Harold Huber
Harold Huber | |
---|---|
Huber in 1951. | |
Born |
Harold Joseph Huberman December 5, 1909 New York City, New York, U.S. |
Died |
September 29, 1959 49) New York City, New York, U.S. | (aged
Cause of death | during surgery |
Resting place | Mount Hebron Cemetery in Queens |
Alma mater |
New York University Columbia Law School[1] |
Occupation | Actor |
Years active | 1930β1959 |
Spouse(s) | Ethel Huber (?-1959) (his death) 1 child |
Children | Margaret Huber |
Harold Huber (December 5, 1909 β September 29, 1959) was an American actor who appeared on film, radio and television.
Early life
Huber was born Harold Joseph Huberman in the Bronx to Jewish immigrants from Imperial Russia, who had arrived in the United States as infants.[2] His father was the manager of an optical firm. Harold Huberman entered New York University in the Fall of 1925 at age sixteen. He was a member of the university debate team, and by his third year had become editor of a school magazine called The Medley.[3] His tenure at that post was marked by an incident, reported in the newspapers, when the administration suspended publication of The Medley in May 1928 for printing "low humor...not fit to bear the name of New York University".[4]
After graduating from NYU in 1929, Huberman attended Columbia University for a short time, reportedly in the School of Law, but apparently dropped out after getting his first acting job in 1930.[5]
Career
On September 22, 1930, Harold Huberman became Harold Huber, for a Broadway adaption of A Farewell to Arms. This first acting job lasted a month. He would have small parts in three more Broadway productions in the next two years, before landing roles in some Warner Bros. films shot on location in New York. His face was scarred in an amateur fencing match, adding to his signature character image as heavies.
Huber made his film debut in Central Park in late 1932, followed quickly by a bit part in 20,000 Years in Sing Sing. He appeared in nearly 100 films in the 1930s and 1940s. An early noteworthy role was as the stool-pigeon Nunnheim in The Thin Man (1934). He played many roles requiring him to assume different accents, like Ito Nakamura, a Japanese American in the 1942 film Little Tokyo, U.S.A.. Among his many roles were appearances as a police officer in various Charlie Chan films, including an American in Charlie Chan on Broadway (1937), a French officer in Charlie Chan at Monte Carlo (1937) and Charlie Chan in City in Darkness (1939), and a Brazilian in Charlie Chan in Rio (1941). He played a key supporting role as a member of the French Foreign Legion in Beau Geste (1939). He also played roles in films featuring Mr. Moto and Charlie McCarthy.
Huber starred as Hercule Poirot in The Adventures of M. Hercule Poirot in a weekly half-hour program from February to October, 1945 (the program is also cited as being titled simply Hercule Poirot or Agatha Christie's Poirot). Agatha Christie introduced the initial broadcast of the series via shortwave radio.[6] In October 1946, Huber began a year-long run on radio as Poirot in a daily fifteen-minute program on CBS, called Mystery of the Week, with scripts by Alfred Bester.[7] Huber also portrayed Fu Manchu on radio in an eponymous program.[8]
Huber's television debut came in 1950, as the star of a weekly half-hour drama, I Cover Times Square, on the ABC network. He played Johnny Warren, a nationally known newspaper and radio columnist. Huber also produced the New York-made show, which lasted only one season.
Later life
In September 1958, Huber co-starred with Eva Gabor in a short-lived off-Broadway revival of Frank Wedekind's play Lulu, his last professional credit.
Huber died during surgery at Jewish Memorial Hospital on September 29, 1959, leaving behind his wife Ethel and daughter Margaret.[5] He was buried at Mount Hebron Cemetery in Queens.[9]
Partial filmography
- Central Park (1932)
- Frisco Jenny (1932)
- The Match King (1932)
- 20,000 Years in Sing Sing (1932)
- Parachute Jumper (1933)
- Ladies They Talk About (1933)
- Girl Missing (1933)
- Central Airport (1933)
- The Life of Jimmy Dolan (1933)
- The Silk Express (1933)
- The Mayor of Hell (1933)
- Midnight Mary (1933)
- Mary Stevens, M.D. (1933)
- Hi, Nellie! (1934)
- He Was Her Man (1934)
- Fury of the Jungle (1934)
- The Merry Frinks (1934)
- Forsaking All Others (1934)
- The Thin Man (1934)
- Beyond the Law (1934)
- The Defense Rests (1934)
- G Men (1935)
- Mad Love (1935)
- Pursuit (1935)
- San Francisco (1936)
- Kelly the Second (1936)
- The Good Earth (1936)
- Women Are Trouble (1936)
- Klondike Annie (1936)
- We're Only Human (1936)
- The Devil Is a Sissy (1936)
- You Can't Beat Love (1937)
- They Gave Him a Gun (1937)
- Charlie Chan on Broadway (1937)
- Charlie Chan at Monte Carlo (1937)
- International Settlement (1938)
- Mysterious Mr. Moto (1938)
- A Slight Case of Murder (1938)
- The Adventures of Marco Polo (1938)
- Mr. Moto's Gamble (1938)
- Going Places (1938)
- 6,000 Enemies (1939)
- The Lady and the Mob (1939)
- You Can't Get Away with Murder (1939)
- Midnight Mary (1939)
- Beau Geste (1939)
- Charlie Chan in City in Darkness (1939)
- Kit Carson (1940)
- The Ghost Comes Home (1940)
- Dance, Girl, Dance (1940)
- A Man Betrayed (1941)
- Charlie Chan in Rio (1941)
- Down Mexico Way (1941)
- Little Tokyo, U.S.A. (1942)
- Manila Calling (1942)
- Pardon My Stripes (1942)
- A Gentleman After Dark (1942)
- Lady from Chungking (1942)
- Crime Doctor (1943)
- Let's Dance (1950)
- My Friend Irma Goes West (1950)
Radio appearances
Year | Program | Episode/source |
---|---|---|
1952 | The FBI in Peace and War | The Trouble Shooter[10] |
References
- β https://www.nytimes.com/movies/person/33697/Harold-Huber
- β The New York Times, "Obituary (Huberman, Mammie)", March 1, 1958, pg 17
- β The New York Times, "M.I.T. Wins Debate on Debt Cancellation", March 20, 1927, pg 7
- β The New York Times, "N.Y.U. Paper Restored", November 4, 1928, pg 27
- 1 2 The New York Times, "Harold Huber, Actor, Dies at 49", October 1, 1959, pg 40
- β Cox, Jim, Radio Crime Fighters, 2002, p. 18, McFarland, Jefferson, NC, ISBN 0-7864-1390-5
- β The New York Times, "One Thing and Another", August 18, 1946, pg 55
- β Cox, Jim, Radio Crime Fighters, 2002, p. 226, McFarland, Jefferson, NC, ISBN 0-7864-1390-5
- β Photo of Harold Huber's gravestone
- β "Radio Highlights". New York, Brooklyn. The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. June 26, 1952. p. 17. Retrieved December 21, 2015 β via Newspapers.com.
Further reading
- Ken Hanke, Charlie Chan at the Movies Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 1989. ISBN 0-7864-1921-0.
External links
- Harold Huber on IMDb
- Harold Huber at the Internet Broadway Database
- Harold Huber at Find a Grave
- Listen to the Hercule Poirot radio program