John Houseman

John Houseman
Houseman in 1980
Born	Jacques Haussmann (1902-09-22)September 22, 1902 Bucharest, Romania
Died	October 31, 1988(1988-10-31) (aged 86) Malibu, California, U.S.
Cause of death	Spinal cancer
Occupation	Actor, producer
Years active	1930–1988
Spouse(s)	Zita Johann (1929–1933; divorced) Joan Courtney (1952–1988; his death; 2 children)
Children	John Michael, an anthropologist in Paris Charles Sebastian, an artist in Sunapee, N.H.

John Houseman (born Jacques Haussmann; September 22, 1902 – October 31, 1988) was a Romanian-born British-American actor and producer who became known for his highly publicized collaboration with director Orson Welles from their days in the Federal Theatre Project through to the production of Citizen Kane and his storied collaboration with writer Raymond Chandler's intoxicated screenplay rendering as producer of The Blue Dahlia. He is perhaps best known for his role as Professor Charles W. Kingsfield in the film The Paper Chase (1973), for which he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. He reprised his role as Kingsfield in the subsequent television series adaptation of The Paper Chase. Houseman was also known for his commercials for the brokerage firm Smith Barney. He had a distinctive Mid-Atlantic English accent, in common with many actors of his generation.

Houseman was born in Bucharest, Romania, on September 22, 1902, the son of May (née Davies) and Georges Haussmann, who ran a grain business. His mother was British, from a Christian family of Welsh and Irish descent. His father was an Alsatian-born Jew. He was educated in England at Clifton College, became a British subject, and worked in the grain trade in London before emigrating to the United States in 1925, where he took the stage name of John Houseman. He became a United States citizen in 1943. Houseman died at age 86 of spinal cancer on October 31, 1988 at his home in Malibu, California.

Houseman produced numerous Broadway productions, including Heartbreak House, Three Sisters, The Beggar's Opera, and several Shakespearean plays, including a famous "Blackshirt" Julius Caesar directed by Orson Welles in 1937. He also directed Lute Song, The Country Girl, and Don Juan in Hell, among others.