Howard Petrie

Howard Petrie
Petrie in Rage at Dawn (1955)
Born	Howard Alexander Petrie (1906-11-22)November 22, 1906 Beverly, Massachusetts, U.S.
Died	March 24, 1968(1968-03-24) (aged 61) Keene, New Hampshire, U.S.
Resting place	Worcester Rural Cemetery, Worcester, Massachusetts
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1929–1965
Spouse	Alice Wood ​ ​ (m. 1933)​
Children	1

Howard Alexander Petrie (November 22, 1906 – March 24, 1968) was an American radio, television, and film actor.

Early life

Howard Petrie was born in Beverly, Massachusetts on November 22, 1906. When Howard was three years old his family moved to Concord. The Petries later lived in Arlington and then Somerville, where Petrie received his secondary school education. A talented musician, he conducted his high school glee club and played with various instrumental groups. He was a member of the debating team, a captain in the School Regiment and Chairman of the Senior Night Committee. He appeared in school dramatic productions including a starring role as "Marquis de la Seigliere" in the senior class play and the Jules Sandeau three-act comedy, Mademoiselle de la Seigliere.

Radio career

After he graduated from Somerville High School in 1924, Petrie worked briefly as a bank clerk and a securities salesman. While on a sales call to a radio station, his sonorous bass voice landed him a job. He joined WBZ Radio in Boston in 1929 as a junior announcer. After ten months at the WBZ studios, Petrie left for New York City in June, 1930 where he joined the staff of NBC.

Petrie soon became the head announcer for many of the network's shows. His first major network assignment was on Everything Goes, starring Garry Moore. He was the announcer for scores of shows including Abie's Irish Rose, Big Sister, Camel Caravan, Blondie, The Ray Bolger Show, The Judy Canova Show, The Jimmy Durante Show, and The Garry Moore Show.

In 1936, Petrie won the Batten, Barten and Durstine Award for Good Announcing. In 1942 he was the recipient of the H.P. Davis Memorial Announcers' Award for "personality, adaptability, diction, voice and versatility". He moved to California in 1943 to become the announcer for The Judy Canova Show. As a "personality announcer", he became a character in the show.

Film and television career

In 1947, a movie producer who was looking for a tall man for a character role, saw Petrie on the radio stage and offered him the part. At 6 feet four (193 cm) and 240 pounds (109 kg), Petrie played numerous "big man" roles. He worked as a character actor in over thirty feature films and forty television shows. He often appeared in Westerns in both mediums. He played Sheriff Akers in "Wanted Dead or Alive" S2 E13 "No Trail Back" which aired 11/26/1959.

Personal life

On April 21, 1933, Petrie married Alice Wood, whom he met when he worked at NBC, where she was a hostess between 1931 and 1936. She had been an actress. The Petries had one son.

Later years and death

Howard Petrie had been living in semi-retirement at his home, Autumn Hill, in Walpole, New Hampshire, when he died in Keene, New Hampshire, on March 24, 1968. He was interred in Worcester Rural Cemetery, Worcester County, Massachusetts.

Filmography

Film
Year	Title	Role	Notes
1947	The Hal Roach Comedy Carnival	George Baxter, in "Fabulous Joe"
	The Fabulous Joe	George Baxter
1950	Fancy Pants	Secret Service Man	Uncredited
	Walk Softly, Stranger	Bowen
	Rocky Mountain	Cole Smith / California Beal
1951	No Questions Asked	Franko
	Cattle Drive	Cap
	The Racket	The Governor	Uncredited
	The Golden Horde	Tugluk	Alternative title: The Golden Horde of Genghis Khan
1952	Bend of the River	Tom Hendricks	Alternative title: Where the River Bends
	The Wild North	Brody
	Carbine Williams	Sheriff
	Red Ball Express	Major General Lee Gordon
	Woman of the North Country	Rick Barton
	Pony Soldier	Insp. Frazer
1953	Fair Wind to Java	Reeder
	Trouble Along the Way	Marvin Adams	Uncredited
	Fort Ti	Maj. Rogers
	The Veils of Bagdad	Karsh
1954	Border River	Newlund
	Seven Brides for Seven Brothers	Pete Perkins
	The Bounty Hunter	Sheriff Brand
	The Bob Mathias Story	Dr. Charles Mathias
	Sign of the Pagan	Gundahar
1955	Timberjack	'Axe-Handle' Ole
	Rage at Dawn	Lattimore, Prosecuting Attorney	Alternative title: Seven Bad Men
	How to Be Very, Very Popular	Desk Sergeant
	The Return of Jack Slade	Joseph Ryan
1956	The Maverick Queen	Butch Cassidy
	A Kiss Before Dying	Howard Chesser, Chief of Police
	Johnny Concho	Joe Helguson, Blacksmith
1957	The Tin Star	Mayor Harvey King
Television
Year	Title	Role	Notes
1954	Waterfront	Hugh Perry	1 episode
1955	The Ford Television Theatre	Baker	1 episode
1956	Gunsmoke	Abe Brant	1 episode "Yorky"
1957	Broken Arrow	Sam Carson	1 episode
	Letter to Loretta	Scoutmaster	1 episode
	Casey Jones	George Newsome	1 episode "Dark Rider"
1958	The Californians	Stryker	1 episode
	Alcoa Theatre	Lieutenant Gifford	1 episode
	Cheyenne	Burt Wrangel	1 episode "Wagon-Tongue North"
1959	Frontier Justice	Kroll	1 episode
	Bonanza	Major Ormsby	1 episode
	Lawman	Hal Mead	1 episode
	Maverick	Mike Burke	1 episode
	Colt .45	John Porter	1 episode
	The DuPont Show with June Allyson	Abbott	1 episode
	Wanted: Dead or Alive	Sheriff Akers	Episode: "No Trail Back"
1960	Shotgun Slade	Major Kennedy	1 episode
	Wanted: Dead or Alive	Sam Pryor	Episode: "Angela"
	M Squad	Mr. Patrick - Head of heist team	1 episode
	Have Gun – Will Travel	Jack Foster	1 episode
	Mr. Lucky	John Dort	1 episode
	Johnny Ringo	Ed Blanchard	1 episode
	Bat Masterson	Hugh Blaine	4 episodes
	The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp	Governor Gibbs	2 episodes
	Bronco	Rigby	1 episode
	Hennesey	Admiral Wright	1 episode
	Peter Gunn	Lockland	1 episode
	The Tom Ewell Show	Paul Wilkins	Episode: "The Spelling Bee"
	Rawhide	Abner Carter	S2:E28, "Incident of the Murder Steer"
1960–1962	Death Valley Days	Joseph Hooker	2 episodes, (final appearance)
1961	National Velvet	Bjorensen	1 episode
	The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis	Col. McCurdy	1 episode
	Rawhide	Hunneker	S3:E11, "Incident of the Broken Word"
1964–1965	The Edge of Night	Otto Zimerman	Unknown episodes

References

• Beverly (Mass.) City Directory and North Shore Map. Crowley and Lunt, 1907, 1908, 1909.
• Birth record: 1906, Vol. 558, page 407. Massachusetts Vital Records, 1841–1910. From original records held by the Massachusetts Archives. Online database: NewEnglandAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2004.
• Buxton, Frank, and Bill Owen. The Big Broadcast, 1920-1950. New York: Viking Press, 1976.
• Dunning, John. Tune in Yesterday: The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio, 1925-1976. Englewood Cliffs. N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1976.
• Frizzell, Martha McDanolds. A History of Walpole, New Hampshire. Walpole: Walpole Historical Society, 1963, page 263.
• Jones, Ken D., Arthur F. McClure and Alfred E. Twomey. Character People, The Stalwarts of the Cinema. Secaucus, N.J.:, 1976, page 163.
• "Howard Petrie, 61, A Radio Announcer and Actor, Is Dead." March 26, 1968, New York Times, page 46.
• "Obituaries," March 27, 1968, Boston Globe, page 44.
• Poindexter, Ray. Golden Throats and Silver Tongues: The Radio Announcers. Conway, Ark: River Road Press, 1978, page 68.
• Somerville (Mass.) City Directory. Boston: W.A. Greenough Co., 1924, pages 122, 457.
• The Radiator, 1924. Somerville (Mass.) High School Yearbook.
• U.S. Census Records, 1910 and 1920, for Beverly and Arlington, Massachusetts.

External links

• Howard Petrie at IMDb
• Photo of "Howard Petrie". The LAB On-Line Photo Archive. Library of American Broadcasting. Archived from the original on February 7, 2012. Retrieved September 5, 2013.
• Howard Petrie photos Selected images from Howard Petrie's career.
• Howard Petrie at Radioindex.com