Phillip Alford

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Philip 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 his name is often mispelled "Phillip."

Alford was born the son of a Gadsden brickmason. He took early to the stage and had appeared in three Town and Gown productions at the Clark Theatre before going to New York to audition for To Kill a Mockingbird. His sister, Eugenia, was hired on as Badham's stand in.

Alford went on to play roles in the film Shenandoah (1965) and in the television shows Bristle Face (1964), The Intruders (1970), The Virginian (1970), and Fair Play (1972).

After concluding his film career, Alford moved back to Birmingham. In 1989, Alford was inducted into the Alabama Walk of Fame for his role in To Kill a Mockingbird.

Alford participates in various To Kill a Mockingbird reunion events. At one such event in Wichita, Kansas, 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."

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