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.
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)
Wild Harvest
as Higgins
(1947)
Fun on a Weekend
as Joe Morgan
(1947)
Easy Come, Easy Go
as Nick
(1947)
Blow-Ups of 1947
as Self
(1947)
The Hat Box Mystery
as 'Harvard'
(1947)
The Senator Was Indiscreet
as Farrell
(1947)
The Case of the Baby-Sitter
as Howard 'Harvard' Quinlan
(1946)
Meet Me on Broadway
as Deacon McGill
(1946)
The Dark Horse
as Willis Trimble
(1946)
Singin' in the Corn
as Glenn Cummings
(1945)
Wonder Man
as Chimp
(1945)
Lady on a Train
as Danny (Waring chauffeur)
(1943)
Stage Door Canteen
as Allen Jenkins
(1943)
Three Cheers for the Girls
as Marine Sergeant in Chorus (archive footage) (uncredited)
(1943)
My Wife's an Angel
as Sam
(1942)
The Falcon Takes Over
as Jonathan 'Goldy' Locke
(1942)
Eyes in the Night
as Marty
(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)
Dive Bomber
as Lucky James
(1941)
The Gay Falcon
as Jonathan G. 'Goldie' Locke
(1941)
Footsteps in the Dark
as Wilfred
(1941)
Time Out for Rhythm
as Off-Beat Davis
(1941)
Go West, Young Lady
as Hank
(1940)
Brother Orchid
as Willie 'The Knife' Corson
(1940)
Tin Pan Alley
as Casey
(1940)
Breakdowns of 1940
as Self
(1940)
Margie
as Kenneth
(1940)
Meet the Wildcat
as Max Schwydel
(1940)
Oh, Johnny, How You Can Love!
as Ed aka The Weasel
(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)
A Slight Case of Murder
as Mike
(1938)
Going Places
as Droopy
(1938)
The Amazing Dr. Clitterhouse
as Okay
(1938)
Racket Busters
as Skeets Wilson
(1938)
Hard to Get
as Roscoe
(1938)
Gold Diggers in Paris
as Duke 'Dukie' Dennis
(1938)
Swing Your Lady
as Shiner Ward
(1938)
Breakdowns of 1938
as Shiner Ward / Duke Dennis (archive footage) (uncredited)
(1938)
Heart of the North
as Bill Hardsock
(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)
Ready, Willing and Able
as J. Van Courtland
(1937)
Dance Charlie Dance
as Alf Morgan
(1937)
Breakdowns of 1937
as Self
(1937)
The Singing Marine
as Sergeant Mike
(1937)
Ever Since Eve
as Jake Edgall
(1937)
Marry the Girl
as Specs
(1937)
Talent Scout
as Benefit Show Guest (archive footage) (uncredited)
(1937)
A Day at Santa Anita
as Allen Jenkins (uncredited)
(1936)
(1936)
Sins of Man
as Crusty
(1936)
Cain and Mabel
as Dodo
(1936)
The Singing Kid
as Joe Eddy
(1936)
Three Men on a Horse
as Charlie
(1936)
Breakdowns of 1936
as Self
(1936)
Sing Me a Love Song
as Chris Cross
(1935)
The Case of the Lucky Legs
as Spudsy Drake
(1935)
Broadway Hostess
as Fishcake Carter
(1935)
Page Miss Glory
as Petey
(1935)
The Irish in Us
as Carbarn Hammerschlog
(1935)
The Case of the Curious Bride
as Spudsy
(1935)
I Live for Love
as Mac
(1935)
Sweet Music
as Barney Cowan
(1935)
A Night at the Ritz
as Gyp
(1935)
(1935)
Miss Pacific Fleet
as Bernard 'Kewpie' Wiggins
(1935)
While the Patient Slept
as Police Sgt. Jim Jackson
(1934)
The Case of the Howling Dog
as Sgt. Holcomb
(1934)
Happiness Ahead
as Chuck
(1934)
Jimmy the Gent
as Lou
(1934)
Whirlpool
as Mac
(1934)
Twenty Million Sweethearts
as Pete
(1934)
The Big Shakedown
as Lefty
(1934)
I've Got Your Number
as John 'Johnny'
(1934)
The Merry Frinks
as Emmett Frink
(1934)
Bedside
as Sam Sparks
(1934)
The St. Louis Kid
as Buck Willetts
(1933)
King Kong
as Member of Ship's Crew (uncredited)
(1933)
42nd Street
as Mac Elroy
(1933)
Hard to Handle
as radio announcer
(1933)
The Mind Reader
as Frank
(1933)
Bureau of Missing Persons
as Detective Joe Musik
(1933)
The Mayor of Hell
as Mike
(1933)
Professional Sweetheart
as O'Connor
(1933)
Blondie Johnson
as Louie
(1933)
Tomorrow at Seven
as Dugan
(1933)
The Keyhole
as Hank Wales
(1933)
Employees' Entrance
as Sweeney, store detective (uncredited)
(1933)
The Silk Express
as Robert 'Rusty' Griffith
(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)
Blessed Event
as Frankie Wells
(1932)
Three on a Match
as Dick
(1932)
Lawyer Man
as Izzy Levine
(1932)
Rackety Rax
as Mike Dumphy
(1931)
The Girl Habit
as Tony Maloney