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, Hal Roach signed John Hubbard as one of five promising young actors with "star" potential. Roach saw something in Hubbard, whose handsome features lent themselves to romantic roles while his dialogue skills allowed him to play farce comedy. He was showcased in The Housekeeper's Daughter and Turnabout, but when Roach abandoned full-length features for shorter featurettes, Hubbard found roles elsewhere. During World War II Hubbard was busily engaged as a "male lead for hire" at several studios, substituting for established male stars who had joined the armed forces. With no single studio guiding his career, Hubbard never advanced to important roles in major productions, and wound up in routine juvenile roles in romances, mysteries, and musical comedies. Hubbard himself joined the military in 1944, and resumed his movie career in 1947 at smaller, independent studios.
Television
Hubbard found additional opportunities in the new field of television, as a supporting actor. He played "Brown" in The Mickey Rooney Show, "Bill Bronson" in My Little Margie, "Col. U. Charles Barker" in the military comedyDon't Call Me Charlie and "Ted Gaynor" in Family Affair. However, most of his television assignments were single appearances in popular network series like Perry Mason, The Green Hornet, and Adam-12. He was frequently cast by Warner Bros. for such series as Maverick, Hawaiian Eye, 77 Sunset Strip, Lawman, Cheyenne, and Surfside 6.
Other media
In 1951 Hubbard starred on stage with Mary Brian in a comedy, Mary Had a Little, in Melbourne, Australia. Hubbard also worked in network radio, replacing Robert North as Alice Faye's brother Willy starting in the 1953-54 season of The Phil Harris-Alice Faye Show. Between acting roles, Hubbard worked as an automobile salesman and the manager of a restaurant. He retired from acting in 1974 after a character role in Herbie Rides Again, although he made one more appearance in a television movie in 1980.
