Jack Waldron (actor)
Jack Waldron (born Jack Kestenbaum; February 3, 1893 – November 21, 1969) was an American actor-comedian, singer and dancer.
For other uses, see Jack Waldron (disambiguation).
Jack Waldron
Early life[edit]
As a boy, his two passions were baseball and the theatre, and he began his career as a dancer in vaudeville.[1] During the Meuse–Argonne offensive in World War I, he entertained the troops as a member of the "Argonne Players".[2]
Career[edit]
After the war, he played in Chicago nightclubs during the Prohibition years: the Chez Paris, Colosimo, the Paramount, and the Follies; he knew many of the racketeers of the period, including Al Capone.[1] After the repeal of Prohibition, Waldron returned to New York to entertain in cafes.[1]
On Broadway, he played the role of Tommy in Flossie (1924),[3][4] an unspecified role in The Great Temptations (1926),[5] one of the Boys of the Chorus in Hello Daddy! (1928–1929)[6][7] and again in Woof Woof (1929–1930).[8][9] In the 1950s, he played Mike Spears in the revival of Pal Joey (1952–1953),[10][11][12] a salesman in The Pajama Game (1954–1956),[13][14] Myron H. Hubbard in The Vamp (1955),[15][16] and Schatzie Harris in Say, Darling (1959).[17]
As a comedic actor, he was known for his short films for Vitaphone Varieties: A Breath of Broadway (#2691, September 5, 1928) and Radio and Relatives (December 30, 1938). He also played a bartender in a 1951 episode of Martin Kane, Private Eye.[18]
The Lambs[edit]
Waldron was elected to The Lambs Theatre Club in 1949 and was later made an Honorary Life member. He was elected to Council 1960-1969 and became Shepherd in 1969, six months before his death.[18]