Jack Albertson Overview:

Character actor, Jack Albertson, was born Harold Albertson on Jun 16, 1907 in Malden, MA. Albertson appeared in over 170 film and TV roles. His best known films include Lover Come Back, Son of Flubber, Days of Wine and Roses, The Flim-Flam Man, The Subject Was Roses, and How to Murder Your Wife. Albertson is probably best known for his roles as Grandpa Joe in Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971), Manny Rosen in The Poseidon Adventure (1972), and, as mentioned above, as Ed Brown in the television sitcom Chico and the Man (1974?1978). One of his earliest roles was as a Post Office Mail Sorter (uncredited) in the 1947 classic, Miracle on 34th Street. Albertson died at the age of 74 on Nov 25, 1981 in Hollywood Hills, CA and was cremated and his ashes scattered in the Pacific Ocean.

MINI BIO:

Plum-nosed and sandy-haired, Jack Albertson was often cast as grouchy old men. Albertson started as a dancer and straight man to comedians in vaudeville. Although he won a Best Supporting Actor Academy Award in 1968 for The Subject is Roses, his triumph was barely seen outside the United States. He probably won his greatest popularity in old age on television in the comedy series Chico and the Man.

(Source: available at Amazon Quinlan's Illustrated Dictionary of Film Character Actors).

SISTER: MABEL ALBERTSON

Jack Albertson's sister was character actress Mabel Albertson, who many would remember as Darrin Stephen's mother on TV's Bewitched.

HONORS and AWARDS:

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Jack Albertson was nominated for one Academy Award, winning for Best Supporting Actor for The Subject Was Roses (as John Cleary) in 1968.

Academy Awards

YearAwardFilm nameRoleResult
1968Best Supporting ActorThe Subject Was Roses (1968)John ClearyWon
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He was honored with one star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in the category of Television.

BlogHub Articles:

and the Movie Buff Moment

By Caftan Woman on Apr 25, 2012 From Caftan Woman

I started out in vaudeville, and vaudeville died. I hit the burlesque houses and they padlocked 'em. I tried radio, and you know what happened to radio. Then live TV, and it vanished. Now that I've finally got a toehold in movies, look what's happening to them. - (1907 - 1981) ... Read full article


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Jack Albertson Quotes:

John Cleary: Mercy, mercy, said old Mrs. Percy.


Mr. Slotkin: A bachelor's conscience is a woman's best friend.


Nettie Cleary: I never doubted he'd do as well as anyone else.
John Cleary: Where he's concerned, you never doubted, period. If he came in right now and said he could fly, you'd help him out the window.


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Best Supporting Actor Oscar 1968






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Jack Albertson on the
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Jack Albertson Facts
In 1976, he became the eighth performer to win the Triple Crown of acting. Oscar: Best Supporting Actor, The Subject Was Roses (1968). Tony: Best Supporting Actor, "The Subject Was Roses", 1965. Emmy: Best Actor-Comedy Series, "Chico and the Man" (1974).

Younger brother of Mabel Albertson.

Biography in "Who's Who in Comedy" by Ronald L. Smith, pages 6-7. New York: Facts on File, 1992. ISBN 0816023387.

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