- Born
- Died
- Birth nameJacques Haussmann
- Nickname
- Jack
- Height5′ 9½″ (1.77 m)
- Academy Award-winning actor John Houseman's main contribution to American culture was not his own performances on film but rather, his role as a midwife to one of the greatest actor-directors-cinematic geniuses his adopted country ever produced (Orson Welles) and as a midwife to a whole generation of actors as head of the drama division of the Juilliard School.
Houseman was born Jacques Haussmann on September 22, 1902 in Bucharest, Romania, to May (Davies) and Georges Haussmann, who ran a grain business. His father was from an Alsatian Jewish family, and his mother, who was British, was of Welsh and Irish descent. John was raised in England, where he was educated. He emigrated to America in 1925, establishing himself in New York City, where he directed "Four Saints in Three Acts" for the theater in 1934. He founded the Mercury Theatre along with Orson Welles (whom he affectionately called "The Dog-Faced Boy"). Their most important success was a modern-dress version of Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar", in which the spectre of Hitler and Mussolini's Fascist states were evoked.
As a producer assigned to Unit 891 of the Federal Theater Project funded by the government's Works Progress Administration, he produced the legendary production "Cradle Will Rock", a musical about the tyranny of capitalism, with music by Marc Blitzstein, creative input from Welles, and starring leftists Howard Da Silva and Will Geer. The production was so controversial, it was banned before its debut, although the did manage to stage one performance. On Broadway, apart from the Mercury Theatre and the WPA, Houseman directed "The Devil and Daniel Webster" (1939) and "Liberty Jones" and produced "Native Son" (1941). During World War II, Houseman went to work for the Office of War Information and was involved in broadcasting radio propaganda for the Voice of America. After the war, Houseman returned to directing and produced Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's version of Julius Caesar (1953).
He had produced his first film, Orson Welles' Too Much Johnson (1938), while with the Mercury Theatre. He was involved with the pre-production of Citizen Kane (1941) but fell out with Welles due to Welles' already legendary ego. He produced a score of major films and was involved in three television series before devoting his life to teaching. He helped establish the acting program at New York's famous Julliard School for the Arts, where he influenced a new generation of actors. Ironically, he had appeared in only one major movie, in a supporting role, before being tapped to replace James Mason in The Paper Chase (1973). He won an Academy Award for the role and began a 15-year career as a highly sought after supporting player.
John Houseman, who wrote three volumes of memoirs, "Run-Through" (1972), "Front and Center" (1979) and "Final Dress" (1983), died at age 86 on October 31, 1988 after making major contributions to the theater and film.- IMDb Mini Biography By: Jon C. Hopwood
- SpousesJoan Houseman(January 1950 - October 31, 1988) (his death, 2 children)Zita Johann(October 5, 1929 - September 13, 1933) (divorced)
- ChildrenCharles Sebastian HousemanJohn Michael Houseman
- ParentsGeorges HaussmannMay Davies
- During his teaching days at Julliard School of Fine Arts, one of his students was Robin Williams, whom Houseman admired. The actor later advised the future comedian that he should quit Julliard since he was wasting his talent, and strike out on his own as a comedian which Williams soon did.
- Former acting teacher of Robin Williams and Christopher Reeve.
- Formerly a close friend and collaborator of Orson Welles during their theater days, they had two blow-ups as Welles began his screen career. Welles originally planned to make his screen debut with an adaptation of Joseph Conrad's novel "Heart of Darkness", starring himself as Kurtz. It was to have been made by RKO Radio Pictures, but a host of production problems caused the studio to tell Welles that if no progress had been made by December 31, 1939, none of the cast would be paid. Welles offered to pay the cast himself if that happened. Houseman told him during a studio dinner that their production company did not have enough money to pay them all. Welles called him a bloodsucker and crook. Houseman began to leave, and Welles started throwing dinnerware at him. The two later reconciled during the writing of Citizen Kane (1941), when Welles asked Houseman to "babysit" Herman J. Mankiewicz, meaning to keep him from drinking too much. After Mankiewicz delivered his script, Welles made a few changes before going into production. Welles later publicly claimed to have substantially re-written the script. Houseman, based on having been with Mankiewicz during the writing, publicly disagreed, saying that most of the credit belonged to Mankiewicz, with a little guidance from himself. This led Welles to permanently end their friendship.
- He and Orson Welles were the founders of the famous Mercury Theatre Players.
- His hatred for former partner Orson Welles was notorious, and Houseman never passed up an opportunity to attack him, often on very personal grounds. He is known to have given a great deal of information, most of it false or misleading, to Pauline Kael for her much-criticized essay, "Raising Kane". However, he could never escape from Welles' shadow, and even managed to die on the 50th anniversary of the famous "War of the Worlds" radio broadcast. On his deathbed, he admitted to Welles' biographer, Simon Callow, that "meeting Welles was the most important event of my life".
- [on Robert Ryan] A disturbing mixture of anger and tenderness who had reached stardom by playing mostly brutal, neurotic roles that were at complete variance with his true nature.
- [on David O, Selznick]: A dynamic, flamboyant, spoiled, utterly egotistical man.
- [on the first meeting of Orson Welles and Herman J. Mankiewicz]: I can just see them at lunch together - magicians and high-binders at work on each other, vying with each other in wit and savoir-faire and mutual appreciation. Both came away enchanted and convinced that, between them, they were the two most dashing and gallantly intelligent gentlemen in the western world. And they were not so far wrong!
- [on Nicholas Ray]: He was a stimulating and sometimes disturbing companion: garrulous and inarticulate, ingenuous and pretentious, his mind was filled with original ideas which he found difficult to formulate or express. Alcohol reduced him to rambling unintelligibility; his speech, which was slow and convoluted at best, became unbearably turgid after more than one drink. Yet, confronted with a theatrical situation or a problem of dramatic or musical expression, he was amazingly quick, lucid and intuitive with a sureness of touch, a sensitivity to human values and an infallible taste that I have seldom seen equaled.
- [on Maxwell Anderson]: A soft, kind, possessive, competitive man with a gigantic ego.
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