Jack Albertson

Harold "Jack" Albertson (June 16, 1907 – November 25, 1981) was an American actor, comedian, dancer and singer who also performed in vaudeville. Albertson was a Tony, Oscar, and Emmy winning actor, which ranks him among a rare stature of 24 actors who have been awarded the "Triple Crown of Acting". For his performance as John Cleary in the 1964 play The Subject Was Roses and its 1968 film adaptation, he won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play, and the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. This again places him amongst a select status as one of eleven peers who have won both awards for the same role. His other roles include Grandpa Joe in Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971), Manny Rosen in The Poseidon Adventure (1972), and Ed Brown in the television sitcom Chico and the Man (1974–1978), for which he won an Emmy. For his contributions to the television industry, Albertson was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1977 at 6253 Hollywood Boulevard. Early life Albertson was born on June 16, 1907, in Malden, Massachusetts, the son of Russian-Jewish immigrants Flora (née Craft) and Leopold Albertson. His older sister was actress Mabel Albertson. Their mother, a stock actress, supported the family by working in a shoe factory. Until the age of 22, Albertson was known as "Harold Albertson". His father abandoned his mother before Jack was born, and the boy was raised by his stepfather, Alex Erlich, a barber. During a 1972 New York Daily News interview with Sidney Fields, Albertson reminisced: Albertson dropped out of high school, ending his formal education after a single year. He worked at several different jobs including: the local General Electric plant; in one of many shoe factories in the Lynn, Massachusetts area; and as a rack boy in neighborhood pool parlors, where he was a fairly good pool hustler, although he was always on guard to avoid playing anyone who could "out-hustle" him. The pool hall provided Albertson with an opportunity to learn a few tap dance routines from his fellow hustlers.