Fred Allen (born John Florence Sullivan; May 31, 1894 – March 17, 1956) was an American comedian whose absurdist, topically pointed radio show (1932–1949) made him one of the most popular and forward-looking humorists in the Golden Age of American radio.His best-remembered gag was his long-running mock feud with friend and fellow comedian Jack Benny, but it was only part of his appeal; radio historian John Dunning (in On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio) wrote that Allen was radio's most admired comedian and most frequently censored. A master ad libber, Allen often tangled with his network's executives (and often barbed them on the air over the battles), while developing routines whose style and substance influenced fellow comic talents, including Groucho Marx, Stan Freberg, Henry Morgan and Johnny Carson; his avowed fans also included President Franklin D. Roosevelt, and novelists William Faulkner, John Steinbeck and Herman Wouk (who began his career writing for Allen).Fred Allen was honored with stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for contributions to television and radio.
May 31, 1894, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States
Died
March 17, 1956, Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States
Place Of Birth
Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
Profession
Actor, Writer, Soundtrack
Education
Boston University
Nationality
American
Spouse
Portland Hoffa (m. 1927)
Parents
Cecilia Herlihy Sullivan, James Henry Sullivan
Siblings
Robert Sullivan
Awards
Peabody Award
Movies
O. Henry's Full House, We're Not Married!, It's in the Bag!, Love Thy Neighbor, Sally, Irene and Mary, Thanks a Million, Project XX: The Jazz Age
TV Shows
What's My Line?, The Colgate Comedy Hour, Judge for Yourself, Chesterfield Sound Off Time
Star Sign
Gemini
#
Trademark
1
Played the clarinet
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Quote
1
[on Ed Sullivan] He's a pointer. A dog could do that show.
2
[observation, 1956] Vaudeville is dead. The acrobats, the animal acts, the dancers, the singers and the old-time comedians have taken their final bows and disappeared into the wings of obscurity. For 50 years vaudeville was the popular entertainment of the masses. Nomadic tribes of nondescript players roamed the land. The vaudeville actor was part gypsy and part suitcase. With his brash manner, flashy clothes, capes and cane, and accompanied by his gaudy womenfolk, the vaudevillian brought happiness and excitement to the communities he visited. Vaudeville was more a matter of style than of material. It was not so much what the two- and three-a-day favorites said and did, as how they said and did it. For 50 years vaudeville's minstrels found their way into all lands, preaching their gospel of merriment and song, and rousing the rest of the world to laughter and to tears. A few diehards who knew and enjoyed vaudeville hover over their television sets, hoping for a miracle. They believe this electronic device is a modern oxygen tent that in some mysterious way can revive vaudeville and return its colorful performers of yesteryear to the current scene. The optimism of these day and night dreamers is wasted. Their vigils are futile. Vaudeville is dead. Period.
3
An actor's popularity is fleeting. His success has the life expectancy of a small boy who is about to look into a gas tank with a lighted match.
4
Television is a new medium. It's called a medium because it's rare when anything is well-done.
5
[on committee] Committee] a group of men who individually can do nothing but as a group decide nothing can be done.
6
Hollywood is a place where people from Iowa mistake each other for stars.
7
My eyes look as though they are peeping over two dirty ping pong balls.
8
[on Ed Sullivan] He'll be around for as long as someone else has talent.
9
I learned law so well, the day I graduated I sued the college and got my tuition fees back.
10
To a newspaperman a human being is an item with the skin wrapped around it.
11
Hanging is too good for a man who makes puns; he should be drawn and quoted.
12
Television is a device that permits people who haven't anything to do to watch people who can't do anything.
13
A celebrity is a person who works hard all his life to become well known, then wears dark glasses to avoid being recognized.
14
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.
15
California is a fine place to live--if you happen to be an orange.
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Fact
1
Father: John H. Sullivan; Mother: Cecilia Herlihy.
2
His face & baggy eyes became familiar to millions of movie goers in his mid 30s.
3
Distant relative of comedian Joe Lipari. (Mr. Allen was Joe's grandfather's cousin.).
4
He was awarded two Stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Radio (6709 1/2 Hollywood Boulevard) and for Television (7021 Hollywood Boulevard) in Hollywood, California.
5
In July, 1955, had an appendectomy, which caused him to miss two telecasts of What's My Line? (1950) where he had found a home as a regular weekly panelist.
6
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.
7
Biography in: "Who's Who in Comedy" by Ronald L. Smith; pg. 10-12. New York: Facts on File, 1992. ISBN 0816023387
8
Star of CBS Radio's "Texaco Star Theater" (1940-1944).
9
Fred Allen was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 1988.
10
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.
11
Radio comic of the 1930s and '40s.
Actor
Title
Year
Status
Character
The Christophers
1956
TV Series
The Jack Benny Program
1953
TV Series
Fred Allen
All Star Revue
1953
TV Series
Guest Comedian
O. Henry's Full House
1952
Sam 'Slick' Brown (segment "The Ransom of Red Chief")
We're Not Married!
1952
Steven S. 'Steve' Gladwyn
It's in the Bag!
1945
Fred F. Trumble Floogle
Love Thy Neighbor
1940
Fred Allen
Buck Benny Rides Again
1940
Fred Allen (voice)
Sally, Irene and Mary
1938
Gabriel 'Gabby' Green
Thanks a Million
1935
Ned Lyman
The Still Alarm
1930
Short
Fred Allen's Prize Playlets
1929
Short
The Installment Collector
1929
Short
The Newspaper Editor
Writer
Title
Year
Status
Character
It's in the Bag!
1945
screen treatment
Thanks a Million
1935
contributor to dialogue - uncredited
Success
1931
Short story
The Under Dog
1930
Short
Faint Heart
1929
Short story
Fred Allen's Prize Playlets
1929
Short uncredited
Soundtrack
Title
Year
Status
Character
It's in the Bag!
1945
performer: "The Curse of an Aching Heart" 1913, "Sweet Genevieve" 1869 - uncredited
Thanks a Million
1935
"Square Deal Party" 1935, uncredited / performer: "Happy Days Are Here Again" 1929 - uncredited
Thanks
Title
Year
Status
Character
Dream Job
2012
Short in memory of
George Carlin: Carlin on Campus
1984
TV Special documentary special thanks
Self
Title
Year
Status
Character
The David Frost Show
1970
TV Series
Himself
Project XX
1956
TV Series documentary
Himself - Narrator
What's My Line?
1953-1956
TV Series
Himself - Panelist / Himself / Himself - Mystery Guest
I've Got a Secret
1955
TV Series
Celebrity Guest
Armstrong Circle Theatre
1954
TV Series
Himself / George Bidwell / Bartender / ...
This Is Your Life
1954
TV Series
Himself
Judge for Yourself
1954
TV Series
Himself - Host
All Star Revue
1951-1953
TV Series
Himself - Guest Comedian / Himself - Comedian
The Jack Benny Program
1953
TV Series
Himself
Chesterfield Sound Off Time
1952
TV Series
Himself
The Colgate Comedy Hour
1950-1951
TV Series
Himself - Comedian / Himself / Himself - Host
Your Show of Shows
1951
TV Series
Himself - Guest Performer
We, the People
1948
TV Series
Himself - Host
Behind Your Radio Dial
1948
Documentary short
Himself
Is Everybody Listening?
1947
Documentary short
Fred Allen - Fred Allen Radio Program
The March of Time: Volume 1, Number 5
1937
Documentary short
Himself
Archive Footage
Title
Year
Status
Character
Television: The First Fifty Years
1999
Video documentary
Himself
Empire of the Air: The Men Who Made Radio
1991
Documentary
Himself - Predicts Demise of Radio (uncredited)
The Great Standups
1984
TV Movie documentary
Himself
TV's Funniest Game Show Moments
1984
TV Special
Himself
Bob Hope's World of Comedy
1976
TV Movie
Tribute Montage
Happy Days
1970-1976
TV Series
Himself
The Great Radio Comedians
1972
TV Movie documentary
Fred Allen
The DuPont Show of the Week
1961
TV Series
Himself
Screen Snapshots 2856: It Was Only Yesterday
1950
Short
Fred Allen
The Great American Broadcast
1941
Fred Allen (uncredited)
Won Awards
Year
Award
Ceremony
Nomination
Movie
1960
Star on the Walk of Fame
Walk of Fame
Television
On 8 February 1960. At 7021 Hollywood Blvd.
1960
Star on the Walk of Fame
Walk of Fame
Radio
On 8 February 1960. At 6709-1/2 Hollywood Blvd.
Known for movies
What's My Line? (1953-1956) as Himself - Panelist / Himself / Himself - Mystery Guest
Judge for Yourself (1954) as Himself - Host
Chesterfield Sound Off Time (1952) as Himself
It's in the Bag! (1945) as Fred F. Trumble Floogle
$850,000
