ALBANY — Woody Harrelson caused a stir when he came to Albany in August 2021, to portray spymaster E. Howard Hunt in the five-part HBO series, “The White House Plumbers,” alongside Justin Theroux as G. Gordon Liddy.
With Albany as a stand-in for Washington, in the throes of the Watergate scandal, Harrelson and his co-stars drew scores of fans when they shot scenes at the Capitol, Legislative Office Building and the state Education Building — flanked by 1970s vintage automobiles, dozens of extras in period costumes and a large film crew.
What few realized was that the real Howard Hunt lived in Albany at his parents’ town house at 30 Willett St., across from Washington Park, a few blocks from the Capitol. Hunt moved back home in 1948, when he was 30 and between jobs.
Hunt was born in 1918 and grew up in the Buffalo suburb of Hamburg. He graduated from Brown University, served in the U.S. Navy during World War II and was recruited to work for the Central Intelligence Agency.
If you go
When: 7 p.m. Thursday
What: Photographer Phil Caruso will discuss his work on “The White House Plumbers” and 40 years as a still photographer on more than 100 film sets.
Where: Hearst Media Center at the Times Union, 645 Albany Shaker Road, Colonie. The event is free, but registration is required at https://www.eventbrite.com
His father, Everette Howard Hunt Sr., was a lawyer and Erie County Republican Party official who worked as an insurance industry lobbyist at the Capitol.
For his role as Hunt, Harrelson wore a prosthetic device in his mouth to create a jutting jaw to create a growling delivery. He imbues Hunt with a volcanic temper, swaggering bombast and a taste for the high life.
The operatic finale of “The White House Plumbers” aired Monday night and focused on Liddy and Hunt’s…
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