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Fred Allen Biography (1894-1956)

Original name, John Florence Sullivan; born May 31, 1894, in Cambridge, MA; died March 17, 1956, in New York, NY; son of a bookbinder and storyteller; married Portland Hoffa (an actress), 1927 (some sources say 1928). Career: Actor, comedian, producer, and writer. Worked in vaudeville as a juggler, touring the United States, Canada, and Australia, 1915-16, sometimes appearingas Fred St. James and Fred James. Awards, Honors: George Foster Peabody Broadcasting Award, 1944; inducted into National Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame, 1977.

Much of Allen's correspondence can be found in Papers, 1932-1951, housed at the Manuscript Division of the Library of Congress.*

Nationality

American

Gender

Male

Occupation

Actor, comedian, producer, writer

Birth Details

May 31, 1894

Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States

Death Details

March 17, 1956

New York, New York, United States

Famous Works

• CREDITS
• Television Appearances
• Series
• Panelist, What's My Line?, CBS, 1954-56
• Alternate host, Sound-Off Time, NBC, 1951-52
• Host, Judge for Yourself (also known as The Fred Allen Show), NBC, 1953-54
• Specials
• Dateline, NBC, 1954
• Entertainment, 1955, NBC, 1955
• Episodic
• "Fred Allen's Sketchbook," Armstrong Circle Theater (also known asCircle Theater), NBC, 1954
• Hosted The Colgate Comedy Hour (also known as The Colgate Variety Hour), NBC.
• Radio Appearances
• Series
• The Lint Bath Club Revue, CBS, 1932-33
• The Salad Bowl Revue, 1933
• The Sal Hepatica Revue, 1933-34
• The Hour of Smiles, 1934-35
• Town Hall Tonight, NBC, 1935-40
• The Fred Allen Show, 1934-40
• The Texaco Star Theater, CBS, 1940-45
• The Big Show, 1951-52
• Radio Work
• Series
• Producer, The Fred Allen Show, 1934-40
• Radio Appearances
• Episodic
• Himself, The Jack Benny Program, NBC, 1946
• Narrator of "Peter and the Wolf," The Telephone Hour; appeared inother episodes of The Jack Benny Program, NBC and CBS; also appeared in Bits of Theatre, The Bond Bread Program, Collier's Hour, The Henry Morgan Show, Information Please, and Quiz Kids.
• Film Appearances
• The Still Alarm (short), Vitaphone, 1930
• Ned Lyman, Thanks a Million, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1935
• Gabriel "Gabby" Green, Sally, Irene, and Mary, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1938
• Himself, Love Thy Neighbor, Paramount, 1940
• Voice, Buck Benny Rides Again, Paramount, 1940
• Fred Floogle, It's in the Bag (also known as The Fifth Chair), United Artists, 1945
• Steve Gladwyn, We're Not Married, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1952
• Sam, "The Ransom of the Red Chief," O. Henry's Full House (also known as Full House), Twentieth Century-Fox, 1952
• Stage Appearances
• The Passing Show of 1922, Broadway production, 1922
• Appeared on Broadway in The Greenwich Village Follies; appeared inthe musical Polly, in Three's a Crowd and in the first Little Show.
• WRITINGS
• Radio Scripts
• Series
• The Lint Bath Club Revue, CBS, 1932-33
• The Salad Bowl Revue, 1933
• The Sal Hepatica Revue, 1933-34
• The Hour of Smiles, 1934-35
• Town Hall Tonight, NBC, 1935-40
• The Fred Allen Show, 1934-40
• Texaco Star Theatre, CBS, 1940-45
• The Big Show, 1951-52
• Memoirs
• Treadmill to Oblivion, 1954
• Much Ado about Me, Little, Brown (Boston, MA), 1956