Jobyna Howland (March 31, 1880 – June 7, 1936) was an American stage and screen actress.

Early years

Howland was born on March 31, 1880, in Indianapolis, Indiana. Her parents were Joby Howland, a Civil War veteran who at age 11 was one of the youngest enlistees in the conflict, and his wife Mary C. Bunting. She was given the feminine version of her father's name. Her brother was character actor

Olin Howland Olin Ross Howland (February 10, 1886 – September 20, 1959) was an American film and theatre actor. Life and career Howland was born in Denver, Colorado, to Joby A. Howland, one of the youngest enlisted participants in the Civil War, an ...

. Tall, regal and beautiful, red-haired Howland was one of several models for

Charles Dana Gibson Charles Dana Gibson (September 14, 1867 – December 23, 1944) was an American illustrator. He was best known for his creation of the Gibson Girl, an iconic representation of the beautiful and independent Euro-American woman at the turn of the ...

's famous sketches of ''

Gibson Girl The Gibson Girl was the personification of the feminine ideal of physical attractiveness as portrayed by the pen-and-ink illustrations of artist Charles Dana Gibson during a 20-year period that spanned the late 19th and early 20th centuries in th ...

s''.

Career

Having performed as an amateur actress, Howland left her Denver, Colorado, home to seek professional work on stage. In December 1897, Howland appeared in ''A Milk White Flag'' at the Tacoma Theater in Tacoma, Washington. She also performed in San Francisco. There she joined a company headed by

Clay Clement Clay Clement (May 19, 1888 – October 20, 1956) was an American stage, film, and TV actor. He appeared in more than 80 films between 1918 and 1947. Clement was one of the earliest members of the Screen Actors Guild. Howland attracted the attention of a photographer named Thors. His photographs of her were published in the ''Illustrated American'' and attracted the attention of Gibson. She worked professionally as a model, beginning her posing a week after she arrived in New York, and she had become a model for Gibson before a month elapsed. She made her first appearance on the New York Stage in 1899 managed by

Daniel Frohman Daniel Frohman (August 22, 1851 – December 26, 1940) was an American theatrical producer and manager, and an early film producer. Biography Frohman was born to a Jewish family in Sandusky, Ohio. His parents were Henry (1826–1899) and Ba ...

. During her long theatrical career, she apprenticed everything from drawing room farces to musical comedies always seeming to play the other woman, a best friend's pal or a distant cousin. She didn't achieve the kind of stardom of other beautiful actresses such as

Elsie Ferguson Elsie Louise Ferguson (August 19, 1883 – November 15, 1961) was an American stage and film actress. Early life Born in New York City, Elsie Ferguson was the only child of Hiram and Amelia Ferguson. Her father was a successful attorney. Raise ...

, but was content to play the amiable and much needed support so vital in numerous Broadway productions. She decided to try her luck in film and moved to a Lloyd Wright (Frank Lloyd Wright, Jr.) bungalow in Beverly Hills which was maintained by Hernando, a Navajo servant who liked to sample Howland's makeup. She appeared in a few silent pictures, but this medium did not seem to suit her booming, direct and distinct voice. In sound films, she typically played the kind of roles she had mastered on the stage, the domineering but dependable support. Her appearances in the comedies of

Bert Wheeler Albert Jerome Wheeler (April 7, 1895 – January 18, 1968) was an American comedian who performed in Broadway theatre, American comedy feature films, and vaudeville acts. He was the comedy partner of Robert Woolsey, and together they formed ...

Robert Woolsey Robert Rollie Woolsey (August 14, 1888 – October 31, 1938) was an American stage and screen comedian and half of the 1930s comedy team Wheeler & Woolsey. Early life Robert Rollie (sometimes spelled Rolla or even Raleigh) was born on Aug ...

are some of her best known. Howland's Broadway debut came as Queen Flavia in ''Rupert of Hentzau'' (1899), and her final Broadway role was Amy Bellaire in ''O Evening Star'' (1936).

Personal life and death

Howland married Arthur Stringer in 1903, but the marriage didn't last and was dissolved in 1914. She bore no children. On June 7, 1936, Howland was found dead at age 56 on the kitchen floor of her home. Police attributed her death to heart disease. She is interred in Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California.Wilson, Scott. ''Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons'', 3d ed.: 2 (Kindle Locations 25047-25048). McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. Kindle Edition.

Filmography

*'' Her Only Way'' (1918) *'' The Way of a Woman'' (1919) *'' Second Youth'' (1924) *''

Honey Honey is a sweet and viscous substance made by several bees, the best-known of which are honey bees. Honey is made and stored to nourish bee colonies. Bees produce honey by gathering and then refining the sugary secretions of plants (primar ...

'' (1930) *'' The Cuckoos'' (1930) *'' Dixiana'' (1930) *''

The Virtuous Sin ''The Virtuous Sin'' is a 1930 American Pre-Code Hollywood, pre-Code comedy-drama film directed by George Cukor and Louis J. Gasnier and starring Walter Huston, Kay Francis, and Kenneth MacKenna. The screenplay by Martin Brown and Louise Long is ...

'' (1930) *''

A Lady's Morals ''A Lady's Morals'' is a 1930 American pre-Code film offering a highly fictionalized account of opera singer Jenny Lind. The movie features Grace Moore as Lind, Reginald Denny as a lover, and Wallace Beery as P. T. Barnum. The film contains so ...

'' (1930) *'' Hook, Line and Sinker'' (1930) *'' Stepping Sisters'' (1932) *'' Big City Blues'' (1932) as Serena Cartlich *'' Once in a Lifetime'' (1932) *'' Rockabye'' (1932) *'' Silver Dollar'' (1932) (uncredited) *'' Topaze'' (1933) *''

The Cohens and Kellys in Trouble ''The Cohens and Kellys in Trouble'' is a 1933 American pre-Code comedy film starring Charlie Murray, Andy Devine, and Maureen O'Sullivan. It is the last film in the ''Cohens and Kellys'' series and the first director credit for George Steven ...

'' (1933) *''

The Story of Temple Drake ''The Story of Temple Drake'' is a 1933 American pre-Code drama film directed by Stephen Roberts and starring Miriam Hopkins and Jack La Rue. It tells the story of Temple Drake, a reckless woman in the American South who falls into the hands of ...

'' (1933) *''

Meet the Baron ''Meet the Baron'' is a 1933 American pre-Code comedy film starring Jack Pearl, Jimmy Durante, Edna May Oliver, ZaSu Pitts, Ted Healy and His Stooges (Moe Howard, Larry Fine and Curly Howard). The title of the film refers to Pearl's character ...

'' (1933) (uncredited) *''Ye Olde Saw Mill'' (1935) (short)

References

External links

* *
Jobyna Howland portrait gallery New York Public Library, Billy Rose Collection

Jobyna Howland: Broadway Photographs
Univ. of South Carolina) {{DEFAULTSORT:Howland, Jobyna 1880 births 1936 deaths 19th-century American actresses American stage actresses 20th-century American actresses American film actresses Actresses from Indianapolis