Jack Albertson

Jack Albertson
Jack Albertson in 1976
Born	June 16, 1907(1907-06-16) Malden, Massachusetts, U.S.
Died	November 25, 1981(1981-11-25) (aged 74) Hollywood, California, U.S.
Cause of death	Colorectal cancer
Other names	Jackie Alberts
Occupation	Actor, comedian, dancer, singer
Years active	1938–1981
Spouse	Wallace Thompson (1952–1981; his death; 1 child)

Jack Albertson (June 16, 1907 – November 25, 1981) was an American character actor dating to vaudeville.^[1] A comedian, dancer, singer, and musician, Albertson is perhaps best known for his roles as Manny Rosen in The Poseidon Adventure (1972), Grandpa Joe in Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971), Amos Slade in the 1981 animated film The Fox and the Hound (1981), and as Ed Brown in the 1974–1978 television sitcom Chico and the Man. For his contributions to the television industry, Jack Albertson was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6253 Hollywood Boulevard.^[2]

Early life

Albertson was born in Malden, Massachusetts, the son of Russian-born Jewish immigrants Flora (née Craft) and Leopold Albertson.^[3][4] His sister was actress Mabel Albertson. Albertson's mother, a stock actress, supported the family by working in a shoe factory.^[3] Albertson dropped out of high school and traveled to New York City in an attempt to make it big in show business. He was too poor to get a room in a flophouse, so in the winter he would sleep on the IRT subway; he would catch the train for a nickel, and hide out when the transit workers would clear out the train at the end of the line. In the summer he would sleep in Central Park. Albertson's first real job in show business was with a vaudeville road troupe, the Dancing Verselle Sisters.

Career

Broadway

Albertson worked in burlesque as a hoofer (soft shoe dancer) and straight man to Phil Silvers on the Minsky's Burlesque Circuit. Besides vaudeville and burlesque, he appeared on the stage in many Broadway plays and musicals, including High Button Shoes, Top Banana, The Cradle Will Rock, Make Mine Manhattan, Show Boat, Boy Meets Girl, Girl Crazy, Meet the People, The Sunshine Boys (for which he received a Tony Award nomination for Best Actor), and The Subject Was Roses (for which he won a Tony for Best Supporting Actor). He was also known for two radio programs, Just Plain Bill and The Jack Albertson Comedy Show.

Film

Albertson appeared in over 30 films. He won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in the 1968 film The Subject Was Roses. He later apologized for winning the award to Jack Wild, who was also nominated and whom Albertson had expected to win. He appeared as Charlie Bucket's Grandpa Joe in Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971), and in The Poseidon Adventure (1972), where he played Manny Rosen, husband to Belle (played by Shelley Winters). Albertson said that his one regret was that he was not asked to reprise his role in the movie version of The Sunshine Boys. One classic film he had a minor role in was Miracle on 34th Street, where he played the mail clerk who directed the mail to Kris Kringle at the New York courthouse. This act led to the court ruling in favor of Santa Claus.

Radio

Albertson was a radio performer and for a time a regular on the Milton Berle show in the late 1940s.

Television

Television also saw much of Albertson's talent. He appeared in dozens of series, such as Hey, Jeannie! with Jeannie Carson, and recurring roles in Dean Jones's NBC series Ensign O'Toole from 1962–1963 and Jack Sheldon's short-lived Run, Buddy, Run on CBS in 1966. He starred in Chico and the Man, for which Albertson won an Emmy, making him one of the few entertainers to win the triple crown of visual entertainment (a Tony, an Oscar, and an Emmy). He guest starred in such series as NBC's Happy starring Ronnie Burns, the syndicated State Trooper starring Rod Cameron, ABC's Bus Stop, which aired in the 1961–1962 season and on CBS's Glynis sitcom/drama combination, starring Glynis Johns and Keith Andes, which aired for thirteen weeks in the fall of 1963.

In a 1967 episode of The Andy Griffith Show, he played Aunt Bee's ne'er-do-well cousin Bradford J. Taylor.

Personal life and death

He resided for years in West Hollywood, California. In 1978, he was diagnosed with colorectal cancer, but kept this information private and continued to act. Two of his last roles were in the television movies, My Body, My Child (1982) and Grandpa, Will You Run With Me? (1983), both filmed in 1980^{[citation needed]} several months before his death, both of which were released posthumously.

Albertson died on 25 November 1981, aged 74, after a three-year illness. He and sister Mabel Albertson, an actress who died 10 months later, were both cremated and their ashes scattered in the Pacific Ocean.

Filmography

Television credits – recurrent roles

Television – guest roles

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Jack Albertson

• Jack Albertson at AllRovi

• Jack Albertson at the Internet Movie Database
• Jack Albertson at the Internet Broadway Database