Allen Jenkins
Biography
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.
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Acting (129 movies)
42nd Street
1933
Blondie Johnson
1933
Pillow Talk
1959
Lady on a Train
1945
Behind the Scenes of Cain and Mabel
1936
Marked Woman
1937
Brother Orchid
1940
A Slight Case of Murder
1938
Dead End
1937
I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang
1932
Ball of Fire
1941
Three on a Match
1932
Chained for Life
1952
Blessed Event
1932
The Senator Was Indiscreet
1947
A Date with the Falcon
1942
They All Kissed the Bride
1942
Employees' Entrance
1933
Destry Rides Again
1939
The Falcon Takes Over
1942
The Gay Falcon
1941
Footsteps in the Dark
1941
Going Places
1938
The Amazing Dr. Clitterhouse
1938
Dive Bomber
1941
Robin and the 7 Hoods
1964
Five Came Back
1939
Swing Your Lady
1938
Jimmy the Gent
1934
The Case of the Baby-Sitter
1947
Eyes in the Night
1942
Sh! The Octopus
1937
Racket Busters
1938
The Big Wheel
1949
Time Out for Rhythm
1941
The Big Shakedown
1934
The Mayor of Hell
1933
Tortilla Flat
1942
Maisie Gets Her Man
1942
For Those Who Think Young
1964
The Hat Box Mystery
1947
The Mind Reader
1933
Lawyer Man
1932
Bodyhold
1949
Bedside
1934
The Case of the Howling Dog
1934
Gold Diggers in Paris
1938
Three Men on a Horse
1936
Happiness Ahead
1934
Let's Go Navy!
1951
The Case of the Lucky Legs
1935
The Merry Frinks
1934
Hard to Handle
1933
Ready, Willing and Able
1937
The Singing Kid
1936
Miss Pacific Fleet
1935
Tomorrow at Seven
1933
The Inside Story
1948
Sweet Music
1935
Dance Charlie Dance
1937
I'd Rather Be Rich
1964
Torchy Blane.. Playing with Dynamite
1939
Fools for Scandal
1938
Cain and Mabel
1936
It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World
1963
The St. Louis Kid
1934
Page Miss Glory
1935
Broadway Hostess
1935
Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage
1983
Fun on a Weekend
1947
Heart of the North
1938
The Irish in Us
1935
The Keyhole
1933
Marry the Girl
1937
A Night at the Ritz
1935
I Live for Love
1935
Professional Sweetheart
1933
Havana Widows
1933
Easy Come, Easy Go
1947
Go West, Young Lady
1941
Oklahoma Annie
1952
Hard to Get
1938
I've Got Your Number
1934
The Perfect Specimen
1937
Whirlpool
1934
The Silk Express
1933
42nd Street: From Book to Screen to Stage
2006
The Spy in the Green Hat
1967
A Day at Santa Anita
1937
Ever Since Eve
1937
The Singing Marine
1937
Wonder Man
1945
Sing Me a Love Song
1936
Meet Me on Broadway
1946
The WAC from Walla Walla
1952
Twenty Million Sweethearts
1934
Meet the Wildcat
1940
The Case of the Curious Bride
1935
Crazy Over Horses
1951
Naughty But Nice
1939
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