Irving Thalberg Jr. (August 25, 1930-1988), was a college professor of philosophy, and the son of 1930s Hollywood "boy wonder" producer Irving Thalberg and Academy award-winning actress Norma Shearer-Thalberg.

Thalberg's family settled into a comfortable Hollywood home life at 706 Ocean Front Drive, near the homes of friends such as studio owner Louis B. Mayer and actress Marion Davies. Two weeks after the opening of "Romeo and Juliet," Irving Thalberg, Sr. suffered a fatal heart attack at the age of 37.

Irving Thalberg Jr. was educated at Institute Le Rosey in Switzerland and attended Stanford University. He was a teacher of philosophy at the University of Illinois at Chicago Circle until he passed away of cancer in 1988.

He published two books of philosophical studies: "Enigmas of Agency," Allen & Unwin, London, 1972, and "Perception, Emotion & Action," Blackwells, Oxford, 1977.