Jack Albertson

American actor

Also known as: Harold Albertson

Written and fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last Updated: Nov 21, 2024 • Article History

Quick Facts

Original name:: Harold Albertson

Born:: June 16, 1907, Malden, Massachusetts, U.S.

Died:: November 25, 1981, Hollywood Hills, California (aged 74)

Awards And Honors:: Emmy Award (1976); Emmy Award (1975); Academy Award (1969); Tony Awards (1965); Academy Award (1969): Actor in a Supporting Role; Emmy Award (1976): Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series; Emmy Award (1975): Outstanding Continuing or Single Performance by a Supporting Actor in Variety or Music; Tony Award (1965): Best Featured Actor in a Play

Married To:: June Wallace Thomson (married 1952)

Movies/Tv Shows (Acted In):: "The Fox and the Hound" (1981); "Dead & Buried" (1981); "Charlie's Angels" (1980); "Grandpa Goes to Washington" (1978–1979); "Chico and the Man" (1974–1978); "America 2-Night" (1978); "Insight" (1967–1974); "Gunsmoke" (1969–1974); "The Streets of San Francisco" (1973); "The Poseidon Adventure" (1972); "Bonanza" (1968–1972); "Temperatures Rising" (1972); "Dr. Simon Locke" (1971–1972); "The Bold Ones: The New Doctors" (1972); "Pickup on 101" (1972); "Night Gallery" (1972); "The Man and the City" (1971); "Alias Smith and Jones" (1971); "The Late Liz" (1971); "Sarge" (1971); "McMillan & Wife" (1971); "Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory" (1971); "The Name of the Game" (1971); "Love, American Style" (1971); "Ironside" (1968–1970); "Rabbit, Run" (1970); "Arnie" (1970); "The Immortal" (1970); "The Virginian" (1969–1970); "Nanny and the Professor" (1970); "Paris 7000" (1970); "Bracken's World" (1970); "Squeeze a Flower" (1970); "Daniel Boone" (1970); "Marcus Welby, M.D." (1970); "Land of the Giants" (1969–1970); "CBS Playhouse" (1969); "The Red Skelton Show" (1960–1969); "Justine" (1969); "The Big Valley" (1969); "Changes" (1969); "Here Come the Brides" (1968); "The Subject Was Roses" (1968); "How to Save a Marriage and Ruin Your Life" (1968); "The Andy Griffith Show" (1967); "Run for Your Life" (1966–1967); "The Flim-Flam Man" (1967); "It's About Time" (1967); "Hey, Landlord" (1966); "Run Buddy Run" (1966); "Pistols 'n' Petticoats" (1966); "The Trials of O'Brien" (1965); "The Defenders" (1965); "How to Murder Your Wife" (1965); "Roustabout" (1964); "The Nurses" (1964); "The Patsy" (1964); "Mister Ed" (1961–1964); "Grindl" (1964); "A Tiger Walks" (1964); "Kissin' Cousins" (1964); "Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre" (1964); "The Lucy Show" (1964); "Death Valley Days" (1964); "Glynis" (1963); "The Lieutenant" (1963); "Ensign O'Toole" (1962–1963); "The Twilight Zone" (1961–1963); "The Dick Powell Show" (1963); "Son of Flubber" (1963); "Days of Wine and Roses" (1962); "Who's Got the Action?" (1962); "Period of Adjustment" (1962); "Saints and Sinners" (1962); "Convicts 4" (1962); "Room for One More" (1962); "Lawman" (1962); "87th Precinct" (1961–1962); "The Jack Benny Program" (1959–1962); "The Joey Bishop Show" (1961–1962); "General Electric Theater" (1957–1962); "The Dick Van Dyke Show" (1962); "Dr. Kildare" (1962); "Bus Stop" (1962); "Wagon Train" (1962); "Lover Come Back" (1961); "The George Raft Story" (1961); "Make Room for Daddy" (1959–1961); "Margie" (1961); "Westinghouse Preview Theatre" (1961); "Peter Loves Mary" (1961); "The Law and Mr. Jones" (1961); "The Tab Hunter Show" (1960–1961); "Westinghouse Playhouse" (1961); "The Donna Reed Show" (1960–1961); "Pete and Gladys" (1960–1961); "The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis" (1959–1961); "Riverboat" (1961); "Klondike" (1960); "Angel" (1960); "Have Gun - Will Travel" (1957–1960); "Michael Shayne" (1960); "Happy" (1960); "Startime" (1960); "The Gale Storm Show: Oh! Susanna" (1960); "The Ann Sothern Show" (1960); "Goodyear Theatre" (1960); "Tightrope" (1960); "Hennesey" (1959); "Five Fingers" (1959); "The Thin Man" (1958–1959); "Colonel Humphrey Flack" (1959); "Richard Diamond, Private Detective" (1959); "Never Steal Anything Small" (1959); "Yancy Derringer" (1959); "The Lineup" (1958); "Frontier Doctor" (1958); "Playhouse 90" (1956–1958); "The George Burns Show" (1958); "Bachelor Father" (1958); "The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show" (1956–1958); "The People's Choice" (1958); "Matinee Theatre" (1957–1958); "State Trooper" (1958); "Shirley Temple's Storybook" (1958); "The Frank Sinatra Show" (1958); "Teacher's Pet" (1958); "Studio 57" (1958); "December Bride" (1956–1958); "Schlitz Playhouse of Stars" (1956–1958); "Don't Go Near the Water" (1957); "Suspicion" (1957); "Wire Service" (1957); "Man of a Thousand Faces" (1957); "Monkey on My Back" (1957); "The 20th Century-Fox Hour" (1957); "The Sheriff of Cochise" (1956); "You Can't Run Away from It" (1956); "Hey, Jeannie!" (1956); "Crusader" (1956); "The Unguarded Moment" (1956); "Climax!" (1956); "Our Miss Brooks" (1956); "The Life of Riley" (1956); "Over-Exposed" (1956); "The Harder They Fall" (1956); "I Love Lucy" (1956); "Damon Runyon Theater" (1955); "Bring Your Smile Along" (1955); "Inner Sanctum" (1954); "Man Against Crime" (1953–1954); "Top Banana" (1954); "Robert Montgomery Presents" (1953); "Starlight Theatre" (1951); "The Ford Theatre Hour" (1950); "The Colgate Comedy Hour" (1950); "The Clock" (1950)

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Jack Albertson (born June 16, 1907, Malden, Massachusetts, U.S.—died November 25, 1981, Hollywood Hills, California) was an American stage, television, and movie actor who was noted for his work in the Broadway plays The Subject Was Roses (1964–66) and The Sunshine Boys (1972–74) and the television series Chico and the Man (1974–78).

Born into poverty, Albertson earned a living as a pool hustler and working on a freighter. He moved to New York City to find work as a dancer and launched a career in vaudeville and burlesque, first as a dancer and then as a straight man. He later formed a partnership with comedian Phil Silvers. Albertson made his Broadway debut in the revue Meet the People in 1940 and went on to perform in Broadway comedies and musicals for the next decade, including A Lady Says Yes (1945), The Cradle Will Rock (1947), Tickets, Please! (1945), and Top Banana (1951), which starred Silvers.

Albertson appeared in a string of motion pictures, notably the movie version of Top Banana (1954), and he also began acting on television, including on The Phil Silvers Show (1956–57). His other movies included Man of a Thousand Faces (1957), Days of Wine and Roses (1962), How to Murder Your Wife (1965), and The Flim-Flam Man (1967). Albertson played Grandpa Joe in Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971) and Manny Rosen in the popular disaster movie The Poseidon Adventure (1972). He also had guest roles in dozens of TV series and variety shows as well as several made-for-television movies. He showed his versatility as an actor by garnering awards in three media; he won a Tony Award in 1965 for his Broadway performance as the surly Irish father in The Subject Was Roses, an Academy Award in 1969 for best supporting actor in the 1968 motion-picture version of that play, two Emmy Awards (1975 and 1976) for his portrayal of the cranky gas station–garage owner in the television series Chico and the Man, and another Emmy for a guest appearance on the Cher show in 1975. His last theatrical motion picture, Dead & Buried, was released in 1981, and his last two TV movies, My Body, My Child and Terror at Alcatraz, aired posthumously in 1982.

Empty movie theater and blank screen (theatre, motion pictures, cinema).

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