Jack Albertson Biography
Jack Albertson was an American actor, singer, dancer. He is best remembered for playing John Cleary in the drama film’ The Subject Was Roses’ directed by Ulu Grosbard in 1968. His performance in the film earned him an’ Oscar’ for’ Best Supporting Actor.’
He is also remembered for playing Joe in the musical fantasy film ‘ Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory’ and Ed Brown in the situational comedy series ‘ Chico and the Man’ of’ NBC ‘ network.
Jack Albertson Family
Jack Albertson was born on June 16, 1907, to Flora and Leopold Albertson in Malden, Massachusetts, USA. Since his father left his mother even before he was born, he was brought up by his stepfather, Alex Erlich. Albertson dropped off high school and started working at the local’ General Electric ‘ plant. He also worked in one of the shoe factories in Lynn, Massachusetts before becoming a pool hustler in the nearby pool parlors.
Jack Albertson Wife
He married June Wallace Thomson on October 31, 1952, with whom he had a daughter named Maura Dhu. In 1978, Albertson was diagnosed with colorectal cancer. He kept it a secret, however, and continued to appear in movies and TV series. He lost his cancer battle on November 25, 1981. His mortal remains were cremated and the ashes were dispersed in the Pacific Ocean.
Jack Albertson Movies
Year Title
- 1938 Next Time I Marry
- 1940 Strike Up the Band
- 1947 Miracle on 34th Street
- 1952 Anything Can Happen
- 1954 Top Banana
- 1955 Bring Your Smile Along
- 1956 Over-Exposed
-
- The Harder They Fall
- The Eddy Duchin Story
- The Unguarded Moment
- You Can’t Run Away from It
- 1957 Monkey on My Back
-
- Man of a Thousand Faces
- Don’t Go Near the Water
- 1958 Teacher’s Pet
- 1959 Never Steal Anything Small
-
- The Shaggy Dog
- 1961 The George Raft Story
-
- Lover Come Back
- 1962 Convicts 4
-
- Period of Adjustment
- Who’s Got the Action?
- Days of Wine and Roses
- 1963 Son of Flubber
- 1964 Kissin’ Cousins
-
- A Tiger Walks
- The Patsy
- Roustabout
- 1965 How to Murder Your Wife
- 1967 The Flim-Flam Man
- 1968 How to Save a Marriage and Ruin Your Life
-
- The Subject Was Roses
- 1969 Changes
-
- Justine
- 1970 Squeeze a Flower
-
- Rabbit, Run
- 1971 Once Upon a Dead Man
- Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory
- The Late Liz
- 1972 Pickup on 101
-
- The Poseidon Adventure
- 1981 Dead & Buried
-
- The Fox and the Hound
Jack Albertson Personal Life and Death
He has been living in West Hollywood, California for many years. He was diagnosed with colorectal cancer in 1978, but kept this information private and continued to act. Two of his last roles were in TV movies, My Body, My Child 1982 and Grandpa, Will You Run with Me? 1983, both filmed and released posthumously in 1981. His final theatrical role was that of the ill-tempered hunter, Amos Slade, in Disney’s 24th animated feature, The Fox and the Hound, originally released in the summer of 1981, four months before his death.
He and his wife, June July 23, 1924–January 9, 2015, had a daughter, Maura Dhu. Albertson died of colorectal cancer on November 25, 1981, at the age of 74. He and his elder sister, Mabel Albertson who died of Alzheimer’s disease ten months later were cremated and their ashes were scattered in the Pacific Ocean.
Jack Albertson Chico And The Man
In Chico and the Man, Jack co-starred as “The Man” Ed Brown with Freddie Prinze, for whom he earned an Emmy. Chico And The Man is an American sitcom that aired on NBC from September 13, 1974, to July 21, 1978, for four seasons. It stars Jack Albertson as Ed Brown (the Man), the cantankerous owner of a run-down garage in an East Los Angeles neighborhood, and Freddie Prinze (until Prinze’s suicide in the third season) as Chico Rodriguez, an upbeat, optimistic young Chicano who comes in search of a job. It was the first U.S. television series set up in a Mexican-American neighborhood.
Jack Albertson Willy Wonka
Albertson 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,[9 ] Belle’s husband, played by Shelley Winters.
Jack Albertson Career
Jack Albertson made his film debut in 1938 when he was cast as a reporter in Garson Kanin’s American comedy film ‘ Next Time I Marry. ‘ He then played a series of minor roles in films such as ‘ Strike Up the Band, ‘ ‘ Miracle on 34th Street ‘ and ‘ Anything Can Happen. ‘
He received his big breakthrough in 1954 when he was cast to replay his role as Vic Davis in the film adaptation of the 1951 musical ‘ Top Banana. ‘ In 1956 he appeared in five films, namely ‘ Over-Exposed, ‘ ‘ The Harder They Fall, ‘ ‘ The Eddy Duchin Story, ‘ ‘ The Unguarded Moment, ‘ and ‘ You Can’t Run Away from It. ‘ In the same year, he also made his TV debut when he played a minor role on ‘ CBS ‘ network.
1957, he played supporting roles in movies such as ‘ Monkey on My Back, ‘ ‘ Man of a Thousand Faces, ‘ and ‘ Don’t Go Near the Water. ‘ From 1957 to 1959, he played Lt. Harry Evans in 14 episodes of the television series ‘ The Thin Man ‘ of ‘ NBC ‘ network, which was based on the novel of the same name by Dashiell Hammett.
He continued to play television and film roles throughout the late 1950s and early 1960s. From 1962 to 1963, he played the main role of Lieutenant Commander Virgil Stoner in 32 episodes of the TV comedy series ‘ Ensign O’Toole’ of the’ NBC’ network. Meanwhile, he also played supporting roles in films such as’ Days of Wine and Roses,” A Tiger Walks’ and’ How to Murder Your Wife.’
In 1968, he replaced his role as John Cleary in the film adaptation of the 1964 play ‘ The Subject Was Roses. ‘ His performance in the film earned him the ‘ Academy Award ‘ for ‘ Best Supporting Actor. ‘ From 1969 to 1974, he played various roles in the Western drama series ‘ Gunsmoke. ‘ Meanwhile, he played Grandpa Joe in the popular 1971 film ‘ Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory. ‘
He was cast in 1974 to play Ed Brown on the situational comedy series ‘ Chico and the Man ‘ of ‘ NBC ‘ network. He played the role from 1974 to 1978, appearing in 88 episodes. His performance won him the ‘ Primetime Emmy Award ‘ for ‘ Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series. ‘
In 1975, he made a cameo appearance on the American variety show ‘ Cher ‘ of ‘ CBS ‘ network. His performance in ‘ Cher ‘ earned him the ‘ Primetime Emmy Award ‘ for ‘ Outstanding Continuing or Single Performance in Variety or Music. ‘ In 1981, he was cast to play Poppa MacMahon in Marvin J. Chomsky’s television film ‘ My Body, My Child. ‘ The film was released posthumously in 1982.