Andy Albin; Ex-Vaudevillian Appeared in Character Roles

Veteran actor Andy Albin, whose dramatic credits ranged from the froth of vaudeville to the convoluted mystery dramas of Alfred Hitchcock, has died of what a Motion Picture and Television Fund Hospital spokeswoman described as a long illness.

The Russian-born actor died Tuesday at the Woodland Hills hospital, said spokeswoman Kimberly Centurion. He was 86.

Albin began his career by winning a Charleston contest in Philadelphia. He moved into vaudeville in the 1930s, with his future wife as his partner, and played major theaters in the United States and England, including the Winter Garden and the Palace in New York and the London Palladium.

The actor eventually came to Hollywood, where he appeared as a farmer in “North by Northwest,” the classic Hitchcock suspense-thriller starring Cary Grant.

From 1958 through 1989 Albin worked regularly at Paramount, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 20th Century Fox and other major studios.

His other movie credits included small roles in “1776,” “Pocketful of Miracles” and “Please Don’t Eat the Daisies.”

He also had roles in the television series “McHale’s Navy,” “Man From U.N.C.L.E.” and “Bonanza.”

Albin is survived by his wife of 61 years, Dolores.

Centurion asked that donations be sent to the Alzheimer’s Assn. or the Motion Picture and Television Fund Foundation.