Biography for
Fred Allen (I)

advertisement

Date of Birth

31 May 1894, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA

Date of Death

17 March 1956, New York, New York, USA (heart attack)

Birth Name

John Florence Sullivan

Mini Biography

Fred Allen, the well-known comedian who went on to star in radio, television, and film, was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1894 and educated at Boston University. His Broadway shows include "The Passing Show of 1922" and "The Greenwich Village Follies". He produced, wrote, and starred in "The Fred Allen Show" on radio from 1939 to 1949 and starred on the television show "Judge for Yourself" from 1953 to 1954. He appeared in such films as "Thanks a Million", "Love Thy Neighbor", and "Sally, Irene, and Mary". He wrote two autobiographies. The first, about his days in radio, published in 1954, is entitled "Treadmill to Oblivion". The second, about his days in vaudeville, and published after his death, is "Much Ado About Me."

IMDb Mini Biography By: Matt Dicker

Spouse

Portland Hoffa

(1928 - 17 March 1956) (his death)

Trade Mark

Played the clarinet

Trivia

Radio comic of the 30s and 40s.

One of Fred Allen's best known schticks was his long-standing feud with fellow comedian Jack Benny. The two often appeared on each other's radio programs to trade barbs. Sadly, other than an appearance on "The Jack Benny Program," in which Fred tries to steal Jack's sponsor, this did not carry over into television, as Allen died shortly after beginning his own TV show. In real life, of course, Benny and Allen were great friends, and Benny even took time on his radio program to eulogize Allen after his death.

Fred Allen was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 1988.

Star of CBS Radio's "Texaco Star Theater" (1940-1944).

Biography in: "Who's Who in Comedy" by Ronald L. Smith; pg. 10-12. New York: Facts on File, 1992. ISBN 0816023387

Was a boxer with a winning record and within sight of a title shot when he suddenly quit to become a comedian.

Worked in vaudeville under a variety of names, including John Sullivan (the one his parents gave him), Paul Huckle, Fred St. James and Benjamin Franklin.

In July, 1955, had an appendectomy, which caused him to miss two telecasts of 'What's My Line?,' where he had found a home as a regular weekly panelist.

Personal Quotes

California is a fine place to live -- if you happen to be an orange.

You can take all of the sincerity in Hollywood and put into a mosquito's navel and still have room for two caraway seeds and a producer's heart.

A celebrity is a person who works hard all his life to become well known, then wears dark glasses to avoid being recognized.

Television is a device that permits people who haven't anything to do to watch people who can't do anything.

Hanging is too good for a man who makes puns; he should be drawn and quoted.

To a newspaperman a human being is an item with the skin wrapped around it.

I learned law so well, the day I graduated I sued the college and got my tuition fees back.

[on Ed Sullivan] He'll be around for as long as someone else has talent.

My eyes look as though they are peeping over two dirty ping pong balls.

Hollywood is a place where people from Iowa mistake each other for stars.

Browse biographies section by name

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z