Howard Culver (June 4, 1918 – August 4, 1984) was an American radio and television actor, best known as hotel clerk Howie Uzzell during the entire run of TV's ''

Gunsmoke ''Gunsmoke'' is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman Macdonnell and writer John Meston. It centers on Dodge City, Kansas, in the 1870s, during the settlement of the American West. The central character ...

''. On radio he starred in the title role of the Western adventure series ''

Straight Arrow The ''Straight Arrow'' radio program was a western adventure series for juveniles which was broadcast, mostly twice weekly in the United States from 1948 or 1949 through 1951.Anderson, Roland. A total of 292 episodes were aired. Although firs ...

'', which aired on Mutual from May 6, 1948 to June 21, 1951.

Biography

Culver grew up in Los Angeles, and he was first heard as an actor on CBS while he was a teenager. He served in the Navy for three years during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, returning to continue on many San Francisco and Hollywood-based radio shows. In 1948, he was the last actor to portray Ellery Queen on radio's ''

The Adventures of Ellery Queen ''The Adventures of Ellery Queen'' is the title of a radio series and four separate television series made from the 1950s through the 1970s. They were based on the fictional detective and pseudonymous writer Ellery Queen and the cases he solved wi ...

''.Dunning, John. (1998). ''On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio''. Oxford University Press. . pp. 8–9. After ''Straight Arrow'', he co-starred with

Mercedes McCambridge Carlotta Mercedes Agnes McCambridge (March 16, 1916 – March 2, 2004) was an American actress of radio, stage, film, and television. Orson Welles called her "the world's greatest living radio actress." She won an Academy Award for Best Support ...

as reporter Jud Barnes on ABC's '' Defense Attorney'' (1951–52). Jack French recalled Culver in his 1996 essay on ''Straight Arrow'': :

McCann Erickson McCann, formerly McCann Erickson, is an American global advertising agency network, with offices in 120 countries. McCann is part of McCann Worldgroup, along with several other agencies, including direct digital marketing agency MRM//McCann, expe ...

decided the new series would be broadcast from Los Angeles, and they quickly chose their cast from West Coast talent. Howard Culver, who had been the narrator of ''We Deliver the Goods'' and the announcer on '' Chandu the Magician'', was selected for the title lead. At the time, he had a small

goatee A goatee is a style of facial hair incorporating hair on one's chin but not the cheeks. The exact nature of the style has varied according to time and culture. Description Until the late 20th century, the term ''goatee'' was used to refer sol ...

, which would be later be shaved off before his first personal appearance as Straight Arrow... Frank Bingman was hired as the announcer. He had started in radio at age 19 on ''Life of Mary Southern'' but was best known then as the voice of Cresta Blanca Wine. Bingman was surprised to find out that Culver occupied his spare time at the studio by knitting. While on ''

The Joan Davis Show . ''The Joan Davis Show'' is a title applied — in some cases specifically and in other cases generically — to several old-time radio comedy programs in the United States, some of which had other distinct titles as indicated below. Comedian Joa ...

'',

Verna Felton Verna Arline Felton (July 20, 1890December 14, 1966) was an American actress, best known for providing many voices in numerous Disney animated films. She also provided the voice for Fred Flintstone's mother-in-law, Pearl Slaghoople in Hanna-Bar ...

had taught Bingman to knit, but he was a "closet knitter," since he was embarrassed to knit in front of other men. "Well, I don't give a damn what they say!", Culver told Bingman, sounding very unlike Straight Arrow. Thereafter, they both knitted in the studio, and later these two buddies donated their time at local military hospitals, teaching wounded vets to knit... Culver, much like Clayton "Bud" Collyer had been doing for years as Clark Kent/Superman, used his regular voice for Steve Adams and then lowered it for Straight Arrow. Much information about Culver and ''Straight Arrow'' was published in the newsletter, ''Pow Wow,'' edited by William and Teresa Harper of

North Augusta, South Carolina North Augusta is a city in Aiken and Edgefield counties in the U.S. state of South Carolina, on the north bank of the Savannah River. The population was 21,348 at the 2010 census. The city is included in the Central Savannah River Area (CSRA) ...

Films and television

In addition to his regular role on ''Gunsmoke'', he made numerous TV guest appearances on such shows as '' Dragnet,'' '' Adam-12,'' and ''

CHiPs ''CHiPs'' is an American crime drama television series created by Rick Rosner and originally aired on NBC from September 15, 1977, to May 1, 1983. It follows the lives of two motorcycle officers of the California Highway Patrol (CHP). The seri ...

''. His film roles included a newscaster in

Hal Ashby William Hal Ashby (September 2, 1929 – December 27, 1988) was an American film director and editor associated with the New Hollywood wave of filmmaking. Before his career as a director Ashby edited films for Norman Jewison, notably ''The R ...

's ''

Shampoo Shampoo () is a hair care product, typically in the form of a Viscosity, viscous liquid, that is used for cleaning hair. Less commonly, shampoo is available in solid bar format. Shampoo is used by applying it to wet hair, massaging the product ...

'' (1975).

Death

On August 5, 1984, while vacationing in Hong Kong, Culver died at age 66 after contracting meningitis.

Partial filmography

* '' Time Table'' (1956) – Pete the detective (uncredited) * ''

Tension at Table Rock ''Tension at Table Rock'' is a 1956 American Western (genre), Western Drama (genre), drama film directed by Charles Marquis Warren and starring Richard Egan (actor), Richard Egan and Dorothy Malone. Wes Tancred (Richard Egan (actor), Richard Eg ...

'' (1956) – Clerk (uncredited) * ''

The Black Whip ''The Black Whip'' is a 1957 American Civil War Western film directed by Charles Marquis Warren and starring Hugh Marlowe and Coleen Gray. The film brief describes the film as "two brothers rescue four dance-hall girls, and encounter trouble f ...

'' (1956) – Dr. Gillette * ''

Cattle Empire ''Cattle Empire'' is a 1958 American Western DeLuxe Color movie in CinemaScope directed by Charles Marquis Warren, starring Joel McCrea and released by 20th Century Fox. The film also features Gloria Talbott, Don Haggerty, Phyllis Coates, and B ...

'' (1958) – Preacher (uncredited) * ''

Hot Car Girl ''Hot Car Girl'' is a 1958 American film directed by Bernard L. Kowalski. Seeing ''Hot Car Girl'' in a four-walled playoff in 1958 gave the audience the sense that they were witnessing something clandestine and taboo. It was an early credit for ...

'' (1958) – Dan – police headquarters sergeant * ''-30-'' (1959) – Walt Ashton * ''

The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes ''The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes'' is a 1969 American science fiction comedy film starring Kurt Russell, Cesar Romero, Joe Flynn and William Schallert. It was produced by Walt Disney Productions and distributed by Buena Vista Distribution Compa ...

'' (1969) – Moderator (uncredited) * ''Something's Happened to Dexter'' (1969) * ''Brady Bunch'' (1969) – Mr Crawford * ''

The Barefoot Executive ''The Barefoot Executive'' (also known as ''The Rating Game'') is a 1971 American comedy film starring Kurt Russell, Joe Flynn, Wally Cox, Heather North, Harry Morgan, and John Ritter (in his film debut), about a pet chimpanzee, named Raffles, ...

'' (1971) – (uncredited) * ''

The Million Dollar Duck ''The Million Dollar Duck'' (also titled as ''$1,000,000 Duck'') is a 1971 American comedy film produced by Walt Disney Productions based on the goose that lays golden eggs scenario. It was directed by Vincent McEveety, and stars Dean Jones, Sa ...

'' (1971) – Morgan's Assistant (uncredited) * ''

'' (1975) – Newscaster (uncredited) * ''

The Bad News Bears ''The Bad News Bears'' is a 1976 American sports comedy film directed by Michael Ritchie and written by Bill Lancaster. It stars Walter Matthau as an alcoholic ex-baseball pitcher who becomes a coach for a youth baseball team known as the Bears. ...

'' (1976) – Newscaster (uncredited) * ''Brigham'' (1977) * '' The Swarm'' (1978) – Airman #2 * '' Halloween II'' (1981) – Man in Pajamas * ''Home Safe'' (1981) – Grandpa Ollie

Notes

*Harper, William H. ''Straight Arrow: The Definitive Resource for the Straight Arrow Promotion 1949–1956''. BearManor Media, 2007.Cagle, Maury. ''Straight Arrow'', ''Radio Recall'', 2007.
/ref>

References

Listen to

Howard Culver in ''Defense Attorney'' (August 31, 1951)

External links

*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Culver, Howard 1918 births 1984 deaths American male radio actors American male television actors 20th-century American male actors Male actors from Colorado Male actors from Los Angeles United States Navy personnel of World War II