8 min read
Reading time
1,573
Words
Published
6
Awards
Jack Albertson won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in 1968 for his role in The Subject Was Roses, a part he had originated on Broadway and for which he also won a Tony Award in 1965. He later starred as Ed Brown in the television series Chico and the Man, earning a Primetime Emmy Award. Albertson is one of only nine performers to achieve the Triple Crown of Acting, winning an Oscar, Emmy, and Tony.
Names, aliases, and relatives of Jack Albertson — birth name, kin, and personal ties.
Jack Albertson by the numbers — life, work, and family.
Jack Albertson — early life, career, personal life, and legacy.
Leopold and Flora Albertson, Russian Jewish immigrants, welcomed their son Jack on June 16, 1907, in Malden, Massachusetts. He was the younger brother of actress Mabel Albertson, which gave him early exposure to the performing arts. Albertson began his career in vaudeville and burlesque as a song-and-dance man, developing skills that would later serve him on Broadway and in film.
Albertson won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in 1968 for The Subject Was Roses. The film adapted the play in which he had starred on Broadway, winning a Tony in 1965. He is best known to television audiences as Ed Brown on the sitcom Chico and the Man, which aired from 1974 to 1978. That role earned him a Primetime Emmy Award. Albertson also appeared in classic films such as Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory in 1971, playing Grandpa Joe, and The Poseidon Adventure in 1972, playing Manny Rosen. His career spanned vaudeville, burlesque, Broadway, film, and television, showing remarkable range.
Albertson married June Wallace Thomson, with whom he had one daughter, Maura Dhu Studi. His daughter later married actor Wes Studi. His younger sister was actress Mabel Albertson. Albertson lived in Hollywood Hills, Los Angeles, during his later years.
Jack Albertson is among nine actors who have won the Triple Crown of Acting: an Oscar, Emmy, and Tony for his performances. He is also one of nine actors to have won both the Tony and Oscar for the same role, a feat accomplished with The Subject Was Roses. His star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6253 Hollywood Boulevard was dedicated in 1977. Albertson is remembered for his warm, versatile performances in film, television, and stage.
Every award, honor, and recognition received by Jack Albertson — Grammys, hall-of-fame inductions, civic honors, lifetime achievements.
A wall of memorable lines from Jack Albertson — lyrics, interviews, and off-the-cuff remarks captured over a lifetime.
Ninety per Cent of the Things You Do in This Business Are Crap.
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.
Little-known facts about Jack Albertson — origins, oddities, and behind-the-scenes details from a public life.
Jack Albertson is among nine actors who have won both the Tony and Oscar for the same role, with his performance in The Subject Was Roses. The others include Yul Brynner, Rex Harrison, Anne Bancroft, Joel Grey, Paul Scofield, Shirley Booth, José Ferrer, and Viola Davis.
Albertson is one of nine performers to achieve the Triple Crown of Acting, winning an Oscar, Emmy, and Tony. The others in order are Thomas Mitchell, Melvyn Douglas, Paul Scofield, Jason Robards, Jeremy Irons, Al Pacino, Geoffrey Rush, and Christopher Plummer.
Albertson’s parents, Leopold and Flora, were Russian Jewish immigrants.
In 1976, Albertson became the eighth actor to earn the Triple Crown of Acting. He won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in 1968 for The Subject Was Roses, the Tony for Best Supporting Actor in 1965 for the same play, and the Emmy for Best Actor in a Comedy Series in 1974 for Chico and the Man.
Albertson received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Television on February 28, 1977, located at 6253 Hollywood Boulevard.
Through his sister Mabel, Albertson was the uncle of George Englund, making him the uncle-in-law of Cloris Leachman during her marriage to Englund from 1953 to 1978.
Albertson’s daughter Maura married actor Wes Studi, making him father-in-law of Studi. He was also ex-father-in-law of musician R.B. Greaves.
June Wallace Thomson, Albertson’s widow, died at her home in Los Angeles on January 9, 2015, though the cause of death has not been disclosed.
Albertson had one daughter, Maura Dhu Studi, and a grandson named Kholan Studi.
Albertson was the younger brother of actress Mabel Albertson.
Albertson won the 1965 Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Drama for his performance in The Subject Was Roses on Broadway.
Albertson was frequently mistaken for actor Arthur O’Connell, with whom he appeared in two films.
He received a Tony nomination in 1973 for Best Actor in a Drama for his role in The Sunshine Boys.
A biography of Albertson appears in The Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives, Volume One 1981-1985, pages 10-12, published in 1998.
Another biography is included in Who’s Who in Comedy by Ronald L. Smith 1992, pages 6-7, ISBN 0816023387.
After his death, Albertson’s body was cremated and his ashes were scattered in the Pacific Ocean.
Albertson had a brother who died four months after birth.
Quick answers to the questions readers ask most about Jack Albertson.
Celebrities similar to Jack Albertson — same craft, ranked by reach.
🇺🇸 United States
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
🇺🇸 United States
🇺🇸 United States
🇺🇸 United States
🇺🇸 United States
🇺🇸 United States
🇺🇸 United States
🇺🇸 United States
🇺🇸 United States
🇺🇸 United States
🇺🇸 United States
