 Speaking with a Locust Valley lockjaw accent, Howell is a stereotypical member of the New England Yankee elite — a resident of Newport, Rhode Island, a graduate of Harvard University and a Republican.He is a member of the Newport Country Club, Oyster Bay Yacht Club, and the Union League Club where he has a "window seat".His wife, Lovey, portrayed by Natalie Schafer, is conscious of social strata, yet seems to be a good-hearted woman with a deep sense of "noblesse oblige", allowing her to interact with the other passengers and crew, though they are all her social inferiors.