Howard Estabrook (born Howard Bolles, July 11, 1884 – July 16, 1978) was an American actor, film director and producer, and screenwriter.

Howard Estabrook
Born
Howard Bolles

(1884-07-11)July 11, 1884
DiedJuly 16, 1978(1978-07-16) (aged 94)
Occupation(s)Actor, director, producer, screenwriter
Years active1904–1959

Biography

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Born Howard Bolles in Detroit, Michigan, Howard Estabrook began his career in 1904 as a stage actor in New York. He made his film debut in 1914 during the silent era, and would go on to appear in several features including Four Feathers. Estabrook left films in 1916 for a try at the business world, but returned in 1921.

Estabrook took on executive positions with various studios, and eventually began producing films in 1924. He soon found his calling in screenwriting. He was responsible for several of what have come to be regarded as classics of Hollywood including Hell's Angels (1930) and Street of Chance (1930), for which he was nominated for an Academy Award. The following year, he won an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for Cimarron,[2] starring Richard Dix and Irene Dunne. In 1935, he (along with Hugh Walpole and Lenore J. Coffee) adapted the Charles Dickens novel David Copperfield for the 1935 film version starring W. C. Fields and Lionel Barrymore.

Estabrook continued in his screenwriting career for three decades, as well as directing and producing films before his death on July 16, 1978, in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California.

Selected filmography

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Film
Year Film Role Notes
1914 Officer 666 Travers Gladwin
1915 M'Liss John Gray
1916 The Mysteries of Myra Dr. Payson Alden
1917 Giving Becky a Chance
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Director
1924 The Price of a Party
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Producer
1925 North Star
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Producer
1928 The Shopworn Angel
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Writer
1928 Forgotten Faces Writer
1929 The Four Feathers
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Writer
1930 The Bad Man
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Writer
1930 Slightly Scarlet Writer
1931 Are These Our Children?
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Adaptation and dialogue
Director (Uncredited)
1932 A Bill of Divorcement
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Screenplay
1933 The Bowery
-
Writer
1935 Way Down East
-
Writer
1937 Wells Fargo
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Producer
1938 The Cowboy and the Lady
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Contributing writer, uncredited
1943 The Human Comedy
-
Writer
1944 The Bridge of San Luis Rey
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Adaptation, screenplay
1945 Dakota
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Adaptation
1946 The Virginian
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Adaptation
1948 The Girl from Manhattan
-
Screenplay, story
1952 Lone Star
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Story
1954 Cattle Queen of Montana
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Screenplay
1959 The Big Fisherman
-
Writer
Television
Year Title Role Notes
1958 The Millionaire
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Writer, 1 episode
1959 DuPont Show of the Month
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Writer, 1 episode

Awards and nominations

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Year Award Category Nominated work Result
1930 3rd Academy Awards Best Adapted Screenplay Nominated
1931 4th Academy Awards Won

References

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  1. ^ Pace, Eric (July 28, 1978). "Howard Estabrook, Won Oscar for 'Cimarron' Screenplay, at 94". The New York Times.
  2. ^ "The 4th Academy Awards (1931) Nominees and Winners". Oscars.org (Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences). Archived from the original on October 10, 2014. Retrieved May 21, 2019.
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