Wally Albright

Wally Albright (born Walton Algernon Albright Jr.; September 3, 1925 – August 7, 1999) was an American child actor. He was best known for his role in the Our Gang film series.

Wally Albright
Born
Walton Algernon Albright Jr.

(1925-09-03)September 3, 1925
Burbank, California, U.S.
DiedAugust 7, 1999(1999-08-07) (aged 73)
Sacramento, California, U.S.
Resting placeForest Lawn Memorial Park
OccupationChild actor
Years active1929–1954
Parent(s)Wally Albright
Lois Albright

Career

The son of Wally and Lois Albright,[1] he was born in Burbank, California. He was seen in a film with Gloria Swanson in 1928.[2] He appeared in a number of films during his career, and is notable for appearing in six Our Gang short subjects throughout the early 1930s. Though his tenure with the gang was brief, his role was usually that of the gang leader alongside Matthew "Stymie" Beard.

Albright played so many roles as a baby that he was quite well known by the time he was three. He appeared in small parts of various films made by Hal Roach Studios. At the end of 1933, when Gus Meins took over directing, Our Gang needed a few new characters. Several older Our Gangers left the series in the summer of 1933, including Dorothy DeBorba and Bobby "Wheezer" Hutchins. Albright would be one of several characters, including Scotty Beckett and Billie "Buckwheat" Thomas, to debut in 1934 in the Our Gang episode Hi Neighbor. He quickly became one of the bigger Our Gang stars. But much to the dismay of Hal Roach and director Gus Meins, Albright voluntarily left the gang and returned to a normal childhood life. However, he did play a small role in John Ford's version of John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath, appearing as an older child in the migrant camp. He watches as Ma Joad cooks a stew for her family and tells her, "Me and my brother, we et good." Another child later tells Ma he was lying. "I peeked through their window last night and they was eatin' fried dough, just like everybody else." He graduated high school and college as he entered adult life.

Later years

In adult life, Albright became a champion water sportsman and eventually operated a successful trucking firm, shipping produce. He died in Sacramento, California, on August 7, 1999. He is buried in the Garden of Ascension at Forest Lawn, Glendale, California.[3]

Filmography

References
  1. "Wally Albright Jr. To Appear In Film Here Friday". Tulare Advance-Register. California, Tulare. June 3, 1937. p. 1. Retrieved October 8, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. "Boy, 9, Is Veteran of Cinema Cast". Harrisburg Telegraph. Pennsylvania, Harrisburg. February 8, 1937. p. 7. Retrieved October 8, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14000 Famous Persons by Scott Wilson

Bibliography
  • Holmstrom, John. The Moving Picture Boy: An International Encyclopaedia from 1895 to 1995, Norwich, Michael Russell, 1996, p. 138-139.
  • Dye, David. Child and Youth Actors: Filmography of Their Entire Careers, 1914-1985. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Co., 1988, p. 4.
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