John Hubbard (actor)

Career

Born in East Chicago, Indiana, Hubbard took acting lessons as a teen at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago, where he attracted attention and movie offers. He was signed by Paramount in 1937 as "Jack" Hubbard, but his contract was sold to MGM a year later. MGM changed his professional name to "Anthony Allan," and cast him in modest feature films and short subjects for one year.

In 1939 producer Hal Roach signed John Hubbard (under his given name) as one of five promising young actors with "star" potential (the other four were Lon Chaney, Jr., Victor Mature, Carole Landis, and William Bendix). Roach saw something in Hubbard, whose handsome features lent themselves to romantic roles while his dialogue skills allowed him to play farce comedy. Hubbard was showcased in The Housekeeper's Daughter (1939) and Turnabout (1940), but when Roach abandoned full-length features for shorter featurettes, Hubbard found roles elsewhere.

During World War II Hubbard was busily engaged as a "male lead for hire" at several studios, substituting for established male stars who had joined the armed forces. With no single studio guiding his career, Hubbard never advanced to important roles in major productions, and settled for routine juvenile roles in romances, mysteries, and musical comedies. Hubbard himself joined the military in 1944, and resumed his movie career in 1947 at smaller, independent studios.

Television

Hubbard found additional opportunities in the new field of television, as a supporting actor. He played "Brown" in The Mickey Rooney Show (12 episodes), "Bill Bronson" in My Little Margie (four episodes), "Col. U. Charles Barker" in the military comedy Don't Call Me Charlie (18 episodes) and "Ted Gaynor" in Family Affair (eight episodes), but most of his television assignments were single appearances in popular network series like Perry Mason, The Green Hornet, and Adam-12. He was frequently cast by Warner Bros. for its roster of series (Maverick, Hawaiian Eye, 77 Sunset Strip, Lawman, Cheyenne, and Surfside 6).

Other media

In 1951 Hubbard starred on stage with Mary Brian in a comedy, "Mary Had a Little", in Melbourne, Australia. Hubbard also worked in network radio, replacing Robert North as Alice Faye's brother Willy starting in the 1953-54 season of The Phil Harris-Alice Faye Show.

Between acting roles, Hubbard worked as an automobile salesman and the manager of a restaurant. He retired from acting in 1974 after a character role in Herbie Rides Again, although he made one more appearance in a television movie in 1980.

Personal life and death

Hubbard was married to his high school sweetheart, Lois, for nearly 50 years. The couple had three children together, Lois, Jane, and John. On November 6, 1988, Hubbard died at the age of 74 in a convalescent home in Camarillo, California.