Allen Jenkins

Acting · 1.0 popularity

Age

126

Movies

131

Born: April 8, 1900 – July 20, 1974
From: 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.

Works

131 films

King Kong

19337.6

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

19637.0

Pillow Talk

19597.1

Grand Hotel

19327.0

The Front Page

19747.3

Robin and the 7 Hoods

19646.2

42nd Street

19336.9

Marked Woman

19376.6

Ball of Fire

19417.4

I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang

19327.8

Dead End

19377.1

Blondie Johnson

19335.9

Destry Rides Again

19397.2

The Amazing Dr. Clitterhouse

19387.0

Complicated Women

20036.9

I Live for Love

19355.7

Dive Bomber

19416.3

James Stewart: A Wonderful Life

19876.5

The Gay Falcon

19416.3

Wonder Man

19456.6

For Those Who Think Young

19645.7

Professional Sweetheart

19336.0

Jimmy the Gent

19346.4

The Keyhole

19335.0

Let's Go Navy!

19518.0

Eyes in the Night

19426.1

Lady on a Train

19456.7

They All Kissed the Bride

19425.9

The Spy in the Green Hat

19676.6

Breakdowns of 1938

19385.8

Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage

19837.0

Tortilla Flat

19425.8

Hard to Get

19386.3

Three on a Match

19326.3

The Singing Marine

19375.3

Breakdowns of 1936

1936

A Slight Case of Murder

19386.4

Stage Door Canteen

19436.3

Going Places

19386.6

Sh! The Octopus

19375.9

Doctor, You've Got to Be Kidding!

19676.5

The Falcon Takes Over

19426.3

The Perfect Specimen

19376.4

Brother Orchid

19406.6

Things You Never See on the Screen

19355.3

The Mayor of Hell

19337.0

The Big Wheel

19495.7

Torchy Blane... Playing with Dynamite

19396.8

I'd Rather Be Rich

19646.6

Getting Away from It All

197210.0

Naughty but Nice

19396.8

Cain and Mabel

19366.4

Bureau of Missing Persons

19335.7

Happiness Ahead

19346.6

The Case of the Howling Dog

19346.3

Breakdowns of 1937

19376.0

Employees' Entrance

19336.1

The Merry Frinks

19344.8

Hard to Handle

19336.9

42nd Street: From Book to Screen to Stage

20066.0

The Big Shakedown

19345.9

Whirlpool

19346.4

Go West, Young Lady

19417.1

The Girl Habit

19318.0

A Date with the Falcon

19426.5

Gold Diggers in Paris

19386.8

Five Came Back

19396.3

The Singing Kid

19367.0

Oklahoma Annie

19528.7

Broadway Hostess

19356.0

Lawyer Man

19326.1

Talent Scout

19376.7

Page Miss Glory

19356.7

Footsteps in the Dark

19417.0

Sing Me a Love Song

19369.0

The Senator Was Indiscreet

19476.2

Dance Charlie Dance

19378.0

Fun on a Weekend

19477.2

Blessed Event

19326.9

Marry the Girl

19376.5

Swing Your Lady

19384.6

Havana Widows

19336.6

Ready, Willing and Able

19375.4

The Case of the Curious Bride

19356.0

Fools for Scandal

19386.3

Racket Busters

19385.5

Meet Me on Broadway

19468.5

Tin Pan Alley

19405.4

Heart of the North

19385.2

A Day at Santa Anita

19376.0

A Night at the Ritz

19356.5

The Inside Story

19486.6

Sins of Man

19369.0

The Hat Box Mystery

19474.5

The St. Louis Kid

19346.3

Singin' in the Corn

19467.0

The Case of the Lucky Legs

19356.0

Sweet Music

19356.8

Behave Yourself!

19516.2

Twenty Million Sweethearts

19346.6

Sweepstakes Winner

19395.3

Maisie Gets Her Man

19426.7

While the Patient Slept

19356.7

The Silk Express

19335.0

Three Cheers for the Girls

19436.6

Ever Since Eve

19375.8

I've Got Your Number

19346.8

Crazy Over Horses

19516.7

Easy Come, Easy Go

19477.0

Time Out for Rhythm

19416.7

The Mind Reader

19336.3

The Dark Horse

19467.0

Oh, Johnny, How You Can Love!

19406.5

Rackety Rax

19326.5

Wild Harvest

19477.0

Breakdowns of 1940

19404.0

Miss Pacific Fleet

19357.0

Three Men on a Horse

1957

Bedside

19345.6

The Irish in Us

19357.5

Three Men on a Horse

19366.3

Blow-Ups of 1947

19476.3

Tomorrow at Seven

19336.2

Margie

19409.0

Chained for Life

19523.8

My Wife's an Angel

1943

The Case of the Baby-Sitter

19476.5

Meet the Wildcat

19409.0

Bodyhold

19494.3

Behind the Scenes of Cain and Mabel

19366.0

The WAC from Walla Walla

195210.0