John Howard (American actor)

John Howard (born John Richard Cox Jr.; April 14, 1913 – February 19, 1995) was an American actor.

He appeared uncredited in One Hour Late (1934).

Small roles followed in Car 99 (1935) and Four Hours to Kill! (1935).

He changed his name to John Howard and had a bigger part in Annapolis Farewell (1935).

Paramount promoted him to a leading man in just his fourth film, Millions in the Air (1935), though it was a "B" movie.

He was second billed in Soak the Rich (1936), made for Paramount by the team of Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur.

Paramount put him in an "A" feature, 13 Hours by Air (1936), and he was fourth billed in the credits.

He starred in Border Flight (1936) alongside Frances Farmer and had a good part in Valiant Is the Word for Carrie (1936), with Gladys George.

Howard also starred in the comedy Easy to Take (1936) with Marsha Hunt.

According to David Shipman, "Howard..., was tried out in various capacities – supporting roles in As, leads in Bs, and on loan-outs. These last could be significant: the smaller studios had restricted contract lists and were prepared to pay well to borrow good-looking guys whose acting consisted mainly of not bumping into the furniture".

He is best remembered for his roles in the films Lost Horizon (1937) and The Philadelphia Story (1940).

Howard played Bulldog Drummond in seven films which were produced by Paramount.

He also appeared in many television series and received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Howard was a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of what now is Case Western Reserve University.

At college he discovered a love for the theater, and took part in student productions.

One night, a talent scout from Paramount was in Cleveland to see the local stock company.

The show was not on that night, so the scout decided to go and see a production at the local university.

He was impressed by Howard in a production of John Brown's Body and arranged for a screen test.

Howard became a contract player for Paramount under the name of "Jon Cox".

Howard's first memorable role came on loan out to Columbia: as Ronald Colman's younger brother in Lost Horizon (1937), directed by Frank Capra.

Capra had seen him in Annapolis Farewell and arranged for a screen test.

The film was a huge success and really established Howard, who later said "without Lost Horizon I doubt very much whether I would have survived in Hollywood".

Howard was borrowed by Universal for the lead in Let Them Live (1937).

Back at Paramount, he supported Bob Burns and Martha Raye in Mountain Music (1937).

At RKO, Howard did Hitting a New High (1937) with Lily Pons and Jack Oakie.

He and Lew Ayres were in a buddy comedy, Hold 'Em Navy (1937), then Howard supported Lloyd Nolan and Shirley Ross in Prison Farm (1938) and starred in Touchdown, Army (1938) and Grand Jury Secrets (1939).

Since 1937, Paramount had made a series of "B" movies about daring adventurer Bulldog Drummond.

The first of the actors to play the role, Ray Milland, was in Bulldog Drummond Escapes (1937).

Milland was being groomed for more important pictures, so the studio offered the role of the British hero, Captain Hugh Drummond, to John Howard.

Howard was himself not British, so he chose not to attempt a British accent, relying instead on diction to get the idea across.

In his first performance as Drummond, Bulldog Drummond Comes Back (1937), Howard took second billing to John Barrymore, who played Inspector Nielson of Scotland Yard.

According to Shipman, Howard "proved himself a resourceful, debonair, and witty player, his double-breasted suits and trilbies an admirable choice."

Howard continued opposite Barrymore in Bulldog Drummond's Revenge (1937), and Bulldog Drummond's Peril (1938).

Columbia used him in Penitentiary (1938) with Walter Connolly.

H. B. Warner replaced Barrymore in Bulldog Drummond in Africa (1938), Arrest Bulldog Drummond (1939), Bulldog Drummond's Secret Police (1939), and Bulldog Drummond's Bride (1939), the last in the series.

As Shipman said, about the Drummond films, "[The] titles, splendidly, had nothing to do with the plots (since Drummond was never captured, there was nowhere to escape from) and the inconsequence was pleasing... All the while the spider's-web plots (of death threats, disguises, ambushes, sobbing women and booby-trapped motor-cars) hurtled to the screen – under various directors – with superior production values. They are more enjoyable than competitors featuring the Falcon, Charlie Chan, the Lone Wolf, Sexton Blake et al. due in part to Howard's insouciant playing".

Howard made What a Life (1939) with Betty Grable and Disputed Passage (1940) with Dorothy Lamour.

The latter was a flop at the box office, and Paramount began to cool on Howard.

Universal borrowed him to play a key role in Green Hell (1940).

MGM used him in The Man from Dakota (1940), supporting Wallace Beery, and The Philadelphia Story (1940), where he played the fiancé of Katharine Hepburn, competing for her amorous attentions with characters played by Cary Grant and James Stewart.