Biography
Esther Howard (4 April 1892 – 8 March 1965) was an American stage and film actress. She began her career in stock theatre and made her Broadway debut in 1917, appearing in a dozen productions through 1929, including the musicals Wildflower (1923) and The New Moon (1929). She moved to films in the early 1930s and worked regularly until 1952.
Howard played supporting roles in more than 100 films. She is noted for appearances in Sullivan's Travels (1941), The Palm Beach Story (1942), Murder, My Sweet (1944) as Jesse Florian, Detour (1945), Born to Kill (1947) and Champion (1949). She was a member of Preston Sturges' informal stock company of actors and appeared frequently in Columbia short subjects, often opposite Andy Clyde. Her final screen work was the 1952 short Caught on the Bounce.
