Jack Albertson was born on 16 June 1907. Most of us know him only as an old man. But he died fairly early of colon cancer at the age of 74.
People of my generation know Albertson as Grampa Joe in Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory. The character is pretty bad. Yet he comes off as nice because Albertson plays him.
He is also known for Chico and the Man. I don’t really remember it, but I remember that I loved it and never missed it.
Alberton starred in a notable psychotronic film in 1972, The Poseidon Adventure. He plays the husband of Shelley Winters. And they are the only really notable thing in the film today.
But I can’t think of Jack Albertson without thinking of one of his last films. He starred in the Ronald Shusett and Dan O’Bannon scripted Dead & Buried. They are the guys who wrote Alien. O’Bannon has claimed that he didn’t write any of the script, but I don’t think much about what screenwriters say in moments of pique.
The film is creepy in the extreme. A small coastal town is filled with murderous people for reasons that are not at first clear. (Actually, they are never exactly made clear.) Albertson plays an odd but likable mortician. He searches for the secret but turns out to be the secret itself. It’s a great role!
So let’s celebrate Jack Albertson’s birthday by watching Dead & Buried.
Other 16 June Anniversaries
Filmmakers
- Ilona Massey (1910-1974): Actor known for playing the last Frankenstein in Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man.
- Faith Domergue (1924-1999): Actor known for Vendetta and This Island Earth. She’s featured on the cover of The Psychotronic Video Guide.
Films
- Ghost Catchers (1944): Silly comedy with a haunted house.
- Horror of Dracula (1958): The first of the Hammer Dracula series.
- Lake of Dracula (1971): Japanese vampire film.
- The Velvet Vampire (1971): Lesbian vampire has a weekend with a married couple.
- Jaws 2 (1978): Apparently, there was more than just the one.
- Ghostbusters II (1989): Sequel that kind of forgets what happened in the first film.
- Waxwork II: Lost In Time (1992): Direct-to-video sequel to original.
- Batman Forever (1995): For some reason, the studio thought Joel Schumacher was a good idea.
- Shaft (2000): Who’s the black private dick that’s a sex machine to all the chicks? Samuel L Jackson. Damn right!
- Titan AE (2000): Science fiction where only one man can save the Earth.
- The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006): The usual, but in Japan.
- Platoon of the Dead (2009): Microbudget zombie film.
- Terror At Blood Fart Lake (2009): A Chris Seaver film, of course.
Jack Albertson via Wikimedia. It is in the public domain.
