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)
(1988)
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)
Crazy Over Horses
as Weepin' Willie
(1951)
Let's Go Navy!
as CPO Mervin Longnecker
(1949)
The Big Wheel
as George
(1949)
Bodyhold
as Slats Henry
(1948)
The Inside Story
as Eddie
(1947)
Fun on a Weekend
as Joe Morgan
(1947)
Wild Harvest
as Higgins
(1947)
The Case of the Baby-Sitter
as Howard 'Harvard' Quinlan
(1947)
The Senator Was Indiscreet
as Farrell
(1947)
Easy Come, Easy Go
as Nick
(1947)
The Hat Box Mystery
as 'Harvard'
(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)
The Falcon Takes Over
as Jonathan 'Goldy' Locke
(1942)
Tortilla Flat
as Portagee Joe
(1942)
A Date with the Falcon
as Jonathan 'Goldy' Locke
(1942)
They All Kissed the Bride
as Johnny Johnson
(1942)
Maisie Gets Her Man
as 'Pappy' Goodring
(1941)
Ball of Fire
as Garbage Man
(1941)
The Gay Falcon
as Jonathan G. 'Goldie' Locke
(1941)
Footsteps in the Dark
as Wilfred
(1941)
Dive Bomber
as Lucky James
(1941)
Go West, Young Lady
as Hank
(1941)
Time Out for Rhythm
as Off-Beat Davis
(1940)
Brother Orchid
as Willie 'The Knife' Corson
(1940)
Tin Pan Alley
as Casey
(1940)
Margie
as Kenneth
(1940)
Meet the Wildcat
as Max Schwydel
(1940)
Oh, Johnny, How You Can Love!
as Ed aka The Weasel
(1940)
Breakdowns of 1940
as Self
(1939)
Destry Rides Again
as Gyp Watson
(1939)
Five Came Back
as Pete
(1939)
Naughty But Nice
as Joe Dirk
(1939)
Torchy Blane.. Playing with Dynamite
as Steve McBride
(1939)
Sweepstakes Winner
as Xerxes 'Tip' Bailey
(1938)
The Amazing Dr. Clitterhouse
as Okay
(1938)
A Slight Case of Murder
as Mike
(1938)
Hard to Get
as Roscoe
(1938)
Heart of the North
as Bill Hardsock
(1938)
Breakdowns of 1938
as Shiner Ward / Duke Dennis (archive footage) (uncredited)
(1938)
Racket Busters
as Skeets Wilson
(1938)
Gold Diggers in Paris
as Duke 'Dukie' Dennis
(1938)
Going Places
as Droopy
(1938)
Swing Your Lady
as Shiner Ward
(1938)
Fools for Scandal
as Dewey Gibson
(1937)
Marked Woman
as Louie
(1937)
Dead End
as Hunk
(1937)
Sh! The Octopus
as Dempsey
(1937)
Ready, Willing and Able
as J. Van Courtland
(1937)
The Perfect Specimen
as Pinky
(1937)
Talent Scout
as Benefit Show Guest (archive footage) (uncredited)
(1937)
The Singing Marine
as Sergeant Mike
(1937)
Breakdowns of 1937
as Self
(1937)
Marry the Girl
as Specs
(1937)
Ever Since Eve
as Jake Edgall
(1937)
A Day at Santa Anita
as Allen Jenkins (uncredited)
(1937)
Dance Charlie Dance
as Alf Morgan
(1936)
The Singing Kid
as Joe Eddy
(1936)
Cain and Mabel
as Dodo
(1936)
Breakdowns of 1936
as Self
(1936)
Three Men on a Horse
as Charlie
(1936)
Sing Me a Love Song
as Chris Cross
(1936)
(1936)
Sins of Man
as Crusty
(1935)
The Case of the Lucky Legs
as Spudsy Drake
(1935)
Page Miss Glory
as Petey
(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)
The Irish in Us
as Carbarn Hammerschlog
(1935)
A Night at the Ritz
as Gyp
(1935)
Sweet Music
as Barney Cowan
(1935)
(1935)
Miss Pacific Fleet
as Bernard 'Kewpie' Wiggins
(1934)
Happiness Ahead
as Chuck
(1934)
The Case of the Howling Dog
as Sgt. Holcomb
(1934)
The Big Shakedown
as Lefty
(1934)
Jimmy the Gent
as Lou
(1934)
Twenty Million Sweethearts
as Pete
(1934)
The Merry Frinks
as Emmett Frink
(1934)
I've Got Your Number
as John 'Johnny'
(1934)
The St. Louis Kid
as Buck Willetts
(1934)
Whirlpool
as Mac
(1934)
Bedside
as Sam Sparks
(1933)
King Kong
as Member of Ship's Crew (uncredited)
(1933)
42nd Street
as Mac Elroy
(1933)
The Mayor of Hell
as Mike
(1933)
Professional Sweetheart
as O'Connor
(1933)
Bureau of Missing Persons
as Detective Joe Musik
(1933)
Havana Widows
as Herman Brody
(1933)
Employees' Entrance
as Sweeney, store detective (uncredited)
(1933)
The Keyhole
as Hank Wales
(1933)
Blondie Johnson
as Louie
(1933)
The Mind Reader
as Frank
(1933)
The Silk Express
as Robert 'Rusty' Griffith
(1933)
Tomorrow at Seven
as Dugan
(1933)
Hard to Handle
as radio announcer
(1932)
Grand Hotel
as Hotel Meat Packer (uncredited)
(1932)
I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang
as Barney Sykes
(1932)
Three on a Match
as Dick
(1932)
Lawyer Man
as Izzy Levine
(1932)
Blessed Event
as Frankie Wells
(1932)
Rackety Rax
as Mike Dumphy
(1931)
The Girl Habit
as Tony Maloney