Phillip Alford

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Phillip Alford (born September 11, 1948 in Gadsden) is a businessman remembered as the child-actor who co-starred as "Jem" with Mary Badham's "Scout" in the 1962 film version of To Kill a Mockingbird. He was born "Philip", but usually goes by "Phillip."

Alford was born the son of a brickmason. The family moved to Birmingham where he attended Ramsay High School. He took early to the stage and had appeared in three Town & Gown Theater productions at the Clark Theatre, including "The King & I". Director James Hatcher suggested that he try out for the film, which was seeking real Southerners to play the children's roles. He was eager for the chance to miss half a day of school, and was selected, according to him, because "I was the right size, right age, right time." He read Harper Lee's book only after landing the role.

Alford's sister, Eugenia, was also hired to serve as Mary Badham's stand in. Alford recalled that by the time they filmed the scene where Jem and Dill (John Megna) roll Scout down a hill inside an automobile tire that they hated Badham so much they were hoping to kill her. "It didn't work. Couldn't get the tire going fast enough and she lived."

He went on to play roles in the films Bristle Face (1964) and Shenandoah (1965), and appeared on television in episodes of The Intruders (1970), The Virginian (1970), and Fair Play (1972).

Alford became uncomfortable with the Los Angeles lifestyle, specifically the pervasiveness of recreational drugs. He stepped away from acting at age 22 and moved back to Birmingham. He enrolled in college and accepted a job as director of the Birmingham Children's Theater for the 1972–1973 season, but determined that he was no longer interested in performance. In 1989, Alford was inducted into the Alabama Walk of Fame as part of its inaugural cohort. Because his name was misspelled on the first version of his star, he was offered it as a keepsake. He has continued to participate in various To Kill a Mockingbird reunion events.

Meanwhile, Alford began working with his father in construction and settled in Shelby County. In 1993 he bought a restaurant in Pell City from a friend and re-opened it in January 1994 as Pepper's Sports Bar and Grille.

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