Orval E. Allbritton Interviews

Orval Edwin Allbritton was born August 31, 1928 in Hot Springs, Garland County, Arkansas.

Allbritton was recruited into the FBI while a senior in high school and began working for them in 1947. He lived in Washington, DC, for two years before transferring to the Little Rock Field Office. Allbritton stayed with the FBI for eleven years before transitioning to work as an insurance adjuster.

After retirement, Allbritton returned to Hot Springs. He began volunteering for the Garland County Historical Society in 1993. Allbritton has written six books on Hot Springs history, including The Mob at the Spa: Organized Crime and Its Fascination with Hot Springs, Arkansas and Leo and Verne: The Spa's Heyday.

#1: Composite image of early photo of Orval Allbritton and still frame from Pryor Center video interview
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

Orval Allbritton, approximately six years old, Rood's Grocery, Hot Springs, Arkansas © Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

#2: Orval Allbritton, approximately six years old, Rood's Grocery, Hot Springs, Arkansas
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

Orval Allbritton with his parents, Odus and Lydia (Wright), and sister, Carolyn Sue, August 1940 © Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

#3: Orval Allbritton with his parents, Odus and Lydia (Wright), and sister, Carolyn Sue, August 1940
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

Orval Allbritton with his parents, Odus and Lydia, and sister, Carolyn Sue, in Chula Vista, California, 1946 © Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

#4: Orval Allbritton with his parents, Odus and Lydia, and sister, Carolyn Sue, in Chula Vista, California, 1946
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

Orval Allbritton's school photo, Lakeside High School, Hot Springs, Arkansas, 1946-1947 © Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

#5: Orval Allbritton's school photo, Lakeside High School, Hot Springs, Arkansas, 1946-1947
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

Orval Allbritton's high school senior photo, Lakeside High School, Hot Springs, Arkansas, 1947 © Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

#6: Orval Allbritton's high school senior photo, Lakeside High School, Hot Springs, Arkansas, 1947
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

Orval Allbritton with the Hot Springs Bathers baseball team: (l-r) Orval Allbritton, Ferd Mazzi Jr., Bobby Lewis, Ott Ray, Bill "Moon" Mullins, Raymond Lawson, Wayne LaPlace, Arliss Ray, Buck Freeman, Lloyd Robbins, and bat boys, Rex and Joe Mahall © Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

#7: Orval Allbritton with the Hot Springs Bathers baseball team: (l-r) Orval Allbritton, Ferd Mazzi Jr., Bobby Lewis, Ott Ray, Bill "Moon" Mullins, Raymond Lawson, Wayne LaPlace, Arliss Ray, Buck Freeman, Lloyd Robbins, and bat boys, Rex and Joe Mahall
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

#8: Orval Allbritton (left) with Bob Gibson, 1948
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

Orval Allbritton onboard the <i>Miss Ruth,</i> Chesapeake Bay, Maryland; August 7, 1948 © Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

#9: Orval Allbritton onboard the Miss Ruth, Chesapeake Bay, Maryland; August 7, 1948
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

#10: Orval Allbritton
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

Orval Allbritton (3rd from left) with his family: (l-r) son, David with his wife, Linda; granddaughter, Stephie; wife, Norma; granddaughter, Tracie; and daughter, Becky with her husband, Carl © Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

#11: Orval Allbritton (3rd from left) with his family: (l-r) son, David with his wife, Linda; granddaughter, Stephie; wife, Norma; granddaughter, Tracie; and daughter, Becky with her husband, Carl
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

Orval and Norma Allbritton (left) with their granddaughters and children, May 8, 1999 © Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

#12: Orval and Norma Allbritton (left) with their granddaughters and children, May 8, 1999
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

#13: Orval and Norma Allbritton
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

Orval and Ann Allbritton's wedding day: (l-r) Larry and Katie Gibson, Robin Waters, Lyle Van Arsdale, Ann (Tobey) and Orval Allbritton, David and Linda Allbritton, and Becky and Carl © Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

#14: Orval and Ann Allbritton's wedding day: (l-r) Larry and Katie Gibson, Robin Waters, Lyle Van Arsdale, Ann (Tobey) and Orval Allbritton, David and Linda Allbritton, and Becky and Carl
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

#15: Orval and Ann (Tobey) Allbritton on their wedding day
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

Orval and Ann Allbritton © Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

#17: Orval Allbritton, Petit Jean State Park, Arkansas, ca. 2007
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

#18: Orval Allbritton on his 80th birthday, August 31, 2008
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

Orval and Ann Allbritton (left) celebrating his 80th birthday with Rob Floyd; great-grandson, Malichi Floyd; granddaughter, Tracie Floyd; daughter, Becky and her husband, Carl; August 31, 2008 © Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

#19: Orval and Ann Allbritton (left) celebrating his 80th birthday with Rob Floyd; great-grandson, Malichi Floyd; granddaughter, Tracie Floyd; daughter, Becky and her husband, Carl; August 31, 2008
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

Behind-the-scenes photo from Pryor Center interview with Orval Allbritton at the Garland County Historical Society; Hot Springs, Arkansas, 2012 © Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

#20: Behind-the-scenes photo from Pryor Center interview with Orval Allbritton at the Garland County Historical Society; Hot Springs, Arkansas, 2012
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

#21: Behind-the-scenes photo from Pryor Center interview with Orval Allbritton at the Garland County Historical Society; Hot Springs, Arkansas, 2012
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

Still frame from Pryor Center video interview with Orval Allbritton at the Garland County Historical Society; Hot Springs, Arkansas, 2012 © Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

#22: Still frame from Pryor Center video interview with Orval Allbritton at the Garland County Historical Society; Hot Springs, Arkansas, 2012
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

#23: Still frame from Pryor Center video interview with Orval Allbritton at the Garland County Historical Society; Hot Springs, Arkansas, 2012
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

#24: Still frame from Pryor Center video interview with Orval Allbritton at the Garland County Historical Society; Hot Springs, Arkansas, 2012
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas