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Howard Hickman

1880 – 1949

American actor and screenwriter

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About Howard Hickman

Lived 1880 – 1949 (aged 69). Howard Hickman was an American actor, screenwriter, film director, playwright, stage actor and writer.

Howard Close Hickman (February 9, 1880 – December 31, 1949) was an American actor, director and writer. He was an accomplished stage leading man, who entered films through the auspices of producer Thomas H. Ince.

Career In 1900, Hickman debuted on stage as an extra in a production in San Francisco. He went on to act in repertory theater with the Alcazar Theatre, Morosco, and Melborne MacDowell companies, among others. On Broadway, Hickman wrote, and portrayed Gabby in, The Skirt (1921).

Hickman's initial work in films was with the Lasky Pictures Company, after which he acted with the Triangle Company and later the Ince company. He directed 19 films.

With the rise of the sound film, Hickman returned to the film business but received mostly small roles, often as an authoritarian figure. In 1939, Hickman made a brief appearance as plantation owner John Wilkes, father of Ashley Wilkes, in Gone with the Wind. He ended his film career in 1944, after more than 270 films.

Personal life Hickman was married to actress Bessie Barriscale. He died of a heart attack at his home in San Anselmo on December 31, 1949, six weeks before his 70th birthday and was buried at Mount Tamalpais Cemetery in San Rafael.

Selected filmography As actor

Original caption: "Howard Hickman, husband and director of Bessie Barriscale, shows leading man Jack Holt how to make love to Mrs. Hickman." This appears to be a production still from Kitty Kelly, M.D. (1919). If so, the cameraman behind the Bell & Howell model 2709 is Eugene Gaudio.

The Circus Man (1914) as Artful Dick Cronk The Cup of Life (1915) as Higsby The Man from Oregon (1915) as 'Honest' Jim Martin Civilization (1915) as Count Ferdinand The Picture of Dorian Gray (1915) as Basil Hayward The Moral Fabric (1916) as Mackley Stuart The Wolf Woman (1916) as John Morton The Jungle Child (1916) as Ridgeway Webb Somewhere in France (1916) as Lt. Charles Ravignac The Honorable Algy (1916) as Lord Rockmore The Sin Ye Do (1916) as Robert Darrow The Female of the Species (1916) as Carleton Condon Chicken Casey (1917) as 'Dickey' Cochran Blood Will Tell (1917) as James Black The Snarl (1917) as Jack Mason Wooden Shoes (1917) as Jack Smith Those Who Pay (1917) as George W. Graham Madam Who? (1918) as Henry Morgan The Cast-Off (1918) as Dr. Jim Thorpe Blue Blood (1918) as Spencer Wellington Rose o' Paradise (1918) as Lafe Grandoken Social Ambition (1918) as Vincent Manton Maid o' the Storm (1918) as Jules Picardo Alias Jimmy Valentine (1928) as Mr. Lane The Broadway Hoofer (1929) as Larry His First Command (1929) as Maj. Hall Hello Sister (1930) as John Stanley Brothers (1930) as John Naughton The Age of Consent (1932) as Doctor (uncredited) Tess of the Storm Country (1932) as Minister (uncredited) The Silk Express (1933) as Mill Owner in Association (uncredited) The Man Who Dared (1933) as Politician (uncredited) I Loved a Woman (1933) as Businessman at Meeting (uncredited) Walls of Gold (1933) as Bridge Player (uncredited) The Right to Romance (1933) as Dr. Macey (uncredited) The World Changes (1933) as Doctor (uncredited) Hello, Sister! (1933) The Big Shakedown (1934) as Board Member (uncredited) Hi Nellie! (1934) as Dr. John W. Wilson (uncredited) Gambling Lady (1934) as Divorce Judge (uncredited) Jimmy the Gent (1934) as Doctor (uncredited) Mystery Liner (1934) as Dr. Howard George White's Scandals (1934) as Doctor (uncredited) Three on a Honeymoon (1934) as Mr. Foster (uncredited) A Modern Hero (1934) as Dr. McPherson (uncredited) Sisters Under the Skin (1934) as Dutton Upper World (1934) as Judge (uncredited) Twentieth Century (1934) as Dr. Johnson (uncredited) The Personality Kid (1934) as Joan's Doctor (uncredited) Baby, Take a Bow (1934) as Blair (uncredited) Return of the Terror (1934) as Judge Side Streets (1934) as Dr. Randolph W. Hendricks (uncredited) The Defense Rests (1934) as Judge (uncredited) Here Comes the Navy (1934) as Captain The Man with Two Faces (1934) as Mr. Jones (uncredited) Death on the Diamond (1934) as Dr. Cushman (uncredited) A Lost Lady (1934) as Dr. Barlow (uncredited) Evelyn Prentice (1934) as Mr. Whitlock - Party Guest (uncredited) Gentlemen Are Born (1934) as College President (uncredited) The Silver Streak (1934) as Member Board of Directors (uncredited) Fugitive Lady (1934) as Doctor (uncredited) The Secret Bride (1934) as Senate President (uncredited) The Mighty Barnum (1934) as Minor Role (scenes deleted) Red Hot Tires (1935) as Judge Alcott Carnival (1935) as Doctor (uncredited) Law Beyond the Range (1935) as Captain Wood (uncredited) Death Flies East (1935) as Carlyle (uncredited) Captain Hurricane (1935) as Jimmy's Father (uncredited) I'll Love You Always (1935) as Dean (uncredited) Straight from the Heart (1935) as Police Sergeant (uncredited) West Point of the Air (1935) as Army Officer in Former Times (uncredited) Great God Gold (1935) as Dunbar - Marcia's Attorney (uncredited) Fighting Shadows (1935) as Inspector Rutledge (uncredited) Dinky (1935) as Judge Barlow (uncredited) Let 'Em Have It (1935) as Assistant Chief Clerk (uncredited) The Flame Within (1935) as Man at Hospital Benefit (uncredited) Ginger (1935) as Juvenile Judge (uncredited) The Murder Man (1935) as Howard Jennings (uncredited) Bright Lights (1935) as Mr. Aldridge (uncredited) Woman Wanted (1935) as Dr. Griffith (uncredited) Little Big Shot (1935) as The Judge (uncredited) I Live My Life (1935) as Teacher at Terry's Lecture (uncredited) It's in the Air (1935) as Mr. Ruby Three Kids and a Queen (1935) as Dr. Bowers (uncredited) Rendezvous (1935) as G-Man Whipsaw (1935) as Hotel Clerk (uncredited) Too Tough to Kill (1935) as Billings (uncredited) Two Against the World (1936) as Dr. Maguire Hell-Ship Morgan (1936) as Cabot Dangerous Waters (1936) as Ship Doctor (uncredited) The Bohemian Girl (1936) as Dignified Captain (uncredited) August Week End (1936) as Spencer Too Many Parents (1936) as Colonel Colman The Law in Her Hands (1936) as Judge Henry D. Morse (uncredited) Fury (1936) as Governor Parole! (1936) as Lawyer (uncredited) Trapped by Television (1936) as G.P. Tucker - Board Member (uncredited) To Mary - with Love (1936) as Guest #7 Swing Time (1936) as First Minister (uncredited) Murder with Pictures (1936) as Judge (uncredited) Libeled Lady (1936) as Cable Editor (uncredited) 15 Maiden Lane (1936) as Mr. Whitman - Jeweller (uncredited) Wild Brian Kent (1936) as Bob Cruikshank Love Letters of a Star (1936) as Dr. Webster Pennies from Heaven (1936) as Chaplain (uncredited) Crack-Up (1936) as Major White Happy Go Lucky (1936) as Dr. Wilson Career Woman (1936) as Judge Whitman We Who Are About to Die (1937) as Prison Chaplain Join the Marines (1937) as Pruitt Outcast (1937) as Dr. Matthews (uncredited) The Great Barrier (1937) as Donald Smith - Member of C.P.R. Board The Crime Nobody Saw (1937) as Robert Mallory Maytime (1937) as Opera Director (uncredited) Jim Hanvey, Detective (1937) as Herbert Frost Motor Madness (1937) as Dr. Cadman (uncredited) Criminals of the Air (1937) as Harrison (uncredited) Venus Makes Trouble (1937) as Howard Clark Charlie Chan at the Olympics (1937) as Dr. Burton Married Before Breakfast (1937) as Arthur - Man Bringing in Two Hoboes (uncredited) Roaring Timber (1937) as Banker (uncredited) The Lady Escapes (1937) as Judge Artists and Models (1937) as Mr. Currie (uncredited) One Mile from Heaven (1937) as Judge Clarke Western Gold (1937) as Jim Thatcher The Man Who Cried Wolf (1937) as Doctor on Stage (uncredited) One Hundred Men and a Girl (1937) as Johnson Back in Circulation (1937) as Judge (uncredited) Roll Along, Cowboy (1937) as Dr. Cooper (uncredited) Murder in Greenwich Village (1937) as Mr. Sloan (uncredited) Checkers (1937) as Race Judge (uncredited) Borrowing Trouble (1937) as Judge Walters Tarzan's Revenge (1938) as Mr. Johnson (uncredited) Love Is a Headache (1938) as Editor Williams (uncredited) My Old Kentucky Home (1938) (uncredited) Start Cheering (1938) as Dr. Fosdick King of the Newsboys (1938) as Judge (uncredited) Flight into Nowhere (1938) as Howard Hammond Rascals (1938) as Judge Numbered Woman (1938) Holiday (1938) as Churchgoer (uncredited) The Rage of Paris (1938) as Man in Opera Box (uncredited) Woman Against Woman (1938) as Mr. Jamison (uncredited) Panamint's Bad Man (1938) as Marshal Winston (uncredited) Smashing the Rackets (1938) as James J. Carew (uncredited) Come On, Leathernecks! (1938) as Captain Felton Juvenile Court (1938) as Governor Stanley Young Dr. Kildare (1938) as Dr. Harris (uncredited) I Stand Accused (1938) as Gilbert Next Time I Marry (1938) as Judge Jonathan Travers (uncredited) Kentucky (1938) as Banker (uncredited) Convict's Code (1939) as Prison Warden Off the Record (1939) as Doctor (uncredited) Wings of the Navy (1939) as Capt. Dreen (uncredited) Wife, Husband and Friend (1939) as Concert Manager Three Smart Girls Grow Up (1939) as Conference Room Businessman (uncredited) Everybody's Baby (1939) as Dr. Jenkins Trouble in Sundown (1939) as John Cameron The Kid from Texas (1939) as Doctor at Polo Grounds (uncredited) Good Girls Go to Paris (1939) as Jeffers - Brand's Butler On Borrowed Time (1939) as Chief Surgeon (uncredited) When Tomorrow Comes (1939) as Wealthy Man (uncredited) The Under-Pup (1939) as Business Man (uncredited) The Angels Wash Their Faces (1939) as Judge Wilson (uncredited) Full Confession (1939) as Third Doctor (uncredited) Thunder Afloat (1939) as Surgeon (uncredited) Espionage Agent (1939) as Walter Forbes The Kansas Terrors (1939) as Governor-General del Montez Beware Spooks! (1939) as Judge Roth (uncredited) Little Accident (1939) as Mr. Allerton The Return of Doctor X (1939) as Chairman (scenes deleted) Gone with the Wind (1939) as John Wilkes Slightly Honorable (1939) as Sen. Sam Scott My Son Is Guilty (1939) as Commissioner George Dodge (uncredited) The Man from Dakota (1940) as Confederate Colonel (uncredited) Castle on the Hudson (1940) as The Judge (uncredited) Virginia City (1940) as Confederate Gen. Page (uncredited) Dark Command (1940) as Southerner Orating for Votes (uncredited) It All Came True (1940) as Mr. Prendergast Bullet Code (1940) as John Mathews Gangs of Chicago (1940) as Judge Whitaker Island of Doomed Men (1940) as Judge (uncredited) Girls of the Road (1940) as Gov. Warren They Drive by Night (1940) as The Judge (uncredited) The Secret Seven (1940) as Dr. Talbot Boom Town (1940) as McCreery's Associate #1 (uncredited) Yesterday's Heroes (1940) as Trustee (uncredited) Spring Parade (1940) as Colonel (uncredited) Strike Up the Band (1940) as Doctor Little Men (1940) as Doctor (uncredited) Bowery Boy (1940) as Dr. Axel Winters Four Mothers (1941) as Music Foundation Director (uncredited) Maisie Was a Lady (1941) as Dr. Stephen W. Fredericks (uncredited) Cheers for Miss Bishop (1941) as Professor Lancaster Robin Hood of the Pecos (1941) as Colonel Davis (uncredited) Back Street (1941) as Mr. Williams (uncredited) Golden Hoofs (1941) as Calvin Harmon Robbers of the Range (1941) as Roy Tremaine Washington Melodrama (1941) as Bishop Chatterton Lady from Louisiana (1941) as Judge William Harding (uncredited) Scattergood Pulls the Strings (1941) as Withers Angels with Broken Wings (1941) (uncredited) Blossoms in the Dust (1941) as Texas Senator (uncredited) Hurricane Smith (1941) as Sen. Bradley Hold That Ghost (1941) as Judge (uncredited) Dive Bomber (1941) as Admiral (uncredited) Ice-Capades (1941) as Lawyer (uncredited) Belle Starr (1941) as Colonel Thornton Nine Lives Are Not Enough (1941) as Colonel Andrews Doctors Don't Tell (1941) as Dr. Watkins You Belong to Me (1941) as Mr. Deker (uncredited) Tuxedo Junction (1941) as Judge Leo Rivers Paris Calling (1941) as French General (uncredited) Dick Tracy vs. Crime Inc. (1941) as Stephen Chandler Uncle Joe (1941) as Banker Jones Lady for a Night (1942) as Civil War General (uncredited) The Vanishing Virginian (1942) as Dr. Edwards (uncredited) Born to Sing (1942) as Critic (uncredited) The Male Animal (1942) as Faculty Member (uncredited) True to the Army (1942) as Brigadier General (uncredited) I Was Framed (1942) as Stuart Gaines Kid Glove Killer (1942) as Clemence - First Politician (uncredited) Tarzan's New York Adventure (1942) as Blake Norton Bells of Capistrano (1942) as Doctor (uncredited) Tish (1942) as Mr. Fielding Kelbridge (uncredited) Andy Hardy's Double Life (1942) as Lincoln Lumber's Attorney (uncredited) Three Hearts for Julia (1943) as Mr. Doran (uncredited) The Masked Marvel (1943) as Warren Hamilton Watch on the Rhine (1943) as Cyrus Penfield (uncredited) Captain America (1944, Serial) as Lyman's Attorney [Ch. 4] (uncredited) Casanova in Burlesque (1944) as Dean Wyatt (uncredited) The Heavenly Body (1944) as Scientist (uncredited) Her Primitive Man (1944) as Bilson (uncredited) Follow the Boys (1944) as Dr. Wood (uncredited) Gypsy Wildcat (1944) (uncredited) National Barn Dance (1944) as Mr. Hollander (uncredited) The Last Ride (1944) as Mr. Bronson (uncredited) Mrs. Parkington (1944) as Dr. Herrick (uncredited) Bowery to Broadway (1944) as Showman (uncredited) (final film role)

As director

His Mother's Portrait (1915) When Love Leads (1915) The White Lie (1918) The Heart of Rachael (1918) Two-Gun Betty (1918) All of a Sudden Norma (1919) A Trick of Fate (1919) Hearts Asleep (1919) Josselyn's Wife (1919) Tangled Threads (1919) Her Purchase Price (1919) Kitty Kelly, M.D. (1919) Beckoning Roads (1919) Just a Wife (1920) The Killer (1921) Nobody's Kid (1921) The Lure of Egypt (1921) A Certain Rich Man (1921) Man of the Forest (1921)

As writer Kitty Kelly, M.D. (1919) Nobody's Kid (1921)

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Important facts

Birth century
Nationality
Also known as
Howard C. Hickman, Howard Charles Hickman

Family & relationships

Spouse
Bessie Barriscale

People in Howard Hickman's life

Named in this biography and alive at the same time

Contemporaries

People whose lives overlapped Howard Hickman's

Frequently asked questions

Who was Howard Hickman?

American actor and screenwriter (1880–1949)

When was Howard Hickman born?

Howard Hickman was born on 9 February 1880 in Columbia.

When did Howard Hickman die?

Howard Hickman died on 31 December 1949 in San Anselmo.

What was Howard Hickman's occupation?

Howard Hickman was an actor, screenwriter, film director, playwright, stage actor and writer.

What nationality was Howard Hickman?

Howard Hickman was American.

Sources & further reading

· Wikipedia: Howard Hickman

· Wikidata: Q951224

· DBpedia: Howard Hickman

Cite this page

APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Howard Hickman. https://biography.guide/howard-hickman/

MLA: "Howard Hickman." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/howard-hickman/.

Chicago: "Howard Hickman." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/howard-hickman/.

Data last updated: 2026-09-20 · Spot an error? Report a correction.

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