Jerome Cowan was a prolific and instantly recognizable character actor in Hollywood, with a trademark pencil-thin mustache and slicked-back hair, immaculate suits, and a sophisticated manner that made him perfect for portraying an assortment of rejected husbands, shifty politicians, lawyers, and shady detectives. He excelled at delivering snappy repartee and witty or barbed one-liners, which were typical of the gritty Warner Brothers films of the 1930s and 1940s.
After graduating from high school, Jerome began working his way up through stock companies and burlesque, making his debut on Broadway in the 1923 comedy "We've Got to Have Money". He then landed his most successful stage performance in "Boy Meets Girl" (1935-1937),which led to his being contracted by producer Samuel Goldwyn to appear in "Beloved Enemy" (1936) as an Irish patriot.
Several films later, Jerome found his niche as the dapper sophisticate with attitude, starring in films like "There's Always a Woman" (1938) as Nick Shane, "Torrid Zone" (1940),"Crime by Night" (1944) - a rare leading role as private eye Sam Campbell; and "Mr. Skeffington" (1944) as Bette Davis's ex. He also appeared alongside Humphrey Bogart as Miles Archer, the short-lived partner of Sam Spade, in "The Maltese Falcon" (1941),and played an nervous swindler in "Riffraft" (1947).
Additionally, Jerome took on the role of the district attorney who fails to indict Kris Kringle in "Miracle on 34th Street" (1947),and played several well-acted gangsters, including "Frisco Lil" (1942),"Fog Island" (1945),and "Deadline for Murder" (1946). He also showed his comedic side, particularly as Dagwood's boss George Radcliffe in the "Blondie" (1957) series.
In the 1950s and 1960s, Jerome adapted perfectly to the medium of television, becoming a regular on several shows, alternating drama with comedy, from "Perry Mason" (1957) to "The Munsters" (1964). He gave a short but poignant performance opposite Ida Lupino in "The Sixteen-Millimeter Shrine", a 1959 episode of Rod Serling's "The Twilight Zone" (1959),as an unrecognizable aged former matinee idol.
