John Houseman

Acting

John Houseman

Born — Died

1902-09-22 — 1988-10-31

Place of birth

Bucharest, Romania

Known for

Acting

Credits

87 titles

John Houseman (September 22, 1902 – October 31, 1988) was a Romanian-born British-American actor and film producer who became known for his highly publicized collaboration with director Orson Welles from their days in the Federal Theatre Project through to the production of Citizen Kane. He is perhaps best known for his role as Professor Charles Kingsfield in the 1973 film The Paper Chase for which he won a best supporting actor Oscar. He reprised his role as Kingsfield in the subsequent TV series adaptation of The Paper Chase. Houseman was also known for his commercials for the brokerage firm Smith Barney. He had a distinctive Mid-Atlantic English accent, in common with many actors of his g…

Known for

Film credits

2010s · 2 titles

1980s · 19 titles

The Fog poster
6.7

Strange things begin to occur as a tiny California coastal town prepares to commemorate its centenary. Inanimate objects spring eerily to life; Rev. Malone stumbles upon a dark secret about the town's founding; radio announcer Stevie witnesses a mystical fire; and hitchhiker Elizabeth discovers the mutilated corpse of a fisherman. Then a mysterious iridescent fog descends upon the village, and more people start to die.

The Fog

1980

The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! poster
7.3

When the bumbling Lieutenant Frank Drebin investigates events following the shooting of his partner, he stumbles upon an attempt to assassinate Queen Elizabeth II.

The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!

1988

Another Woman poster
6.8

Marion is a woman who has learned to shield herself from her emotions. She rents an apartment to work undisturbed on her new book, but by some acoustic anomaly she can hear all that is said in the next apartment in which a psychiatrist holds his office. When she hears a young woman tell that she finds it harder and harder to bear her life, Marion starts to reflect on her own life. After a series of events she comes to understand how her unemotional attitude towards the people around her affected them and herself.

Another Woman

1988

Scrooged poster
6.8

Frank Cross is a wildly successful television executive whose cold ambition and curmudgeonly nature has driven away the love of his life. But after firing a staff member on Christmas Eve, Frank is visited by a series of ghosts who give him a chance to re-evaluate his actions and right the wrongs of his past.

Scrooged

1988

My Bodyguard poster
6.4

Clifford Peache, an easygoing teenager, is finding less than easy to fit in at his new high school, where a tough-talking bully terrorizes his classmates and extorts their lunch money. Refusing to pay up, Clifford enlist the aid of an overgrown misfit whose mere presence intimidates students and teachers alike. But their "business relationship" soon turns personal as Clifford and the troubled loner forge a winning alliance against their intimidators - and a very special friendship with each other.

My Bodyguard

1980

Bright Lights, Big City poster
5.7

A disillusioned young writer living in New York City turns to drugs and drinking to block out the memories of his dead mother and estranged wife.

Bright Lights, Big City

1988

Ghost Story poster
6.0

Four successful elderly gentlemen, members of the Chowder Society, share a gruesome, 50-year-old secret. When one of Edward Wanderley's twin sons dies in a bizarre accident, the group begins to see a pattern of frightening events developing.

Ghost Story

1981

Murder by Phone poster
5.5

A disgruntled phone company employee develops a device whereby those answering a phone can be murdered, and it's up to Nat Bridger to stop the killer.

Murder by Phone

1982

No artwork available
NR

Hosted by Jane Fonda and Robert Wagner, this TV special celebrates the XXIIIrd Olympiad with all-star guests at the Greek Theater in Los Angeles.

Olympic Gala

1984

Wholly Moses poster
4.7

Harvey and Zoey, two tourists in Israel, discover an ancient scroll about Herschel, the man who was almost Moses. Herschel receives the command from God to free his people from slavery, but Moses keeps getting all the credit.

Wholly Moses

1980

The Cradle Will Rock poster
NR

A filmed version of the 1985 revival of the Marc Blitzstein musical. This revival was filmed at the Old Vic, with former members of The Acting Company.

The Cradle Will Rock

1985

Gideon's Trumpet poster
6.5

True story of Clarence Gideon's fight to be appointed counsel at the expense of the state. This landmark case led to the Supreme Court's decision which extended this right to all criminal defendants.

Gideon's Trumpet

1980

The Skin of Our Teeth poster
10.0

Production of Thornton Wilder's Pulitzer-winning play "The Skin of Our Teeth," the story of Mr. and Mrs. Antrobus, their children Henry and Gladys, and their maid Sabina. They are simultaneously a typical American family living in a present-day New Jersey suburb and are also Adam, Eve, Lilith, Cain and a daughter who survive the Ice Age (although their pet dinosaurs do not), the Flood (as in the book of Genesis in the Bible) and War (as in WWII).

The Skin of Our Teeth

1983

A Christmas Without Snow poster
5.7

Leaving her son behind at her parents' home in Omaha, Nebraska, recent divorcée Zoe attempts to start her life anew by moving to San Francisco. Seeking something to fill her lonely hours, she begins singing with a church choir. When new choirmaster Ephraim Adams is hired, Zoe finds his attitudes and ideas difficult to tolerate. Faced with the challenging task of satisfying Adams' unrelenting perfectionism, Zoe is tempted once more to run away from her problems.

A Christmas Without Snow

1980

The Babysitter poster
5.7

Overprotective mother Liz Benedict meets 18-year-old orphan Joanna Redwine and hires her as house help and live-in companion to rambunctious daughter Tara. Liz's husband Jeff isn't too thrilled with the arrangement, and his fears soon prove justified when Joanna begins to manipulate everyone and to slowly destroy the family. Meanwhile, next-door neighbor Dr. Linquist investigates and discovers Joanna has a disturbing past.

The Babysitter

1980

A Rose for Emily poster
6.5

Townsfolk discover a warped secret while clearing out the house of a recently deceased, aristocratic spinster.

A Rose for Emily

1983

The Merry Wives of Windsor poster
7.0

Sir John Falstaff in love? Chaos must inevitably follow.

The Merry Wives of Windsor

1980

The Good Fight: The Abraham Lincoln Brigade in the Spanish Civil War poster
5.7

This documentary examines the experiences of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade, using interviews with survivors more than 50 years later. First, the film sets the context with the rise of Fascism. Then, in 1936, Spain's military revolts against the elected government, and the U.S. and Europe agree not to intervene. In response, volunteers snuck past border guards into Spain to fight with the Republicans. The men and women veterans describe the perils of reaching Spain, limited training, responsibilities of command thrust on the very young, deprivations of a soldier's life, lack of matériel, horrible rates of casualties, and ultimate vindication at the end of World War II.

The Good Fight: The Abraham Lincoln Brigade in the Spanish Civil War

1984

Writing: Plain & Fancy poster
NR

A documentary about calligraphy.

Writing: Plain & Fancy

1981

1970s · 13 titles

Three Days of the Condor poster
7.3

When bookish CIA researcher Joe Turner finds all his co-workers dead, he, together with a woman he has kidnapped, must work together to outwit those responsible until he determines who he can really trust.

Three Days of the Condor

1975

The Cheap Detective poster
6.4

A spoof of the entire 1940s detective genre. San Francisco private detective, Lou Pekinpaugh is accused of murdering his partner at the instigation of his mistress—his partner's wife.

The Cheap Detective

1978

Rollerball poster
6.3

In a corporate-controlled future, an ultra-violent sport known as Rollerball represents the world, and one of its powerful athletes is out to defy those who want him out of the game.

Rollerball

1975

Old Boyfriends poster
5.1

When her marriage falls apart, a psychiatrist seeks out those of her former boyfriends who left the biggest impact on her life, mostly in a bad way.

Old Boyfriends

1979

The Paper Chase poster
6.8

A first-year law student struggles with balancing his coursework and his relationship with the daughter of a stern professor.

The Paper Chase

1973

St. Ives poster
5.8

A dabbler-in-crime and his assistant hire an ex-police reporter to recover some stolen papers.

St. Ives

1976

The New Deal for Artists poster
NR

The Arts Project of the Work Projects Administration (1935-1942) was a USA government agency established to support writers, theater people, painters, sculptors, and photographers.

The New Deal for Artists

1976

Fear on Trial poster
9.0

The story of John Henry Faulk, a radio/TV personality of the 1950s, who was blacklisted during the McCarthy era. Faulk sued the organization that was behind the blacklisting, and the resultant trial, and Faulk's victory, helped to put an end to the blacklisting period.

Fear on Trial

1975

I'm a Stranger Here Myself poster
6.7

A portrait of legendary filmmaker Nicholas Ray while he is working as a film professor at a college in upstate New York.

I'm a Stranger Here Myself

1975

The Displaced Person poster
7.0

A conscientious but driven Polish refugee disrupts the hierarchy of power on a Georgia farm in the 1940s.

The Displaced Person

1977

No artwork available
8.0

A dramatization of the World War II Potsdam Conference of July 1945 with U.S. President Harry Truman, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Soviet leader Joseph Stalin.

Truman at Potsdam

1976

Six Characters in Search of An Author poster
6.5

A rehearsal is disrupted when six figures mysteriously appear on the stage, claiming to be fictional characters from an unfinished play searching for an author to tell their tragic story. An adaptation of the classic Luigi Pirandello play, updated to take place in a 1970s television studio.

Six Characters in Search of An Author

1976

Beyond the Horizon poster
10.0

On a Connecticut farm, James Mayo's two sons both love Ruth Atkins. Robert, the younger son, is sickly and dreams of escaping to a romantic life somewhere "beyond the horizon." Andy is hard-working and steadfast and loves his brother deeply. When Ruth reveals that she loves Robert and not, as everyone believed, Andy, Robert's plans to go to sea with his uncle are disrupted. He decides to stay at home and marry Ruth, while Andy, unwilling to remain close at hand as his brother marries the girl he loves, takes Robert's place on the voyage. This turn of events leads to heartache and tragedy for everyone involved.

Beyond the Horizon

1975

Series credits

The Mike Douglas Show poster
5.8

The Mike Douglas Show is an American daytime television talk show hosted by Mike Douglas that originally aired only in the Cleveland area during much of its first two years on the air. It then went into syndication in 1963 and remained on television until 1982. It was distributed by Westinghouse Broadcasting and for much of its run, originated from studios of two of the company's TV stations in Cleveland and Philadelphia.

The Mike Douglas Show

1961

Great Performances poster
6.1

The best in the performing arts from across America and around the world including a diverse programming portfolio of classical music, opera, popular song, musical theater, dance, drama, and performance documentaries.

Great Performances

1971

Great Performances poster
6.1

The best in the performing arts from across America and around the world including a diverse programming portfolio of classical music, opera, popular song, musical theater, dance, drama, and performance documentaries.

Great Performances

1971

The Dick Cavett Show poster
6.8

The Dick Cavett Show has been the title of several talk shows hosted by Dick Cavett on various television networks.

The Dick Cavett Show

1968

Golden Globe Awards poster
7.0

An annual awards ceremony recognizing excellence in film and television, both domestic and foreign, bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.

Golden Globe Awards

1944

The South Bank Show poster
5.6

The South Bank Show is a television arts magazine show produced by ITV between 1978 and 2010. A new series began on Sky Arts from 27 May 2012. Presented by Melvyn Bragg, the show aims to bring both high art and popular culture to a mass audience.

The South Bank Show

1978

American Playhouse poster
6.6

American Playhouse is an anthology television series periodically broadcast by Public Broadcasting Service in the United States.

American Playhouse

1982

The Six Million Dollar Man poster
7.3

Follow the adventures of Steve Austin, cybernetically enhanced astronaut turned secret agent, employed by the OSI, under the command of Oscar Goldman and supervised by the scientist who created his cybernetics, Rudy Wells. Steve uses the superior strength and speed provided by his bionic arm and legs, and the enhanced vision provided by his artificial eye, to fight enemy agents, aliens, mad scientists, and a wide variety of other villains.

The Six Million Dollar Man

1974

No artwork available
5.1

The BBC's flagship cinema review TV program featuring reviews of new releases, news items and interviews. The title of the program changes each year to incorporate the year of broadcast.

Film '72

1971

The Bionic Woman poster
7.0

After fully recovering from her near fatal bout of bionic rejection, Jaime Sommers, the first female cyborg, is assigned to spy missions of her own.

The Bionic Woman

1976

Silver Spoons poster
6.3

Wealthy, young-at-heart business owner Edward Stratton III is stunned to discover his brief marriage several years ago produced a son, Richard Bluedhorn-Stratton, now 12 and standing in Edward's living room, wanting to live with the father he never knew. Although Edward's first impulse is to send Ricky to boarding school, he soon relents and let his son move in with him and Kate, his love-struck secretary.

Silver Spoons

1982

227 poster
6.8

A housewife sits on the stoop of her apartment building in a black neighborhood of Washington, D.C., and discusses all manner of things with her neighbors.

227

1985

The Paper Chase poster
7.6

Critically lauded drama about the life and pressures of a group of students at a prestigious Eastern law school, with a strict and domineering contract-law professor named Charles Kingsfield, who alternately inspires and terrifies the students.

The Paper Chase

1978

Marco Polo poster
6.8

The life of the 13th-century Venetian explorer who sought to connect the civilizations of China and Europe through trade.

Marco Polo

1982

The Winds of War poster
7.3

Against the backdrop of world events that led to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, Victor 'Pug' Henry is a career naval officer who, along with his family, learns to navigate the waters of his dangerous times in the late 1930s.

The Winds of War

1983

The American Film Institute Salute to ... poster
6.3

In 1973 the American Film Institute initiated its Life Achievement Award, to be presented to a yearly recipient whose talent has fundamentally advanced the film art; whose accomplishments have been acknowledged by scholars, critics, professional peers and the general public; and whose work has stood the test of time.

The American Film Institute Salute to ...

1973

The Adams Chronicles poster
7.4

Chronicles the story of the Adams political family over a 150-year span, including John Adams (drafter and signer of the Declaration, accomplished diplomat, and the 2nd President of the U.S.), his wife Abigail Adams, his son John Quincy Adams (acclaimed Secretary of State, the 6th President, and prominent abolitionist Congressman), grandson Charles Francis Adams, Congressman and Ambassador to Great Britain during the Civil War, and much-heralded members of the fourth generation Henry Brooks Adams, the historian and author of the novel Democracy, and Charles Francis Adams II, the industrialist.

The Adams Chronicles

1976

A.D. poster
5.4

A.D. is a 1985 television drama miniseries created and written by Vincenzo Labella and Anthony Burgess, based on Burgess' historical novel The Kingdom of the Wicked. The five-part serial is considered the third and final part of a trilogy, preceded by Moses the Lawgiver (1974) and Jesus of Nazareth (1977). Set just after Jesus' Crucifixion, the lives and adventures of His disciples are explored, and events in Rome during the reigns of Emperors Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius and Nero.

A.D.

1985

Hallmark Hall of Fame poster
8.8

Long-running anthology program sponsored by Hallmark Cards. Beginning in 1951 and continuing into 2019, the series received 80 Emmy Awards, 24 Christopher Awards, 11 Peabody Awards, 9 Golden Globes, and 4 Humanitas Prizes. Early seasons were a weekly live drama, eventually transitioning to videotaped and then filmed productions broadcast as occasional specials.

Hallmark Hall of Fame

1951

Hallmark Hall of Fame poster
8.8

Long-running anthology program sponsored by Hallmark Cards. Beginning in 1951 and continuing into 2019, the series received 80 Emmy Awards, 24 Christopher Awards, 11 Peabody Awards, 9 Golden Globes, and 4 Humanitas Prizes. Early seasons were a weekly live drama, eventually transitioning to videotaped and then filmed productions broadcast as occasional specials.

Hallmark Hall of Fame

1951

Noble House poster
7.1

Despite its impressive history and reputation, the international trading company Struan's is in trouble. Overextended by the previous management, new tai-pan Ian Dunross has had to issue public stock to improve the company's financial standing. Even this, however, has not given him the capital he needs. As a result, he is courting a private investor, American billionaire Linc Bartlett. Bartlett decides secretly to back Dunross' arch enemy, Quillian Gornt, who will stop at nothing to destroy Struan's. When Dunross realises that Gornt is suddenly strong enough to ruin the Noble House, he must urgently forge new alliances or reshape ancient ones.

Noble House

1988

Captains and the Kings poster
8.8

Rags-to-riches tale of an Irish immigrant in late 1800s based on the novel by Taylor Caldwell.

Captains and the Kings

1976

Washington: Behind Closed Doors poster
7.8

CIA director Bill Martin knows that an incoming president means a new direction for the country—and another set of eyes on the top secret Primula Report. Martin tries to build a rapport with his new boss, but President Richard Monckton is more interested in settling old scores and cleaning house with the help of the FBI.

Washington: Behind Closed Doors

1977

The French Atlantic Affair poster
7.2

When the SS Festivale sets sail from New York to France, its 3,000 passengers include Pulitzer Prize-winning author Harold Columbine and 146 members of the Church of the Cosmic Path, led by Father Craig Dunleavy, their charismatic messiah. Seizing control of the ship, Dunleavy demands $70 million in gold, intending to kill everyone onboard once it's paid. Without knowing which passengers are cultists and warned that 12 will die for every hijacker harmed, Columbine and the captain search for a way to save 3,000 lives before Dunleavy makes good on his threat. Based on a novel by screenwriter Ernest Lehman, this mini-series was broadcast over three nights in November 1979.

The French Atlantic Affair

1979

Lincoln poster
7.5

The life of Abraham Lincoln, from his election as President of the United States to the time of his assassination. Based on Gore Vidal's historical novel.

Lincoln

1988

The RKO Story: Tales From Hollywood poster
9.0

Ed Asner tells the story of RKO Pictures from the 1920s to the 1960s.

The RKO Story: Tales From Hollywood

1987

Aspen poster
8.0

This sprawling miniseries details the trial of Lee Bishop, an Aspen man who was arrested, tried, and sentenced to die for the rape and murder of a fifteen-year-old girl, a crime for which Bishop is not guilty. As the years pass, and Bishop sits on death row, his attorney, Tom Keating, does everything in his power to clear Bishop's name and find the true killer.

Aspen

1977

The Last Convertible poster
8.0

A star-laden adaptation of Anton Myrer's sprawling 1978 novel tracing the lives of five Harvard roommates of the class of '44, following them through the next 30 years. At the center of the story is a green 1939 Packard convertible and Chris Farris, a beautiful Radcliffe girl.

The Last Convertible

1979

Behind the camera

Lust for Life poster
7.2

An intense and imaginative artist, revered Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh possesses undeniable talent, but he is plagued by mental problems and frustrations with failure. Supported by his brother, Theo, the tormented Van Gogh eventually leaves Holland for France, where he meets volatile fellow painter Paul Gauguin and struggles to find greater inspiration.

Lust for Life

1956

The Bad and the Beautiful poster
7.3

Told in flashback form, the film traces the rise and fall of a tough, ambitious Hollywood producer, Jonathan Shields, as seen through the eyes of various acquaintances, including a writer, James Lee Bartlow; a star, Georgia Lorrison; and a director, Fred Amiel. He is a hard-driving, ambitious man who ruthlessly uses everyone on the way to becoming one of Hollywood's top movie makers.

The Bad and the Beautiful

1952

Julius Caesar poster
7.1

The growing ambition of Julius Caesar is a source of major concern to his close friend Brutus. Cassius persuades him to participate in his plot to assassinate Caesar but both have sorely underestimated Mark Antony.

Julius Caesar

1953

Executive Suite poster
7.0

When the head of a large manufacturing firm dies suddenly from a stroke, his vice-presidents vie to see who will replace him.

Executive Suite

1954

The Cobweb poster
5.7

Patients and staff at a posh psychiatric clinic clash over who chooses the clinic’s new drapes – but drapes are the least of their problems.

The Cobweb

1955

The Blue Dahlia poster
6.7

Soon after a veteran returns from war, his cheating wife is found dead. He evades police in an attempt to find the real murderer.

The Blue Dahlia

1946

This Property Is Condemned poster
6.4

Owen Legate, a railroad official, comes to Dodson, Mississippi to shut down the local railway - the town's main income. But Owen unexpectedly finds love with Dodson's flirt and main attraction, Alva Starr.

This Property Is Condemned

1966

Jane Eyre poster
6.9

After a bleak childhood, Jane Eyre goes out into the world to become a governess. As she lives happily in her new position at Thornfield Hall, she meets the dark, cold, and abrupt master of the house, Edward Rochester. Jane and her employer grow close in friendship and she soon finds herself falling in love with him. Happiness seems to have found Jane at last, but could Rochester's terrible secret be about to destroy it forever?

Jane Eyre

1943

Letter from an Unknown Woman poster
7.8

A pianist about to flee from a duel receives a letter from a woman he cannot remember. As she tells the story of her lifelong love for him, he is forced to reinterpret his own past.

Letter from an Unknown Woman

1948

They Live by Night poster
6.8

An escaped convict, injured during a robbery, falls in love with the woman who nurses him back to health, but their relationship seems doomed from the beginning.

They Live by Night

1949

Moonfleet poster
6.5

Set in the eighteenth century, Moonfleet is about John Mohune, a young orphan who is sent to the Dorset village of Moonfleet to stay with an old friend of his mother's, Jeremy Fox. Fox is a morally ambiguous character, an elegant gentleman involved with smugglers and pirates.

Moonfleet

1955

The Company She Keeps poster
6.2

A lady con artist sets out to steal her parole officer's fiance.

The Company She Keeps

1951

Two Weeks in Another Town poster
5.9

After spending three years in an asylum, a washed-up actor views a minor assignment from his old director in Rome as a chance for personal and professional redemption.

Two Weeks in Another Town

1962

On Dangerous Ground poster
6.6

A big-city cop is reassigned to the country after his superiors find him too angry to be an effective policeman. While on his temporary assignment he assists in a manhunt of a suspected murderer.

On Dangerous Ground

1951

Her Twelve Men poster
5.9

An inexperienced female teacher is hired at a private elite school for boys where she raises a few eyebrows among the all-male faculty.

Her Twelve Men

1954

In the Cool of the Day poster
5.8

After he mends a marital rift between a vacationing young couple, the bored, fragile wife falls hopelessly in love with the husband's ex-colleague who is married to a long-suffering and emotionally and physically scarred woman. The couple soon runs off to Greece together to pursue the romance.

In the Cool of the Day

1963

All Fall Down poster
6.0

Ralph and Annabell Willart are a feuding couple who are constantly bickering over their worthless, good-for-nothing son Berry-Berry. When Berry-Berry begins yet another meaningless love affair, this time with an older woman named Echo O’Brien, he really gets his parents at each others’ throats.

All Fall Down

1962

Holiday for Sinners poster
6.3

Three old friends reunite during Mardi Gras and try to forget their problems.

Holiday for Sinners

1952

Too Much Johnson poster
5.4

This film was not intended to stand by itself, but was designed as the cinematic aspect of Welles' Mercury Theatre stage presentation of William Gillette's 1894 comedy about a New York playboy who flees from the violent husband of his mistress and borrows the identity of a plantation owner in Cuba who is expecting the arrival of a mail order bride. The film component of the performance was ultimately never screened due to the absence of projection facilities at the venue. Long-believed to be lost, a workprint was discovered in 2008 and the film had its premiere in 2013.

Too Much Johnson

2013

The Nutcracker poster
7.0

Christmas presentation of the CBS television series, Playhouse 90, featuring Tchaikovsky's ballet performed by the New York City Ballet, choreographed by George Balanchine, and conducted by Robert Irving.

The Nutcracker

1958