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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
1966
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Allen Jenkins (April 9, 1900 – July 20, 1974) was an American character actor on stage, screen and television. He was born Alfred McGonegal on Staten Island, New York.
He studied at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. In his first stage appearance, he danced next to James Cagney in a chorus line for an off-Broadway musical called Pitter-Patter. He made five dollars a week. He also appeared one thousand times in Broadway plays between 1924 and 1962, including The Front Page with Lee Tracy (1928). His big break came when he replaced Spencer Tracy for three weeks in the Broadway play The Last Mile.
He was called to Hollywood by Darryl F. Zanuck and signed first to Paramount Pictures and shortly afterwards to Warner Bros. He originated the character of Frankie Wells in the Broadway production of Blessed Event and reprised the role in the film adaptation, both in 1932. With the advent of talking pictures, he made a career out of playing comic henchmen, stooges, policemen and other "tough guys" in numerous films of the 1930s and 1940s, especially for Warner Bros. He was labeled the "greatest scene-stealer of the 1930s" by the New York Times. He voiced the character of "Officer Dibble" on the Hanna-Barbera television cartoon Top Cat and was a regular on the 1956-1957 television situation comedy Hey, Jeannie! (1956), starring Jeannie Carson. He was also a guest star on The Red Skelton Show, I Love Lucy, Playhouse 90, The Ernie Kovacs Show, Zane Grey Theater, and The Sid Caesar Show. Eleven days before his death he made his final appearance, at the end of Billy Wilder's 1974 film adaptation of The Front Page.
He went public with his alcoholism and was the first actor to speak in the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate about it. He helped start the first Alcoholics Anonymous programs in California prisons for women.
Jenkins, James Cagney, Pat O'Brien and Frank McHugh were the original members of the so-called "Irish Mafia". He was the seventh member of the Screen Actors Guild.
Description above from the Wikipedia article Allen Jenkins, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Gender
Male
Birthday
April 8, 1900
Died
July 20, 1974
Birthplace
Staten Island, New York City, New York, USA
Also Known As
Three Men on a Horse
1957
Wild Harvest
1947
The St. Louis Kid
1934
Dive Bomber
1941
Meet the Wildcat
1940
Heart of the North
1938
Sins of Man
1936
Lawyer Man
1932
The Dark Horse
1946
The Amazing Dr. Clitterhouse
1938
The Gay Falcon
1941
A Night at the Ritz
1935
Fools for Scandal
1938
They All Kissed the Bride
1942
Blessed Event
1932
I've Got Your Number
1934
King Kong
1933
Ever Since Eve
1937
The Girl Habit
1931
Cain and Mabel
1936
+ 111 more movies
Bewitched
1964
Bewitched
1964
Batman
1966
Adam-12
1968
Wagon Train
1957
December Bride
1954
The Red Skelton Show
1951
Four Star Playhouse
1952
Ben Casey
1961
The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
1964
I Love Lucy
1951
Studio 57
1954
Top Cat
1961
Racket Squad
1951
The Abbott and Costello Show
1952
Boston Blackie
1951
Honey West
1965
Mr. & Mrs. North
1952
Hey, Jeannie!
1956
General Electric Theater
1953
+ 1 more TV shows