Hardie Albright

Hardie Albright, born Hardie Hunter Albrecht on December 16, 1903, in Charleroi, Pennsylvania, was an American actor and book writer whose career spanned Broadway, film, and television. He was the son of traveling vaudeville performers and made his first stage appearance at age six in one of his parents' acts. In June 1926, he graduated from Carnegie Tech with a bachelor of arts degree in drama.

Albright built his early stage experience as a member of Eva Le Gallienne's repertory company, and his Broadway debut came that same year with Saturday Night in 1926. His Broadway career, which extended from 1926 to 1937, included appearances in John Gabriel Borkman and The Three Sisters, both in 1926, followed by Such Is Life in 1927, Gang War and The Merchant of Venice in 1928, and A Hundred Years Old in 1929. He appeared in The Greeks Had a Word for It in 1930, Play, Genius, Play! in 1935, Behind Red Lights in 1937, and All the Living in 1938. His Broadway credits also included the comedy Twelfth Night.

While performing in The Greeks Had a Word for It, Albright was spotted by a scout from Fox Film, which led to a Hollywood contract. He made his film debut in 1931 in John G. Blystone's Young Sinners and went on to appear in numerous films. Among his most recognized screen contributions was providing the uncredited voice of the adolescent Bambi in Disney's animated feature of the same name.

Following World War II, Albright retired from film acting and joined the faculty at UCLA as a drama instructor. During his tenure there he wrote several books on acting and directing. In the 1960s he returned to performing through television, making guest appearances on series including Hazel, Leave It to Beaver, Bewitched, and Gunsmoke.

In 1934, Albright married actress Martha Sleeper; the couple divorced in 1939. He subsequently married actress Arnita Wallace in 1944, and together they had one daughter, actress Vicky Albright. Albright and Wallace remained married until his death. He died of congestive heart failure on December 7, 1975, at Mission Community Hospital in Mission Viejo, California, at the age of seventy-one. His ashes were scattered at a former vacation site in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.