Jack Albertson was an American character actor who also performed in vaudeville.
A comedian, dancer, singer and musician, Albertson is perhaps best known for his
roles as Grandpa Joe in Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, Manny Rosen in
The Poseidon Adventure, Amos Slade in The Fox and the Hound and Ed Brown in
the television sitcom Chico and the Man. For his contributions to the television
industry, Albertson was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at
6253 Hollywood Boulevard. He earned the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
for the The Subject Was Roses. Early life
Albertson was born in Malden, Massachusetts, the son of Russian-born
Jewish immigrants Flora and Leopold Albertson. His older sister was actress
Mabel Albertson. Albertson's mother, a stock actress, supported the family by
working in a shoe factory. Career
= Broadway = Albertson worked in burlesque as a
hoofer 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, and The Subject Was Roses. He was also known for
two radio programs, Just Plain Bill and The Jack Albertson Comedy Show.
= Film = Albertson appeared in more than thirty
films. He had an early minor role in Miracle on 34th Street as a postal
worker who redirects dead letters addressed to "Santa Claus" to the
courthouse where Kris Kringle is on trial. He won an Academy Award for Best
Supporting Actor for his role in the 1968 film The Subject Was Roses. He
later apologized to Jack Wild for winning the award; Wild was also
nominated and Albertson expected Wild to win.
Albertson appeared as Charlie Bucket's Grandpa Joe in Willy Wonka & the
Chocolate Factory, and in The Poseidon Adventure, where he played Manny Rosen,
husband to Belle. Albertson said that his one regret was that he was not asked
to reprise his role in the movie version of The Sunshine Boys.
= Radio = Albertson was a radio performer and for
a time a regular on the Milton Berle program in the late 1940s.
= Television = Albertson appeared in many television
series, such as Hey, Jeannie! with Jeannie Carson; the syndicated western
series Frontier Doctor with Rex Allen; Rod Cameron's syndicated crime drama
State Trooper; and the 1961–62 drama series Bus Stop. He guest-starred on the
David Janssen crime drama series Richard Diamond, Private Detective.
From 1960-61, Albertson was cast in three episodes of Pete and Gladys, with
Harry Morgan and Cara Williams. On January 2, 1961, Albertson was cast as
Sampson J. Binton, with DeForest Kelley as Alex Jeffords, in "Listen to the
Nightingale", the series finale of Riverboat, starring Darren McGavin.
Albertson had a recurring role as the neighbor Walter Burton in eight episodes
of the 1962 ABC sitcom Room for One More, with Andrew Duggan and Peggy
McCay. He had recurring roles in Ensign O'Toole and Run, Buddy, Run.
Other 1960s series on which Albertson appeared were NBC's sitcom, Happy
starring Ronnie Burns, and Glynis, starring Glynis Johns and Keith Andes,
which aired for 13 weeks in the fall of 1963. Albertson appeared in two episodes
of The Twilight Zone. In a 1967 episode of The Andy Griffith Show, he played the
n'er-do-well cousin, Bradford J. Taylor, of series character Aunt Bee. He
co-starred as "The Man" Ed Brown in Chico and the Man, with Freddie Prinze,
for which he earned an Emmy. Personal life
He resided for many 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 and Grandpa, Will You Run With Me?, both filmed in 1981 several months
before his death, both of which were released posthumously. His final role
was as Amos Slade in The Fox and the Hound, originally released in the summer
of 1981. Death
Albertson died on November 25, 1981, aged 74, after a three-year battle with
colorectal cancer. He was survived by his wife, June and daughter. Both he and
his elder sister, actress Mabel Albertson, were cremated and their ashes
were scattered in the Pacific Ocean. Filmography
Television credits – recurrent roles Television – guest roles
References External links
Jack Albertson at AllMovie Jack Albertson at the Internet Movie
Database Jack Albertson at the Internet Broadway
Database Jack Albertson at the Internet
Off-Broadway Database Jack Albertson at Find a Grave