John Houseman
Biography
John Houseman was a British-American producer, director, actor, and teacher in theater and film who began his career translating German and French plays for the New York stage. Born in Bucharest in 1902 and educated in England, he moved to the United States and made his name as a producer, leading the Federal Theatre Project's Negro Theatre Unit and co-founding the Mercury Theatre with Orson Welles, a partnership that carried through to the film Citizen Kane (1941). He produced Julius Caesar (1953), which brought an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture, and won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar as the law professor Charles W. Kingsfield in The Paper Chase (1973), a part he repeated in the television series. Later he worked as a character actor, playing a corporate executive in Rollerball (1975). He was founding director of Juilliard's drama division, co-founded The Acting Company, and in 1979 entered the American Theater Hall of Fame. He died in 1988.
86years old at death
- Born Bucharest
- Died Malibu
- Star sign: VirgoLast day of the sign, on the Libra cusp
Movie Career
- Films
- 15
- Career span
- 40 years1973 to 2013
First and latest
Did you know?!
Behind the award
For his portrayal of Professor Charles W. Kingsfield in the 1973 film The Paper Chase, Houseman took home the Best Supporting Actor Oscar, and he later reprised that part in the 1978 television series adaptation.
About the name
Born Jacques Haussmann, he took the stage name John Houseman. He started out translating German and French works into English for the New York stage.
Big break
Houseman grew fixated on the belief that Orson Welles, whom he had watched in Katharine Cornell's Romeo and Juliet, was the only actor suited to the leading role. Welles said yes and, after talking it over, quit the play he was in after one night to star in Houseman's production.
Behind the camera
Houseman and Margot Harley, his colleague at Juilliard, turned them into a touring repertory company they called the Group 1 Acting Company. It was later renamed The Acting Company.
John Houseman movies on Netflix
Best known for
The films on Netflix they are best known for, with the part played in each.
Most often with
James Bridges directed two of these films. Five actors appear in two of them each. Pick a number on the chart or a name in the list to see the films they share.
Films together
James Cromwell's page
Dom DeLuise's page
Harris Yulin's page
Madeline Kahn's page
James Coco's page
All films by James Bridges
Box office
What John Houseman's films earned in cinemas worldwide.
Combined worldwide box office
$185 million
7 of the 15 films have a worldwide figure, in dollars of the day.
Of the 15 films: 7 worldwide figure; 2 us gross only; 1 never in cinemas; 5 figure not found.
- 7Worldwide figure
- 2US gross only
- 1Never in cinemas
- 5Figure not found
Top grosser
Highest grossing
The seven biggest films earned 100% of the total. The bars are drawn to scale.
- 1$60M32.6% of the total
- 2$42M22.4% of the total
- 3$30M16.2% of the total
- 4$21M11.6% of the total
- 5$16M8.7% of the total
- 6$14M7.6% of the total
- 7$1.6M0.8% of the total
Awards
One award and honor, one of them major.
| Year | Award | Film | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Academy Awards | |||
| 1974 | Best Supporting Actor | The Paper Chase | Won |
Online
Official profiles and reference pages.