John Alvin: Stage, Screen, TV Actor, Dies at 91

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Veteran stage, screen and television actor John Alvin, a 20-year resident of Thousand Oaks, has died from complications following a fall. He was 91.

Alvin died Feb. 27 at a local nursing home about a week after the accident, his wife of 61 years, June, said.

One of two sons of a surgeon and an opera singer, John Alvin Hoffstadt was born in Chicago on Oct. 24, 1917. He began acting in high school and moved to California in 1939 to study at the Pasadena Playhouse, where he met his future wife. Shortly thereafter, due to the outbreak of World War II, he dropped his last name and for the rest of his life, went simply by John Alvin.

Signed to a four-year contract with Warner Brothers, Alvin made more than 25 films in that period, including “Northern Pursuit” with Errol Flynn, and “Destination Tokyo” with Cary Grant and John Garfield.

In a 2006 interview with The Star, Alvin recalled the effect Grant had on his career.

“I learned more about show business from him than from anyone,” Alvin said. “He was very attentive and helpful.”

Other Warner Brothers movies Alvin made included “Objective, Burma!” “Beast with Five Fingers” and “The Very Thought of You.”

Other movies he appeared in following his exclusive Warner Brothers years included “Irma la Douce,” “Inside Daisy Clover,” “Marnie,” directed by Alfred Hitchcock, and “They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?”

Alvin appeared in countless television shows from the 1950s to the 1990s, including “Murder, She Wrote,” “General Hospital,” “Starsky and Hutch,” “I Spy,” “Dragnet,” “All in the Family,” “My Three Sons,” “Rawhide,” “Lou Grant,” “Ironside” and “The Incredible Hulk.”

He also was an accomplished stage actor, appearing in productions of “The Cradle Will Rock,” “The Chicago Conspiracy Trial,” “The Student Prince,” “Send Me No Flowers” and “Rain,” directed by Charlie Chaplin.

Alvin also appeared in numerous commercials for such companies as Porsche-Audi, McDonald’s, Mattel and H&R Block.

In his later years, Alvin screened the movies he appeared in at Conejo Valley Senior Concerns, a Thousand Oaks organization for frail seniors.

Alvin is survived by his wife, his daughter, Kim Ford, his son, Craig, four grandchildren and three great grandchildren. Another son, Tracy, died of a drug overdose at age 21 in 1969.

Alvin’s body was cremated and his ashes scattered at sea. A celebration of his life is being planned.

“John never wanted to be mourned,” June said. “He always said that when something happened to him, he would just like us to get together, have a toast to him and think about the good things in his life.”

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Rest in Peace

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