen and the Murder Ring
1941
as Dr. Williams
MovieOne Foot in Heaven
1941
as Train Station Master (uncredited)
MovieBuy Me That Town
1941
as Constable Sam Smedley (as Olin Howlin)
MovieBelle Starr
1941
as Jasper Trench
MovieThe Shepherd of the Hills
1941
as Corky
MovieChad Hanna
1940
as Cisco Tridd
MovieJust a Cute Kid
1940
as Dr. Clump
MovieYoung People
1940
as Station Master
MovieComin' Round the Mountain
1940
as Pa Blower
MovieThe Doctor Takes a Wife
1940
as Clerk at Lakewood Lodge (uncredited)
MovieYoung Tom Edison
1940
as Telegrapher (Indian Attack)
MovieFour Wives
1939
as Joe - a Policeman (uncredited)
MovieDays of Jesse James
1939
as Muncie Undersheriff
MovieGone with the Wind
1939
as A Carpetbagger Businessman
MovieThe Return of Doctor X
1939
as Undertaker
MovieOne Hour to Live
1939
as Clerk
MovieBlondie Brings Up Baby
1939
as Encyclopedia Salesman
MovieZenobia
1939
as Attorney Culpepper
MovieNancy Drew... Reporter
1939
as Police Sergeant Entwhistle
MovieMade for Each Other
1939
as Farmer (uncredited)
MovieSweethearts
1938
as Appleby
MovieBrother Rat
1938
as Slim
MovieThe Mad Miss Manton
1938
as Mr. X, the Safecracker
MovieLittle Tough Guy
1938
as Baxter
MovieWhen Were You Born
1938
as Peter Finlay
MovieKentucky Moonshine
1938
as Tom Slack
MovieMr. Moto's Gamble
1938
as Deputy Sheriff Burt (Uncredited)
MovieThe Girl of the Golden West
1938
as Trinidad Joe
MovieMerrily We Live
1938
as Jed Smith
MovieThe Adventures of Tom Sawyer
1938
as Mr. Dobbins - Schoolmaster
MovieThe Bad Man of Brimstone
1937
as Stagecoach Driver
MovieNothing Sacred
1937
as Baggage Man
MovieStand-In
1937
as Hotel Manager
MovieWife, Doctor and Nurse
1937
as Doorman
MovieMarry the Girl
1937
as Southern sales manager
MovieMountain Music
1937
as Pappy Burnside
MovieMen in Exile
1937
as Jones
MovieGold Diggers of 1937
1936
as Dr. MacDuffy
MovieCountry Gentlemen
1936
as Lawyer
MovieThe Longest Night
1936
as Smythe, Floorwalker
MovieEarthworm Tractors
1936
as Mr. Blair
MovieSatan Met a Lady
1936
as Detective Dunhill
MovieThe Case of the Velvet Claws
1936
as Wilbur Strong
MovieThe Big Noise
1936
as Harrison
MovieI Married a Doctor
1936
as Dave Dyer
MovieSnowed Under
1936
as Bridgeport Sheriff (uncredited)
MovieRoad Gang
1936
as Prison Farm Doctor
MovieMan Hunt
1936
as Court Starrett
MovieThe Widow from Monte Carlo
1935
as Eaves
MovieDr. Socrates
1935
as Bob Catlett
MovieThe Case of the Lucky Legs
1935
as Dr. Croker
MovieLittle Big Shot
1935
as Doc (uncredited)
MovieLove Me Forever
1935
as Carlton
MovieThe Case of the Curious Bride
1935
as Wilbur Strong
MovieNaughty Marietta
1935
as Undetermined Secondary Role (uncredited)
MovieFolies Bergère de Paris
1935
as Stage Manager
MovieWagon Wheels
1934
as Bill O'Leary
MovieTreasure Island
1934
as Pirate of the Spanish Main
MovieLittle Women
1933
as Mr. Davis (uncredited)
MovieGolden Harvest
1933
as Wheat Farmer (uncredited)
MovieBlondie Johnson
1933
as Eddie
MovieSo Big!
1932
as Jacob Dogadunk (uncredited)
MovieCheaters at Play
1932
as Secretary
MovieOver the Hill
1931
as Isaac as an Adult
MovieZander the Great
1925
as Elmer Lovejoy
MovieJanice Meredith
1924
as Philemon
MovieDanse macabre
1922
as Death
MovieIndependence, B'Gosh
1918
as Horation Whiffle
MovieRomance and Brass Tacks
1918
MovieHick Manhattan
1918
as Hugh Columbus McGinty
