Background
Mabel Ida Albertson was born on Wednesday, July 24, 1901, in Haverhill, Massachusetts, to her expecting parents, Flora Craft and Leopold Albertson, who were Russian-born Jewish immigrants.
Mabel Ida Albertson was born on Wednesday, July 24, 1901, in Haverhill, Massachusetts, to her expecting parents, Flora Craft and Leopold Albertson, who were Russian-born Jewish immigrants.
Albertson graduated from the New England School of Speech and Expression.
Her younger brother was actor Jack Albertson. Albertson"s mother, a stock actress, supported the family by working in a shoe factory. Albertson traced her show business career back to age 13, when she was paid $5 per performance to play piano behind palm trees for a reader.
She later moved to California and became involved with the Pasadena Playhouse.
She "moved directly into professional stage work in stock, vaudeville, and night clubs, appearing with Jimmy Durante." Albertson was heard on Dress Rehearsal, Joe Rines" Dress Rehearsal, and the Philosophy Baker Show. She was also a writer for radio programs.
Albertson"s Broadway credits include The Egg (1962) and Christmas in Las Vegas (1965). According to Cloris Leachman, Mabel Albertson died on Tuesday, September 28, 1982, Albertson died of Alzheimer"s disease at the Saint John"s Hospital, after suffering seven years of poor health in Santa Monica, California at age 81.
Her ashes were scattered into the Pacific Ocean.
Her brother Jack Albertson, who had died 10 months before, also had his ashes scattered there.