John Hubbard (actor)

John Hubbard (April 14, 1914 – November 6, 1988) was an American television and film 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.