Allen Jenkins
Personal Info
Known for
Acting
Gender
Male
Birthday
1900-04-08
Day of Death
1974-07-20 (74 years old)
Place of Birth
Staten Island, New York City, New York, USA
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.
Description above from the Wikipedia article Allen Jenkins, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Known For
Acting
(2006)
42nd Street: From Book to Screen to Stage
as Self (archive footage)
(2003)
Complicated Women
as Self (archive footage)
(1987)
James Stewart: A Wonderful Life
as Self (archive footage)
(1983)
Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage
as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
(1974)
The Front Page
as Telegrapher
(1972)
Getting Away from It All
as Doorman
(1967)
The Spy in the Green Hat
as Enzo 'Pretty' Stilletto
(1967)
Doctor, You've Got to Be Kidding!
as Joe Bonney
(1964)
Robin and the 7 Hoods
as Vermin Witowski
(1964)
For Those Who Think Young
as Col. Leslie Jenkins
(1964)
I'd Rather Be Rich
as Fred
(1963)
It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World
as Cop (uncredited)
(1959)
Pillow Talk
as Harry
(1952)
Oklahoma Annie
as Lou
(1952)
Chained for Life
as Hinkley
(1952)
The WAC from Walla Walla
as Mr. Redington
(1951)
Behave Yourself!
as Police Plainclothesman
(1951)
Let's Go Navy!
as CPO Mervin Longnecker
(1951)
Crazy Over Horses
as Weepin' Willie
(1949)
The Big Wheel
as George
(1949)
Bodyhold
as Slats Henry
(1948)
The Inside Story
as Eddie
(1947)
The Case of the Baby-Sitter
as Howard 'Harvard' Quinlan
(1947)
The Hat Box Mystery
as 'Harvard'
(1947)
Fun on a Weekend
as Joe Morgan
(1947)
The Senator Was Indiscreet
as Farrell
(1947)
Easy Come, Easy Go
as Nick
(1947)
Wild Harvest
as Higgins
(1947)
Blow-Ups of 1947
as Self
(1946)
Meet Me on Broadway
as Deacon McGill
(1946)
The Dark Horse
as Willis Trimble
(1946)
Singin' in the Corn
as Glenn Cummings
(1945)
Lady on a Train
as Danny (Waring chauffeur)
(1945)
Wonder Man
as Chimp
(1943)
Stage Door Canteen
as Allen Jenkins
(1943)
My Wife's an Angel
as Sam
(1943)
Three Cheers for the Girls
as Marine Sergeant in Chorus (archive footage) (uncredited)
(1942)
Eyes in the Night
as Marty
(1942)
A Date with the Falcon
as Jonathan 'Goldy' Locke
(1942)
The Falcon Takes Over
as Jonathan 'Goldy' Locke
(1942)
Maisie Gets Her Man
as 'Pappy' Goodring
(1942)
Tortilla Flat
as Portagee Joe
(1942)
They All Kissed the Bride
as Johnny Johnson
(1941)
Ball of Fire
as Garbage Man
(1941)
The Gay Falcon
as Jonathan G. 'Goldie' Locke
(1941)
Dive Bomber
as Lucky James
(1941)
Time Out for Rhythm
as Off-Beat Davis
(1941)
Footsteps in the Dark
as Wilfred
(1941)
Go West, Young Lady
as Hank
(1940)
Brother Orchid
as Willie 'The Knife' Corson
(1940)
Meet the Wildcat
as Max Schwydel
(1940)
Tin Pan Alley
as Casey
(1940)
Oh, Johnny, How You Can Love!
as Ed aka The Weasel
(1940)
Margie
as Kenneth
(1940)
Breakdowns of 1940
as Self
(1939)
Destry Rides Again
as Gyp Watson
(1939)
Naughty But Nice
as Joe Dirk
(1939)
Five Came Back
as Pete
(1939)
Torchy Blane.. Playing with Dynamite
as Steve McBride
(1939)
Sweepstakes Winner
as Xerxes 'Tip' Bailey
(1938)
A Slight Case of Murder
as Mike
(1938)
The Amazing Dr. Clitterhouse
as Okay
(1938)
Hard to Get
as Roscoe
(1938)
Gold Diggers in Paris
as Duke 'Dukie' Dennis
(1938)
Breakdowns of 1938
as Shiner Ward / Duke Dennis (archive footage) (uncredited)
(1938)
Swing Your Lady
as Shiner Ward
(1938)
Heart of the North
as Bill Hardsock
(1938)
Racket Busters
as Skeets Wilson
(1938)
Going Places
as Droopy
(1938)
Fools for Scandal
as Dewey Gibson
(1937)
Dead End
as Hunk
(1937)
Marked Woman
as Louie
(1937)
Sh! The Octopus
as Dempsey
(1937)
The Perfect Specimen
as Pinky
(1937)
The Singing Marine
as Sergeant Mike
(1937)
Marry the Girl
as Specs
(1937)
Dance Charlie Dance
as Alf Morgan
(1937)
Ready, Willing and Able
as J. Van Courtland
(1937)
Ever Since Eve
as Jake Edgall
(1937)
A Day at Santa Anita
as Allen Jenkins (uncredited)
(1937)
Breakdowns of 1937
as Self
(1937)
Talent Scout
as Benefit Show Guest (archive footage) (uncredited)
(1936)
Sins of Man
as Crusty
(1936)
Three Men on a Horse
as Charlie
(1936)
Sing Me a Love Song
as Chris Cross
(1936)
Cain and Mabel
as Dodo
(1936)
(1936)
The Singing Kid
as Joe Eddy
(1936)
Breakdowns of 1936
as Self
(1935)
The Case of the Lucky Legs
as Spudsy Drake
(1935)
The Irish in Us
as Carbarn Hammerschlog
(1935)
While the Patient Slept
as Police Sgt. Jim Jackson
(1935)
The Case of the Curious Bride
as Spudsy
(1935)
Broadway Hostess
as Fishcake Carter
(1935)
I Live for Love
as Mac
(1935)
Page Miss Glory
as Petey
(1935)
(1935)
Miss Pacific Fleet
as Bernard 'Kewpie' Wiggins
(1935)
Sweet Music
as Barney Cowan
(1935)
A Night at the Ritz
as Gyp
(1934)
Happiness Ahead
as Chuck
(1934)
The Case of the Howling Dog
as Sgt. Holcomb
(1934)
The St. Louis Kid
as Buck Willetts
(1934)
Jimmy the Gent
as Lou
(1934)
Bedside
as Sam Sparks
(1934)
I've Got Your Number
as John 'Johnny'
(1934)
The Big Shakedown
as Lefty
(1934)
Whirlpool
as Mac
(1934)
Twenty Million Sweethearts
as Pete
(1934)
The Merry Frinks
as Emmett Frink
(1933)
King Kong
as Member of Ship's Crew (uncredited)
(1933)
42nd Street
as Mac Elroy
(1933)
The Mayor of Hell
as Mike
(1933)
The Silk Express
as Robert 'Rusty' Griffith
(1933)
Hard to Handle
as radio announcer
(1933)
The Keyhole
as Hank Wales
(1933)
Bureau of Missing Persons
as Detective Joe Musik
(1933)
Employees' Entrance
as Sweeney, store detective (uncredited)
(1933)
Blondie Johnson
as Louie
(1933)
Tomorrow at Seven
as Dugan
(1933)
The Mind Reader
as Frank
(1933)
Professional Sweetheart
as O'Connor
(1933)
Havana Widows
as Herman Brody
(1932)
Grand Hotel
as Hotel Meat Packer (uncredited)
(1932)
I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang
as Barney Sykes
(1932)
Lawyer Man
as Izzy Levine
(1932)
Three on a Match
as Dick
(1932)
Blessed Event
as Frankie Wells
(1932)
Rackety Rax
as Mike Dumphy
(1931)
The Girl Habit
as Tony Maloney