Howard Witt

Howard Witt (January 17, 1932 – June 21, 2017) was an American character actor and Chicago native who began his acting career in the Goodman Theatre.

Howard Witt
Born(1932-01-17)January 17, 1932
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
DiedJune 21, 2017(2017-06-21) (aged 85)
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
EducationArt Institute of Chicago
OccupationActor
Years active1965–2017
ChildrenRobin Witt

Early years

Witt attended Von Steuben High School[1] and was a drama student at Goodman School of Drama at the Art Institute of Chicago (now at DePaul University).[2]

Career

After Witt's career began at the Goodman Theatre,[2] he gained additional acting experience at the Woodstock Playhouse in New York State and at the Arena Stage in Washington, D.C. His Broadway performances included Glengarry Glen Ross.[1]

After divorcing his wife in the mid-1970s, Witt moved to Hollywood. He had appeared as a guest star in many television series including Kojak, The Bob Newhart Show, Rhoda, The Rockford Files, Eight Is Enough, WKRP in Cincinnati, Alice, Archie Bunker's Place, Hill Street Blues, Taxi, Remington Steele, Murder, She Wrote, St. Elsewhere, Knots Landing, The Golden Girls, and Law & Order.[3]

He also appeared in a few made for telefilms including Disney's Mr. Boogedy (as William Hanover/title character) and its sequel Bride of Boogedy in the late 1980s.

He was nominated for a Tony Award in 1999 for his portrayal of Charley in the Broadway revival of Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman.[4][5] Witt is an alumnus at DePaul University's Theatre School.[6]

Personal life

He was the father of Chicago director Robin Witt, who is an associate professor of directing at University of North Carolina at Charlotte.[4] He also had another daughter, Deborah, and a son, Joshua.[1]

He divorced his wife in the mid-1970s.[3]

Health and death

Witt had a heart attack in 2002 while he was playing the part of Kit Carson in Steppenwolf Theatre Company's production of The Time of Your Life. He died in Chicago on June 21, 2017, of natural causes at the age of 85.[3]

Filmography
Year Title Role Notes
1982Lookin' to Get OutSid Dorfman - Man Interrupted by Jerry While Talking to Patti
1984Sam's SonCy Martin
1991Age Isn't Everything
gollark: Does not what?
gollark: Hmm, I suspect the issue may be that sshd doesn't write to some "utmp" thing.
gollark: I worked out how to use `socklog` so I now have a pleasant logreading experience, although not as good as with systemd.
gollark: Great, time resynchronized, now to fix my other issues!
gollark: It's better at correcting for drift and such.

References
  1. Jones, Chris (June 24, 2017). "Longtime stage actor in Chicago, on Broadway". Chicago Tribune. Illinois, Chicago. p. I-1. Retrieved June 30, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. "Howard Witt, 85". Classic Images (512): 55. February 2018.
  3. "Beloved Chicago actor and Tony nominee Howard Witt, has died". Chicago Sun-Times. 22 June 2017. Retrieved 23 June 2017.
  4. Page Leggett (29 September 2015). "UNCC theater instructor has made a name for herself in Chicago". Charlotte Observer. Retrieved 23 June 2017.
  5. Michael Phillips (21 September 2002). "Actor Witt is hospitalized". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 23 June 2017.
  6. "Backstage with Fish Men's Howard Witt - Goodman Theatre". www.goodmantheatre.org.
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