Name
Allen Jenkins
Known For
Acting
Birthday
1900-04-08
Deathday
1974-07-20 (74 years old)
Place of Birth
Staten Island, New York City, New York, USA
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.
Description above from the Wikipedia article Allen Jenkins, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Known For
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- 1933 42nd Street as Mac Elroy
- 1933 Blondie Johnson as Louie
- 1959 Pillow Talk as Harry
- 1945 Lady on a Train as Danny (Waring chauffeur)
- 1936 Behind the Scenes of Cain and Mabel as Self
- 1937 Marked Woman as Louie
- 1940 Brother Orchid as Willie 'The Knife' Corson
- 1938 A Slight Case of Murder as Mike
- 1937 Dead End as Hunk
- 1932 I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang as Barney Sykes
- 1941 Ball of Fire as Garbage Man
- 1932 Three on a Match as Dick
- 1952 Chained for Life as Hinkley
- 1932 Blessed Event as Frankie Wells
- 1947 The Senator Was Indiscreet as Farrell
- 1942 A Date with the Falcon as Jonathan 'Goldy' Locke
- 1942 They All Kissed the Bride as Johnny Johnson
- 1933 Employees' Entrance as Sweeney, store detective (uncredited)
- 1939 Destry Rides Again as Gyp Watson
- 1941 The Gay Falcon as Jonathan G. 'Goldie' Locke
- 1942 The Falcon Takes Over as Jonathan 'Goldy' Locke
- 1941 Footsteps in the Dark as Wilfred
- 1938 Going Places as Droopy
- 1938 The Amazing Dr. Clitterhouse as Okay
- 1941 Dive Bomber as Lucky James
- 1964 Robin and the 7 Hoods as Vermin
- 1939 Five Came Back as Pete
- 1938 Swing Your Lady as Shiner Ward
- 1934 Jimmy the Gent as Lou
- 1947 The Case of the Baby-Sitter as Howard 'Harvard' Quinlan
- 1942 Eyes in the Night as Marty
- 1937 Sh! The Octopus as Dempsey
- 1938 Racket Busters as Skeets Wilson
- 1949 The Big Wheel as George
- 1941 Time Out for Rhythm as Off-Beat Davis
- 1934 The Big Shakedown as Lefty
- 1933 The Mayor of Hell as Mike
- 1942 Tortilla Flat as Portagee Joe
- 1942 Maisie Gets Her Man as 'Pappy' Goodring
- 1964 For Those Who Think Young as Col. Leslie Jenkins
- 1947 The Hat Box Mystery as 'Harvard'
- 1933 The Mind Reader as Frank
- 1932 Lawyer Man as Izzy Levine
- 1949 Bodyhold as Slats Henry
- 1934 Bedside as Sam Sparks
- 1934 The Case of the Howling Dog as Sgt. Holcomb
- 1938 Gold Diggers in Paris as Duke 'Dukie' Dennis
- 1936 Three Men on a Horse as Charlie
- 1934 Happiness Ahead as Chuck
- 1951 Let's Go Navy! as CPO Mervin Longnecker
- 1935 The Case of the Lucky Legs as Spudsy Drake
- 1934 The Merry Frinks as Emmett Frink
- 1933 Hard to Handle as radio announcer
- 1937 Ready, Willing and Able as J. Van Courtland
- 1936 The Singing Kid as Joe Eddy
- 1935 Miss Pacific Fleet as Bernard 'Kewpie' Wiggins
- 1933 Tomorrow at Seven as Dugan
- 1948 The Inside Story as Eddie
- 1935 Sweet Music as Barney Cowan
- 1937 Dance Charlie Dance as Alf Morgan
- 1964 I'd Rather Be Rich as Fred
- 1939 Torchy Blane... Playing with Dynamite as Steve McBride
- 1936 Cain and Mabel as Dodo
- 1938 Fools for Scandal as Dewey Gibson
- 1963 It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World as Cop (uncredited)
- 1934 The St. Louis Kid as Buck Willetts
- 1935 Page Miss Glory as Petey
- 1935 Broadway Hostess as Fishcake Carter
- 1983 Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
- 1947 Fun on a Weekend as Joe Morgan
- 1938 Heart of the North as Bill Hardsock
- 1935 The Irish in Us as Carbarn Hammerschlog
- 1933 The Keyhole as Hank Wales
- 1937 Marry the Girl as Specs
- 1935 A Night at the Ritz as Gyp
- 1935 I Live for Love as Mac
- 1933 Professional Sweetheart as O'Connor
- 1933 Havana Widows as Herman Brody
- 1947 Easy Come, Easy Go as Nick
- 1941 Go West, Young Lady as Hank
- 1952 Oklahoma Annie as Lou
- 1938 Hard to Get as Roscoe
- 1934 I've Got Your Number as John 'Johnny'
- 1937 The Perfect Specimen as Pinky
- 1934 Whirlpool as Mac
- 1933 The Silk Express as Robert 'Rusty' Griffith
- 2006 42nd Street: From Book to Screen to Stage as Self (archive footage)
- 1967 The Spy in the Green Hat as Enzo 'Pretty' Stilletto
- 1937 A Day at Santa Anita as Allen Jenkins (uncredited)
- 1937 Ever Since Eve as Jake Edgall
- 1937 The Singing Marine as Sergeant Mike
- 1945 Wonder Man as Chimp
- 1936 Sing Me a Love Song as Chris Cross
- 1946 Meet Me on Broadway as Deacon McGill
- 1952 The WAC from Walla Walla as Mr. Redington
- 1934 Twenty Million Sweethearts as Pete
- 1940 Meet the Wildcat as Max Schwydel
- 1935 The Case of the Curious Bride as Spudsy
- 1951 Crazy Over Horses as Weepin' Willie
- 1939 Naughty but Nice as Joe Dirk
- 1939 Sweepstakes Winner as Xerxes 'Tip' Bailey
- 1935 While the Patient Slept as Police Sgt. Jim Jackson
- 1936 Sins of Man as Crusty
- 1933 Bureau of Missing Persons as Detective Joe Musik
- 1943 Stage Door Canteen as Allen Jenkins
- 1940 Tin Pan Alley as Casey
- 1940 Margie as Kenneth
- 1940 Oh, Johnny, How You Can Love! as Ed aka The Weasel
- 1936 Breakdowns of 1936 as Self
- 1946 The Dark Horse as Willis Trimble
- 1937 Talent Scout as Benefit Show Guest (archive footage) (uncredited)
- 1947 Blow-Ups of 1947 as Self
- 1974 The Front Page as Telegrapher
- 1947 Wild Harvest as Higgins
- 1932 Grand Hotel as Hotel Meat Packer (uncredited)
- 1938 Breakdowns of 1938 as Shiner Ward / Duke Dennis (archive footage) (uncredited)
- 1943 Three Cheers for the Girls as Marine Sergeant in Chorus (archive footage) (uncredited)
- 1937 Breakdowns of 1937 as Self
- 1935 Things You Never See on the Screen as Self
- 1940 Breakdowns of 1940 as Self
- 1932 Rackety Rax as Mike Dumphy
- 2003 Complicated Women as Self (archive footage)
- 1946 Singin' in the Corn as Glenn Cummings
- 1987 James Stewart: A Wonderful Life as Self (archive footage)
- 1933 King Kong as Member of Ship's Crew (uncredited)
- 1967 Doctor, You've Got to Be Kidding! as Joe Bonney
- 1951 Behave Yourself! as Police Plainclothesman
- 1931 The Girl Habit as Tony Maloney
- 1972 Getting Away from It All as Doorman
- 1943 My Wife's an Angel as Sam
- 1957 Three Men on a Horse as Harry
- 1954 December Bride ( 1 episode )
- 1966 Batman ( 1 episode ) as Little Al
- 1961 Top Cat ( 30 episodes ) as Officer Dibble (voice)
- 1964 Bewitched ( 3 episodes )
- 1953 General Electric Theater ( 1 episode )
- 1961 Ben Casey ( 1 episode )
- 1951 Racket Squad ( 1 episode )
- 1965 Honey West ( 1 episode ) as Gate Guard
- 1952 Mr. & Mrs. North ( 1 episode )
- 1951 Boston Blackie ( 1 episode )
- 1956 Hey, Jeannie! ( 26 episodes ) as Al Murray
- 1954 The Duke ( 1 episode ) as Johnny
- 1964 Bewitched ( 1 episode ) as Janitor
- 1957 Wagon Train ( 1 episode ) as Mr. Gillespie
- 1968 Adam-12 ( 1 episode ) as Jobey
- 1952 Four Star Playhouse ( 1 episode ) as Fingers
- 1951 The Red Skelton Show ( 3 episodes ) as Muggsy
- 1964 The Man from U.N.C.L.E. ( 2 episodes ) as Enzo 'Pretty' Stilletto
- 1954 Studio 57 ( 1 episode )
- 1951 I Love Lucy ( 3 episodes ) as Policeman
- 1952 The Abbott and Costello Show ( 1 episode ) as Retired Actors Home Man on Street
