Kenneth Howell

Kenneth Howell (February 21, 1913 - September 28, 1966) was an American actor. He is best remembered for roles in films such as Pardon My Pups (1934), The Wrong Way Out (1938), Pride of the Bowery (1940) and Ball of Fire (1941), in which he played a college boy.[1] He also played Jack Jones in the 17 low-budget Jones Family films, beginning with Every Saturday Night (1936) and ending with On Their Own (1940).

Kenneth Howell (third from left) in the Jones Family film On Their Own (1940)

Howell was born in Los Angeles. He joined the Navy during World War II as a medical corpsman, but once he returned to the film business he was not able to revive his career. His last film role was In Old Amarillo (1951). Howell was married to Marguerite A. Thomson from 1942 to 1945, divorcing her after he realized he was gay. They had one daughter, Stephanie, born in September 1943, however, Howell did not remain in her life after 1948 when she was five years of age. His death at age 53, in Long Beach, California, resulted from a self-inflicted gunshot, reportedly a suicide.