alfred lunt, jr. was born in 1892 in milwaukee, the son of a wisconsin lumberman. he was interested in the theater from the age of three, and enjoyed summers working on his aunt's farm in neenah. in 1906 alfred's swedish-born stepfather moved the family out to the village of genesee depot, where he practiced as a physician. but within a few years financial problems forced the family to move to finland, then a swedish colony, to live with the step-father's family. alfred spent summers in finland, learning a fondness for the culture. during the school year he attended carroll college academy back in waukesha, then started at carroll college, where he majored in oratory, appeared in college plays, and designed, built, and painted scenery. in 1912 he left carroll and headed east to join a theater company in boston, where he eventually became a successful stage actor, achieving acclaim in booth tarkington's play "clarence" in 1919.