Howard Petrie (November 22, 1906 – March 24, 1968) was an American actor whose towering height and booming, sonorous bass voice made him one of the most commanding and recognizable authority figures and villains of the 1950s.
Before his film career, Petrie was a giant of radio, where his distinctive voice made him a top network announcer for shows starring Garry Moore and Jimmy Durante. He brought that powerful presence to the screen in the late 1940s and became a staple of the Western genre, often playing imposing villains or stern lawmen.
He is best known for his memorable supporting roles opposite the era’s biggest stars, playing the treacherous Tom Hendricks in the James Stewart classic Bend of the River (1952), the ruthless cattle baron Jack Casement in Cattle Drive (1951), and a barbarian king in Douglas Sirk’s epic Sign of the Pagan (1954). He also had a notable role in the beloved musical Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954), cementing his legacy as a quintessential “big man” of the Golden Age.
