Budd Albright was born Forrest Edwards Albright in Elkhart Indiana of
Dutch, Irish and Italian parents. His father was an athlete who played
professional baseball for the St. Louis Cardinals and inducted into the
Indiana and Spalding Hall of Fame. He was the first man in the state of
Indiana to run the hundred yard dash in 10-sec. flat. His mother Jeanne
was a would be actress who met Budd's father after a local theater
performance and went for coffee, they soon married. In 1936 Budd was
born and the young family moved to Los Angeles. Budd has two younger
brothers Brian and Tom (both deceased). Times were tough and they lived
in a small apartment that overlooked the back lot of Paramount Studios.
Budd's parents worked hard and Budd spent a lot of time with his
grandmother Viola who had followed her lover Buck from Chicago who
worked in the in the film industry. It was Budd's grandmother who had
been General Douglas MacArthur's personal secretary and had graduated
from the Chicago Art Institute that exposed Budd to films, museums and
upscale restaurants of the day. The War took the family back to
Cleveland, Ohio where his father worked for Republic Aviation building
the P-47 Thunderbolt fighter plane. Budd's dashing Uncle Vic was a test
pilot that flew combat missions over Europe.
At the end of the war the family moved back to Southern California and
settled in Long Beach where Budd attended David Star Jordan High school
and hung out with the late Bob Denver. They both were kicked out of
acting class for horsing around. In 1953 his family returned to
Cleveland and Budd attended Willoughby High school for two years. On a
bitterly cold night in a downtown Cleveland theater watching The Wild
Ones with Marlon Brando, Budd knew what he wanted to do; Get out of the
cold and return to the sunshine of Southern California and give the
movies a try.
In 1955 Budd returned to LA, parked cars in Beverly Hills, pumped gas
in Pacific Palisades and joined Richard Boone's acting class on a tip
from actor Billy Gray. His roommate at the time was another struggling
actor Doug McClure. The daughter of a Hollywood producer got Budd his
SAG card and he worked in a few films and TV shows as an extra, then
landed a record contract at RCA Victor. He and actor and recording
artist Steve Rowland put a group together and sang and played all the
hot spots around the Sunset Strip and LA club circuit.
Budd Albright began his acting career in 1961, with a small part in the
Warner's film Lad A Dog. He spent a year living with the late Peter
Break (Big Valley fame) and his wife Diane in the San Fernando Valley.
He spent most of his time at Warner Bros. with small bit parts. Budd
would get together on weekends with friends Robert Fuller, James Stacy,
Chuck Courtney, actor/stuntmen Jerry Summers and Ronnie Rondell riding
dirt bikes and parting at Bob Fuller's house. It was Jerry Summers that
convinced Budd to try his hand at stunt work.
The early sixties produced a flourish of war films that were perfect
for young and up and coming actor/stuntmen. Budd stunt doubled Robert
Vaughn, Robert Wagner, Warren Beatty and Chris George. Worked in What
Did You Do In The Way Daddy - Beau Geste - First To Fight - Toburk -
Ice Station Zebra and There Was A Crooked Man and was part of the
original Rat Patrol Stunt Team. He appeared in three shows of the first
season of Star Trek as an actor being killed off in all three shows. In
the late sixties & early seventies Universal Studios was bursting with
activity with TV shows and films. Sometimes Budd worked two or three
shows at once with parts that included action sequences. Budd logged 31
high falls, had parts and was action coordinator on Drive Hard Drive
Fast and The Lonely Profession for writer/director Douglas Heyes. In
1964 Budd was contacted by friend James Drury (The Virginian) that Clu
Gulager was producing Bye Bye Birdie for summer stock in North Carolina
and Budd got the part of Conrad Birdie one of the leads. Budd has
worked with Hall of Fame stuntmen Hal Needham, Ronnie Rondell, Glenn
Wilder, Roger Creed and Bill Hickman of (Bullitt fame) and was the
first actor/stuntman to be signed by a top commercial agent Nina
Blanchard and appeared for two years as the Belair Cigarette Man on TV
and in magazines. He has raced Go Karts with Paul Newman, Keenan Wynn
and Steve Rowland - also sports cars - APBA Grand National Boat Racing
Champion. In his spare time, he races bicycles and team captain for
Rinaldi/To Be Healthy cycling team. He left the acting/stunt business
in 1974. Worked as a photo journalist with producer Gary Berwin and has
written 32 magazine articles. Formed Strike Team Media in 1994 a
TV-Promotional Advertising firm and is currently working on getting his
screenplays, Closest of Enemies, Sea Foam Green and TV series idea HLS
Coconut Grove into production. He travels a lot and resides in Palm
Desert, California.
