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+ Fred Allen (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 so-called classic era of American radio. Fred Allen's first taste of radio came while he and Portland Hoffa waited for a promised slot in a new Arthur Hammerstein musical. In the interim, they appeared on a Chicago station's program, WLS Showboat, into which, Allen recalled, "Portland and I were presented... to inject a little class into it." Their success in these appearances helped their theater reception; live audiences in the Midwest liked to see their radio favorites in person, even if Allen and Hoffa would be replaced by Bob Hope when the radio show moved to New York several months afterward. The couple eventually got their Hammerstein show, Polly, which opened in Delaware and made the usual tour before hitting Broadway. Also in that cast was a young Englishman named Archie Leach, who received as many good notices for his romantic appeal as Allen got for his comic work. Hammerstein retooled the show before bringing it to New York, replacing everyone but two women and Allen. Leach decided to buy an old car and drive to Hollywood. "What Archie Leach didn't tell me," Allen remembered, "was that he was going to change his name to Cary Grant." Polly never succeeded in spite of several retoolings, but Allen did go on to successful shows like The Little Show (1929–30) and Three's a Crowd (1930–31), which eventually led to his full-time entry to radio in 1932. Allen first hosted The Linit Bath Club Revue on CBS, moving the show to NBC and becoming The Salad Bowl Revue (in a nod to new sponsor Hellmann's Mayonnaise, which was marketed by the parent company of Linit) later in the year. The show became The Sal Hepatica Revue (1933–34), The Hour of Smiles (1934–35), and finally Town Hall Tonight (1935–39) [in 1939–40, however, sponsor Bristol-Myers, which advertised Ipana toothpaste as well as Sal Hepatica during the program, altered the title to The Fred Allen Show, over his objections]. Allen's perfectionism (odd to some, considering his deft ad-libs) caused him to leap from sponsor to sponsor until Town Hall Tonight allowed him to set his chosen small-town milieu and establish himself as a bona fide radio star.-WikiPedia Click here to read more about Fred Allen - The Fred Allen Show


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Please enjoy these 105 old time radio episodes:

Air Date Title Synopsis Rating
 06.26.1949 fred allen fred allen show (194) final show

+ Sponsored by: Ford. The last show of the series, the last regularly scheduled show starring Fred. ...
 05.22.1949 fred allen fred allen show (189) babysitting

+ Sponsored by: Ford. The program's guest is "Colonel Stoopnagle" (Frederick Chase Taylor), who tell...
 05.01.1949 fred allen fred allen show (186) jamaica race track

+ Sponsored by: Ford. The Main Street question is "Are you going to observe "Be Kind To Animals Week...
 04.24.1949 fred allen fred allen show (185) the mad doctor of downing street

+ Sponsored by: Ford. Main Street question, "Do you think the techniques of teaching has improved? T...
 03.20.1949 fred allen fred allen show (180) mob buster

+ Sponsored by: Ford. Portland reads a poem about the noises of New York. Fred's Main Street questi...
 03.06.1949 fred allen fred allen show (178) guest fred morgan

+ Program #147. , AFRS rebroadcast. Fred and Portland walk down Main Street asking, "Does the child...
 02.27.1949 fred allen fred allen show (177) cease the melody

+Program #135. , AFRS rebroadcast. The same date, but "The Main Street Question" is different. The ...
 02.13.1949 fred allen fred allen show (175) murder case

+ Sponsored by: Ford. The Main Street question is "Do you think advertising makes people do things?"...
 02.06.1949 fred allen fred allen show (174) planning a tv show

+ Sponsored by: Ford. Fred and Portland walk down Main Street. Fred asks Senator Claghorn if he's n...
 01.30.1949 fred allen fred allen show (173) guest rudy vallee

+ Sponsored by: Ford. Main Street question: "What are women's outstanding achievements?" Fred tries...
 01.23.1949 fred allen fred allen show (172) traveling salesman

+ Sponsored by: Ford. Main Street question: "How much coffee do you drink?" "Boris Shashlik" joins T...
 01.09.1949 fred allen fred allen show (170) the author meets his match

+ Sponsored by: Ford. Main Street question: "What do you think is the best way to be happy?" With Se...
 12.05.1948 fred allen fred allen show (165) tv commercials

+ Sponsored by: Ford. Main Street question: "Do men or women spend more money on clothing?" Since "...
 11.28.1948 fred allen fred allen show (164) george jessel tries to get in the roxy theater, free

+ Sponsored by: Ford. Fred and guest George Jessel try to go to the movies to see Jessel's new film...
 11.28.1948 fred allen fred allen show (164) george jessel tries to get in the roxy theater, free

+ Sponsored by: Ford. Fred and guest George Jessel try to go to the movies to see Jessel's new film.
 11.07.1948 fred allen fred allen show (161) sam shovel, private eye

+ Sponsored by: Ford. The cast does, "Sam Shovel, Private Eye." The show opens with an offer to re-i...
 10.24.1948 fred allen fred allen show (159) prize for listeners missing contest

+ Sponsored by: Ford. The show opens with a guarantee to re-imburse any listener who misses a quiz s...
 10.03.1948 fred allen fred allen show (156) cease the melody

 06.27.1948 fred allen fred allen show (155) stop the music

+ Sponsored by: Ford. The first joke is about "Stop The Music." Fred says, "Radio is the Marshall Pl...
 06.06.1948 fred allen fred allen show (152) quiz program and soap opera

+ Sponsored by: Ford. Allen's Alley Question: "Are you spending more than you are making this year?...
 05.23.1948 fred allen fred allen show (150) fred wants to do bing's life story

+Program #220. , AFRS rebroadcast. However, the AFRS re-issue uses a different Allen's Alley questi...
 05.09.1948 fred allen fred allen show (148) break the contestant

+ Sponsored by: Ford. Allen's Alley question: "Are you satisfied with the Pulitzer Prize awards thi...
 05.09.1948 fred allen fred allen show (148) break the contestant

+ Sponsored by: Ford. Allen's Alley question: "Are you satisfied with the Pulitzer Prize awards thi...
 05.02.1948 fred allen fred allen show (147) jp morgan court of human relations

+ Sponsored by: Ford. Fred and guest Henry Morgan do a satire called, "Mr. John J. Morgan." Allen's ...
 04.25.1948 fred allen fred allen show (146) scalping baseball tickets

+ Sponsored by: Ford. Allen's Alley Question: "How do you feel about superstitions?" Fred and guest ...

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Classic cast. Classic program.

Scott

Reply
CLASSIC.......That is!!

Darwin

Reply
Somebody, Ah say, somebody knocked! Claghorn's the name, son - Senator Claghorn. Ah'm from the South. South, that is.

Bob

Reply
Howdy, bub!

Bob

Reply
I love that guy!

David

Reply
The Greatest of the Golden Age!

Kiven

Reply
I have heard some of his earliest shows and they are brilliant.

Philip

Reply
If I remember correctly from what I read, Fred Allen was a very simple, generous man who didn't even own a car. He would hand out money to people on the street as he walked from his apartment to the studio..

David

Reply
Featuring all 133 of his existing half and full-hour programs dated (1932-1953). Also, there are 26 programs that Allen was a guest star on. Allen's variety program was broadcast on CBS and NBC from 1932 to 1949.

FRED ALLEN

Reply
The Fred Allen Show, "Town Hall Tonight" is always a fun show to hear, but this is an especially memorable episode. On this show Frank Sinatra at the age of 21, with his swing band, made his professional radio debut. His group is called "Frank Sinatra and His Four Sharps" performing a Hot version of "Exactly Like You." Frank does not sing.

Mike

Reply
Also featured are The Charioteers, Cameron Andrews, a Voice Imitator and Larry Collins, who does a Strip Tease Trombone Act... you've gotta hear this one to believe it! A few years ago, I had sent that portion to my son Gary Haendiges, who is an excellent trombone player. To the best of my knowledge, Gary has never performed this kind of act.

Mike

Reply

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Kenny Delmar (Senator Claghorn), Minerva Pious (Mrs. Nussbaum), Peter McDonald (Ajax Cassidy), and Parker Fennelly (Titus Moody)
FRED ALLEN
Fred Allen by Hirschberg
Fred Allen show
Fred Allen
FRED ALLEN SHOW
FRED ALLEN SHOW
fred Allen
Eddie Cantor Show 46-09-26 Guests - Burns And Allen
Fred Alle
Fred Allen Old Time Radios home: Duffy's Tevern (Fish and Fantasy) 45-04-1927. Guest John Garfield
John Garfield
Fred Allen
Fred Allen's OTR.
Fred Allen
FRED ALLEN & JACK BENNY
FRED ALLEN & JACK BENNY
FRED ALLEN & JACK BENNY
Fred allen
Fred Allen
Fred Allen
Fred Allen Show 46-06-23 50th Anniversary of the Telephone Company
Fred Allen
Fred Allen's Old Time Radio Home
Fred Allen and his Wife
Actor Sydney Greenstreet
Actor Sydney Greenstreet
American comedian and actor Fred Allen (1894-1956).
Fred Allen
Fred Allen
Fred Allen having his hair styled. 1944 Photographer: Peter Stackpole
Fred Allen studying his lines while the make up man and hair stylist work on him. 1944 Photographer: Peter Stackpole
Photo of Fred Allen and his wife, Portland Hoffa, published by the New York Sunday News in November 1941.
Jackson Beck
Kenny Delmar
Fred Allen with dummy, circa 1916.
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Guest Basil Rathbone
Fred Allen
Fred Allen
Edward Everett Horton
Fred Allen
Fred Allen Show
Fred Allen
Alan Reed
Andy Russell
Arthur Treacher
Basil Rathbone
Beatrice Lillie
Bert Lahr
Bing Crosby
Boris Karloff
Carmen Miranda
De Marco Sisters
Dennis Day
Don McNeill
Ed Gardner
Edgar Bergen
E.G. Robinson
Frank Sinatra
Fred Allen
George Jessel
Gracie Fields
Gregory Ratoff
Hans Conried
Helen Traubel
Henry Morgan
Jack Benny
Jack Haley
James Mason
Joe Louis
Kenny Delmar
Leo Durocher
Lowell Thomas
Maurice Chevalier
Maurice Evans
Milton Berle
Minerva Pious, standing center
Monty Woolley
Orson Welles
Oscar Levant
Ozzie and Harriet Nelson
Parker Fennelly
Peter Donald
Portland Hoffa
Ray Milland
Robert Benchley
Rochester
Rudy Vallee
Shirley Booth
Sydney Greenstreet
Tallulah Bankhead
Tony Martin
Wynn Murray
Fred Allen
Linit for the Bath
Parker Fennelly had regular roles on radio program The Fred Allen Show.
Fred Allen Show 44-01-09 Fred Gets Hit on the Head by a Beer Barrel
Ad Fred Allen show
Fred Allen
Guest Judy Canova Last Show Of Season
Thelma Ritter and Fred Allen
Fred Allen Show 45-11-11 Mr. Mob Buster
Fred Allen Show 40-05-22 The Curse of Ra
Fred Allen Fred Allen Show 061 Carmen Miranda
fred allen fred allen show (120) the haley and allen show
Fred Allen Show 40-06-05 Senator Allen's Dilemma
Fred Allen Show 39-10-04 The Search for Dr Livingston
Fred Allen Show 40-02-28 Life at the South Pole
Fred Allen Show 40-02-28 Life at the South Pole
Fred Allen Show 46-06-23 50th Anniversary of the Telephone Company
The Fred Allen Show 46-01-20 A Movie on Fred Allens Life
Fred Allen Show 49-01-23 Traveling Salesman
Fred Allen 1941-03-26 The Wedlock Society
Fred Allen and Portland Hoffa
The Fred Allen Show
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