Jack Albertson and the Movie Buff Moment

Jack Albertson
1907 - 1981

"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."  

Massachusetts born Jack Albertson, and his sister Mabel, inherited the show business gene from their mother who appeared in stock. I don't imagine Jack's Russian-Jewish immigrant parents were too impressed when their son left high school to pursue life upon the wicked stage, but they probably understood. In those early years perhaps Jack himself often wondered why he kept at it. However, people like to be entertained and this versatile and willing performer persevered.

By the 1950s High Button Shoes and Top Banana would see Jack on Broadway with Burlesque compatriot Phil Silvers. Television audiences would start to recognize him on shows such as The Jack Benny Program, The Dick Van Dyke Show, The Twilight Zone, The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, Mr. Ed and more.

Albertson played his share of reporters, doctors and desk sergeants in movies. And one very famous postal worker who can be seen every Christmas season sending bags of letters to Santy Claus at the courthouse in Miracle on 34th Street. Jack Albertson was working steadily, but if he had early dreams of acclaim and awards - well, that time was probably past.  

Enter Frank D. Gilroy's The Subject Was Roses in Broadway's 1964 season. The tthree-person character study won Best Play from the Tony Committee. Young Martin Sheen was nominated for Featured Actor in a Play and Jack Albertson won the award in that category. The 1968 film of the play brought both actors to the screen with Patricia Neal replacing stage star Irene Daily. Ms. Neal was nominated for a Best Actress Oscar and Jack Albertson won Best Supporting Actor.

 

  Amanda Blake, Jack Albertson

Gunsmoke

Suddenly, in his 60s, Jack Albertson wasn't "that guy playing the cop or neighbour". He was the special guest star on series with episodes written for his character such as "Danny" who had a mysterious hold on Kitty's affection in Gunsmoke or a pool shark on Ironside: "Side Pocket".  Five Emmy nominations and two wins would come his way for guest spots and the sitcom Chico and the Man. Popular film roles would rack up with The Poseidon Adventure, Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory and The Fox and the Hound. Jack Albertson certainly had a wonderful career.

  Gavin Hall

Easy to shop for!

My boy Gavin has his challenges with autism/developmental delay. He has limited independent language skills, but if you take the time you will find him to have a good memory and a rollicking sense of humour. He is also a movie buff. My husband and I often fight over which side of the family Gavin gets his good looks from, but we know beyond the shadow of a doubt he gets the movie buff gene from me.

Gavin is also imaginative. He invented the alternate casting game. He must have invented it because no one has every played it with him. Gavin likes to write out the casts of his favourite movies and get his dad, sister Janet or I to read the list aloud. Every so often Gavin will throw in a ringer and watch for our reaction. For instance, in The Jungle Book he'll put Hans Conried as Colonel Hathi (Everybody knows J. Pat O'Malley was the voice of Colonel Hathi!). Gavin watches us with wide eyes waiting to see our reaction. He's so proud of us when we catch it. By the way, wouldn't you agree that Billy Gilbert and Martin Short would have been fine as "a monkey" in The Jungle Book?

 

 Jack Albertson - Amos Slade

The Fox and the Hound

Last weekend Gavin was in a The Fox and the Hound mood. That means if you are not in a The Fox and the Hound mood, you are in for a rough time because that is all that will be playing for hours. The weekend also brings one of Gavin's favourite activities which is going to the library with Daddy and borrowing a movie. After his last trip to the library, Gavin bounded into the house clutching Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. He made us sit in the living room. He turned on the disc of The Fox and the Hound and paused at the credit "Jack Albertson - Amos Slade".  He then replaced the disc with Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory and paused at the credit "Jack Albertson" and turned with triumph in his eyes to see our reaction. "Yes" we told him. "Jack Albertson - Amos Slade and Jack Albertson - Grampa Joe."

 

 Jack Albertson - Grampa Joe

Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory

It may not have been the Helen Keller "water" moment, but what movie buff can't relate to the "Aha!" of discovery. It brought me back to the glorious day when it finally dawned on me that Irving Bacon, Olin Howland and Tom Fadden were not the same guy. It was an exciting moment for my boy and it was gratifying that he wanted to share. I may have gotten a little carried away because Gavin gently let me know that although he was pleased that I understood his joy, the hug was too much and a high five would suffice. I'll gladly take that high five and the movie buff connection with my son. If he must have a label - and apparently he must - let it be Gavin Hall, movie buff.

The Sopranos (Really.)

From time to time I have mentioned my son Gavin whose challenges with autism/developmental delay are offset by the gifts of a tremendous memory and talent for mimicry. Gavin remembers every line from every beloved movie, and when he gets going you would swear that everyone from Phil Harris to Kathryn Beaumont to Jerry Colonna was in the room with you.

Lately Gavin has been spending a lot of time on YouTube looking up the movies that Family Channel Canada used to screen in the days of his youth. He was overjoyed to come across this clip of Jeanette MacDonald and Ramon Navarro in 1934s The Cat and the Fiddle. He spent the entire weekend enjoying the Jerome Kern music to the exclusion of any other diversion.

My youngest sister Tracey at six. She was and always will be 16 years my junior. She was and always will be a woman of strong opinions.

It was at this age, and in response to what I can only assume were some annoying scales and arpeggios issuing from my throat, that she declared (with hands on hips) "If you can't sing like Jeanette A-Donald, forget it!"

Well, maybe I can't sing like Jeanette A-Donald...













... but my son sure can!

White Christmas

Greetings one and all! Today is a sort of milestone in that I have been blogging for three years. I know it has been three years because this is my third annual IT'S BING CROSBY'S BIRTHDAY blog.

Today we're going to take a personal look at one of the most popular recordings of all-time. A song that consoled hearts in wartime and cheers over-heated, grumpy shoppers to this very day.

Few of us haven't enjoyed Bing's initial version of White Christmas in the 1942 release Holiday Inn. One mistake I made with that movie was showing it to my daughter Janet when she was young as her first Fred Astaire flick. It took her years to get over a certain animosity toward Mr. A for trying to steal Bing's girl! I should have started with Follow the Fleet. A song and idea that popular just had to be repeated and the 1954 film White Christmas became another holiday perennial for those of us who take a large dose of Christmastime through entertainment.

Irving Berlin called White Christmas one of his "round" songs. A tune which seemed to compose itself, it came to him so effortlessly. His enthusiasm for the song never wavered. It seems that way as well with the public who has placed it at the number one of the Billboard charts 3 times since it was first heard. I understand there may be people out there whose favourite singer is not Bing Crosby (???), but even those souls probably consider Bing the master of White Christmas.

Here's a fellow I know tolerably well. This is my son Gavin who has an amazing talent for mimicry which is not uncommon among those diagnosed as autistic. His independent language skills are not top-notch, but he knows every line from every classic Disney feature and short and can imitate everyone from Jerry Colonna to Kathryn Beaumont.

The Christmas before last I was baking and listening to the radio in the kitchen. AM740 was obliging me with Christmas songs and they gave out with Frank Sinatra singing White Christmas. Suddenly Gavin was beside me. He shut off the radio and turned and stared at me with wide eyes. The wide eyes generally mean Gavin is ready to say something important like the time he couldn't figure out Easter and wished everybody a Happy Thanksgiving. This time he didn't "say", he "sang". He sang White Christmas. He sang White Christmas in a perfect imitation of Bing Crosby and the record he's heard since birth. When he finished Gavin returned to his endless video loop of How the Grinch Stole Christmas. My husband looked at me and said, "Frank's been told!"

My Gavin moments are special, and this one came to me courtesy of the spirit of Bing Crosby which lives in music and movies. I raise a toast to that spirit.