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Family of Harold H BOOTHBY and Mable Ruth GRIFFITH
Harold H BOOTHBY b. 1889 Oct 2221 at Hammond, WI221. d. 1936840 at Los Angleles, CA. bd. Hollywood Forever Cem., Hollywood, CA840.
Mable Ruth GRIFFITH b. 1896~556.
Married1642 1917 Apr 261642 at McIntosh, Corson Co., SD1642.
Harold and Mable were married by G H Gilman, Justice of the Peace.
In 1900 and 1905, Harold is living with his parents in Hammond, WI. By 1910, he was working as a laborer on the farm of John and Patrick OKeeke in North Dakota. Sometime shortly thereafter Harold became Booth Howard, stage actor. The first hint of his new career occurs in 1917, shortly after his marriage to Mable Ruth Griffith. On his World War I draft registration221 card, he reports his occupation as "dramatic actor," his employer being Richard Kent, through the N.D. headquarters in Bismark. The next indication of his career uncovered is his gravestone840 in Hollywood Forever Cemetry, Los Angeles, CA which reads "BOOTH HOWARD (below that-) HAROLD H. BOOTHBY 1890-1936." A bit of searching for information under his "new" name uncovers such items as an article in the Perry (Iowa) Daily Chief, Oct 27, 1915, reporting Strong Drama At The Grand Tonight. "Trail of the Lonesome Pine," a play that will appeal to all. Olga Worth, playing the lead as June Tolliver, and "Booth Howard" as Dave Tolliver, are actors of exceptional talent. On March 31, 1916, the Opera House Reporter, Estherville, Iowa, noted that "Booth Howard is resting at his home in Hammond, Wis," after a season of 27 weeks with "The Trail of the Lonesome Pine." Enroute to his home, he visited with friends in Chicago, Milwaukee and Menominie. The April 17 edition of the same newspaper carried an advertisement for BOOTH HOWARD, Late of "The Trail of the Lonesome Pine" inviting offers for Repertoire or Stock, with an address of the Hotel Gardiner, Hammond, Wis. The Opera House Reported noted October 27, 1916, that Booth Howard had joined the Richard Kent company "last week" in North Dakota. In 1920, Booth Howard is found lodging with several other theater actors in Somerville, Massachusetts. The Boston Globe, January 18, 1920, noted of the Somerville Theatre that "Business Before Pleasure," a comedy, would be the attraction for the week. Booth Howard and Henry Crosson would play the primary male leads. By January 27, the Somerville Theatre featured "Way Down East," a comedy-drama with excellent impersonations by Elsie Bartlett, Booth Howard and others. In January, 1921, The Joplin (MO) Globe theatre page described the musical comedy "Irene," Booth Howard listed among the players. "Irene" went on to play in Cedar Rapids (Cedar Rapids Evening Gazette, Feb 16, 1921), again with Booth Howard in the cast. Later that spring, Booth played in "Irene" as it toured Ohio - Hamilton, Lima, and Sandusky. "Irene" played in Bradford, PA, in April, and it was noted Booth Howard was "a good actor and decidedly pleasing" in appearance and manner. The Daily Kennebec (ME) Journal featured an ad in May, 1921, for "Irene," listing Booth Howard among the "stars" of the cast. Jan, 1922: "Irene" was playing Fort Wayne (IN) with Booth Howard playing Robert Harrison. Same month: Canton, Ohio. March: Ogden, Utah. May: Bismarck, ND, and Helena, MT.
In 1925, he played an "important role" in "The Gorilla," Middeltown, NY. Of the same play in Cumberland, MD: "An excellent cast - in fact a superlative cast," with "Booth Howard as Arthur Marsden, "one of the best actors of the younger generation. His suavity, artistry and general demeanor made thie part stand out among fine parts." Feb, 1926, "The Gorilla" played in Lima, Ohio. In March, the Zanesville Signal ran an ad for "The Gorilla," billing it as the "Funniest Show on Earth," and Booth Howard is in the cast. Same show, April, 1926, in Titusville, PA. Later in April: Olean, NY. Sept, 1926, he played in "The Green Hat," in Bridgeport, CT. Nov, 1928, he played in "Cradle Snatchers" in San Antonio, TX.
By the early 1930s he was acting in motion pictures. The Syracuse (NY) Herald (Nov 22, 1932) reports that Booth Howard had joined the cast of "Hot Pepper," the latest of the screen adventures of Captain Flagg and Seargeant Quirt. In 1933, Booth had a roll in "Trick For Trick," a Fox Studio melodrama. In 1934 he played a leading role in "Mystery Liner," a story of ghosts and murders aboard an ocean liner. According to IMDb, an internet movie database site (www.imdb.com), Booth Howard appeared in some 29 titles from 1932 to 1936. According to Turner Classic Movies (http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/person/89550%7C23553/Boothe-Howard/) Harold died October 4, 1936, in Los Angeles, when he was struck by a car and killed while returning from his own birthday party.