Allen Jenkins

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.

King Kong

7.6

Bewitched

7.9

It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World

7.0

Batman

7.3

The Front Page

7.3

Top Cat

7.5

Grand Hotel

6.9

Pillow Talk

7.1

I Love Lucy

7.9

Ball of Fire

7.4

I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang

7.8

42nd Street

6.9

Destry Rides Again

7.2

Dead End

7.0

Marked Woman

6.5

Robin and the 7 Hoods

6.0

Three on a Match

6.2

The Man from U.N.C.L.E.

7.2

The Amazing Dr. Clitterhouse

7.2

Lady on a Train

6.5

A Slight Case of Murder

6.1

Adam-12

7.1

Five Came Back

6.2

Wonder Man

6.6

Brother Orchid

6.4

Eyes in the Night

6.0

Dive Bomber

6.3

The Mayor of Hell

7.1

Wagon Train

6.3

The Falcon Takes Over

6.0

Jimmy the Gent

6.3

Employees' Entrance

6.3

Tortilla Flat

5.4

The Gay Falcon

6.2

A Date with the Falcon

6.5

Sh! The Octopus

5.7

The Case of the Curious Bride

6.0

Bureau of Missing Persons

5.6

Blondie Johnson

6.1

Behave Yourself!

6.1

Honey West

7.0

The Red Skelton Show

7.3

The Big Shakedown

5.6

Stage Door Canteen

6.1

Ben Casey

5.6

Chained for Life

4.1

Hard to Handle

6.6

Cain and Mabel

6.2

The Keyhole

4.9

The Spy in the Green Hat

6.5

The Case of the Howling Dog

6.5

Racket Busters

5.1

Ever Since Eve

5.8

Complicated Women

6.7

The Mind Reader

6.3

Lawyer Man

5.8

Footsteps in the Dark

6.9

Swing Your Lady

4.2

For Those Who Think Young

5.2

Tomorrow at Seven

6.0

Blessed Event

6.5

They All Kissed the Bride

5.8

The Big Wheel

5.8

The Case of the Lucky Legs

6.0

While the Patient Slept

6.4

Four Star Playhouse

6.1

Bedside

5.6

Tin Pan Alley

5.0

Time Out for Rhythm

6.2

Ready, Willing and Able

5.2

The Inside Story

6.5

Page Miss Glory

6.3

The Irish in Us

7.7

The Silk Express

4.7

Twenty Million Sweethearts

6.0

Naughty But Nice

6.2

Mr. & Mrs. North

4.3

The Senator Was Indiscreet

5.4

Going Places

6.2

Three Men on a Horse

6.2

Fools for Scandal

6.2

The St. Louis Kid

5.8

Broadway Hostess

5.2

I Live for Love

4.8

Hard to Get

6.0

I've Got Your Number

6.0

The Perfect Specimen

5.7

Whirlpool

6.1

Three Cheers for the Girls

6.2

The Hat Box Mystery

4.2

Happiness Ahead

6.0

I'd Rather Be Rich

5.8

Torchy Blane.. Playing with Dynamite

6.0

Professional Sweetheart

5.0

Havana Widows

5.8

Go West, Young Lady

6.9

The Merry Frinks

3.7

Sweet Music

5.7

Heart of the North

3.7

The Singing Marine

4.0

Sweepstakes Winner

3.7

Oh, Johnny, How You Can Love!

5.7

Blow-Ups of 1947

6.3

Breakdowns of 1937

6.0

Things You Never See on the Screen

5.0

General Electric Theater

6.0

Racket Squad

6.0

Maisie Gets Her Man

6.5

Gold Diggers in Paris

5.5

Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage

6.5

Oklahoma Annie

8.0

42nd Street: From Book to Screen to Stage

6.0

Crazy Over Horses

5.5

Talent Scout

6.0

Breakdowns of 1938

5.0

Doctor, You've Got to Be Kidding!

5.5

December Bride

5.5

The Adventures of Boston Blackie

4.0

Hey, Jeannie!

5.5

Behind the Scenes of Cain and Mabel

6.0

The Case of the Baby-Sitter

4.0

Bodyhold

3.0

Let's Go Navy!

7.0

The Singing Kid

4.0

Miss Pacific Fleet

4.0

Dance Charlie Dance

6.0

Fun on a Weekend

7.0

Marry the Girl

5.0

A Night at the Ritz

3.0

A Day at Santa Anita

5.0

Meet Me on Broadway

7.0

Breakdowns of 1940

4.0

Rackety Rax

5.0

James Stewart: A Wonderful Life

6.0

Easy Come, Easy Go

0.0

Sing Me a Love Song

0.0

The WAC From Walla Walla

0.0

Meet the Wildcat

0.0

Sins of Man

0.0

Margie

0.0

Breakdowns of 1936

0.0

The Dark Horse

0.0

Wild Harvest

0.0

Singin' in the Corn

0.0

The Girl Habit

0.0

Getting Away from It All

0.0

My Wife's an Angel

0.0

The Duke

0.0

Studio 57

0.0