Allen was born John Florence Sullivan in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He started off his professional career as Freddy St. James but a mix-up at a venue turned out to be a blessing. Edgar Allen was booked at the same place as Freddy James but the front office accidentally promoted the appearance of Edgar James and Fred Allen.

Fred Allen started his career in radio the same year as Jack Benny, 1932. Allen hit it big with the program Town Hall Tonight in 1934, the same year Jack Benny rose in the ranks of radio with 'The Jell-O Program'. Their feud started in the mid-1930s and, in a testament of the times, people believed in this feud so much that a boxing match between the two was staged, and it was sold out. Benny and Allen made guest appearances in each other shows and movies, needling each other with lines like, "Benny was born ignorant, and he's been losing ground ever since." They appeared as themselves in the 1940 film "Love Thy Neighbor", and Benny can be seen in Allen's neglected comedy film It's In The Bag (1945), along with William Bendix, Robert Benchley, and Jerry Colonna, among others.

Allen's humor was topical, with a more absurdist and literate slant than other comics, which limits its appeal to modern audiences. He fussed and moaned about corporate America and the absurdity of the times. Allen wrote most of his own material. He employed a few writers but they more or less served as consultants and sounding boards in the rough drafts.

Allen's comic stereotypes make many people today cringe. His Allen's Alley segment, for example, contained four stereotype characters: the Southern politician, the New England farmer, the Jewish wife, and the ranting Irishman.

Fred's female second banana was his wife, Portland Hoffa, whose role was to simply stroll on-air exclaiming: "Mister Allen! Mis...ter Allen!" and then launch into a routine with Fred, usually about her mother. Hoffa remained with Allen throughout his entire radio show. Unlike Jack Benny, who used wife Mary Livingstone as more or less his ego deflator, Fred used Portland's child-like un-professional delivery to comedically prop his ego.

After Town Hall Tonight, Allen moved to a self-named show, a rarity in those days of sponsor-billed shows. In 1940 he went to CBS and hosted 'Texaco Star Theatre'. His famous Allen's Alley routine began in December 1944. Hypertension caused him to leave radio in early 1944, although he returned to NBC in late 1945 with the Allen's Alley routines that many remember. The Allen's Alley format went through many format changes, but generally consisted of Allen interviewing four people from different walks of life, all living in the same fictional alley. The roster went through many changes in the first couple of years, and early denizens included John Brown as the sarcastic John Doe, Jack Smart as Senator Bloat, Charlie Cantor as the dim-witted Socrates Mulligan, and perhaps best known of this group, Alan Reed as pompous poet Falstaff Openshaw. The most famous foursome, however, consisted of the following: Kenny Delmar as Southern politician Senator Claghorn, Parker Fennelly as the New England farmer Titus Moody, Minerva Pious as Jewish housewife Mrs. Nussbaum, and Peter Donald as the fast-talking Irishman Ajax Cassidy.

In 1948 Allen's radio career hit a major roadblock when it went up against a quiz program called Stop The Music, in which listeners were called at home to play the game. Allen remained in competition with the program until 1949 when his ratings were so low that he was taken off the air, after 17 years in radio.

Volume 1 Episode List

32-12-25 Linit Bathclub Review Mammoth Department Store 33-01-22 Linit Bathclub Review The Court of Judge Allen 36-09-30 Fred With Stoopnagle and Bud 36-10-07 Fred Who Killed Barkley Rappaport 37-03-10 Fred Town Hall Tonight One Long Pan on Cruise Ship 37-12-22 Town Hall Tonight With Jack Benny 38-05-18 Fred With Andre Baruch 38-05-25 Town Hall Tonight With Alfred the Organ Grinder 38-06-08 Town Hall Tonight Ray Smitn, Fisherman and Hunter 39-02-22 Town Hall TonightMurder at the Opera 39-06-21 Fred Town Hall Tonight Cap'n Andy's Riverboat 39-12-27 Fred With Robert Benchley 41-12-10 Fred Texaco Star Theatre) News 42-10-04 Tex.Theat WithAndrewSisters,Arthur Godfrey 43 12 20 CP 098 Fred Ginny Simms Benny Goodman 44 08 26 CP 135 Fred Jack Benny Rochester Ginny Simms 44-01-09 Fred Fred Gets Hit by a Beer Truck 45-10-07 Fred Teaming Up With Charlie McCarthy 45-10-28 Fred How is the Housing Shortage Effecting You 45-11-04 Fred With Martha Raye 45-11-11 Fred With Monty Wolley 45-12-30 Fred American Radio Shows in Russia 46 04 21 Fred Ginny Simms Jack Benny 46-01-20 Fred Meat Shortage 46-05-26 Fred King For A Day 46-10-30 Fred With Bing Crosby 47-03-14 Fred With Rogers and Hammerstein 47-10-19 Fred Have You Ever Been Swindled

47-10-26 Fred What Kind of Music Do You Prefer 47-12-14-Fred-New Years Eve Plans 47-12-28 Fred With Monty Wolley 48-01-04 Fred What is the Worst Storm You Remember 48-03-28 Fred James and Pamela Mason 48-04-11Fred With Basil Rathbone 48-04-25 Fred How Do You Feel About Superstition 48-04-25 Fred Scalping Baseball Tickets 48-06-15 Fred With Ozzie and Harriet 48-11-07 Fred Sam Shovel - Private Eye 48-11-28 Fred Is Radio Comedy Suffering 48-xx-xx What is the Mot Important Advance in Science 49-05-01 Fred Jamaica Race Track 49-06-26 Fred cool Henry Morgan, Mr. X 51-xx-xx Fred and Groucho Marx Post Show 56-05-29 Fred A Portrait of Fred 56-12-06 Fred tells the story of The Jazz Age Pt.1 56-12-06 Fred tells the story of The Jazz Age Pt.2 64-03-18 Fred Salute to Fred Big Show 501203 Fred Phil Silvers Margaret Truman Big Show 510304 Fred Herb Shriner Ethel Merman Big Show 510506 Fred Groucho Marx George Jessel Biography In Sound 56-05-29 - A Portrait of Fred CM 45-09-03 Charlie McCarthy Show Guest-Fred Portland Hoffa CM 45-10-21 Charlie McCarthy Show Guest-Fred CM 46-11-17 Charlie McCarthy Show Guest-Fred CM 47-11-02 Charlie McCarthy Show Guest-Fred CP 42-03-18 004 Fred Kenny Baker Gladys Swathout Fred - 321225 - 010 - Mammoth Department Store

Volume 2 Episode List

33-01-22 The Court Of Judge Allen 35-10-02 Once An Amateur 36-01-15 Home On The Range 36-01-22 Amateur Show 36-06-17 Snoopnagle And Bud 36-10-07 Who Killed Rappaport 37-03-10 Amateur Show 37-03-17 St Patrick S Day Show 37-12-22 Santa Will Not Ride Tonight 38-05-18 The House That Jack Built 38-05-25 Who Stole The Favorite 38-06-08 Satire On Song Writers 38-06-22 Telephone Weddings 39-02-22 Subway Posters 39-03-22 Murder At Madison Square 39-06-21 Crisis On The Showboat 39-10-04 The Search For Dr Livingston 39-10-11 Satire On Surveys And Polls 39-10-18 Edgar Rice Burroughs 39-10-25 Guest Billy Rose 39-11-08 The Doughnut Master 39-12-27 Dr Allen Clinic 40-02-28 Life At The South Pole

41-04-23 The Great American Pastime 41-12-10 Death Valley Days 42-03-08 The Life Of Fred Allen 42-05-03 Freak Show Murder 42-05-10 Marlene Dietrich 42-05-24 Vaudville 42-06-07 English Radio Spoof 42-06-21 Mountain Justice 42-06-28 Vacation Plans 42-10-04 Charles Laughton 42-10-11 Roland Young - Shrimp Cocktail 42-10-18 Les Miserables 42-10-25 Roy Rogers - Courting Of Jenny Sugs 42-11-01 Robert Benchley - Trouble Hearing Show 42-11-15 Bbc Take It Or Leave It 42-12-20 Risa Stevens - Santa Claus Sits Down Guest Name The Source Guest The Bay Living 1949 49-01-30 - The State Of American Humor Morning Radio (clip) Otr - Texaco Town Follies (cantor And Jolson) Philco Hall Of Fame 43-04-05 - Fred Allen Tribute Special - Fred Allen On The Radio

Volume 3 Episode List

Fred Allen What are You Doing About Your Radio Listening 39-10-04 Ned Parks - New Format 40-02-28 Oscar Levant - Life at the South Pole 40-03-25 Allen's Reply To NBC About The Eagle Incident 41-12-10 Texaco Star Theatre plus War News 42-05-03 Freak Show Murder 42-05-10 Marlene Dietrich 42-05-24 Jean Arthur - Vaudeville 42-06-07 English Radio Spoof 42-06-21 Mountain Justice 43-01-10 Jack Benny - The Substitute Violinist 43-01-31 Oscar Levant - Concert with Jack Benny 43-02-07 Claude Rains - Phantom of the Opera 44-04-23 Oscar Levant - South Dakota (AFRS) 44-XX-XX Fred Allen & Jack Paar 44-XX-XX Fred Allen & Oscar Levant 44-XX-XX Fred Allen & Tallulah Bankhead 44-XX-XX The Meat Shortage 45-10-28 Court Case with Edgar Bergen 45-12-16 Lauritz Melchior - Getting a radio job 45-12-30 Gregory Ratoff - Radio in Russia (AFRS) 46-03-10 Carmen Miranda - Banana Man's Lament 46-05-05 Tallulah Bankhead - Breakfast Show (AFRS 46-06-23 Oscar Levant - Looking for a Gig (AFRS) 46-10-06 Tribute to Medical Science (Edited) 46-10-13 Tony Martin - The Radio Mikado 46-10-27 Tallulah Bankhead - Breakfast Show 47-03-02 Quiz Kids - Murder in the Penthouse 47-03-16 Beatrice Lillie - Picadilly

48-12-26 Doc Rockwell - Maine Law (CBC) 49-01-23 Jack Haley - Traveling Salesman 49-02-13 Doc Rockwell - Murder Trial 49-05-01 Bert Lahr - Jamaica Race Track (Edited) 49-06-26 Final Show 50-11-05 Fred Allen, Jimmy Durante 50-11-12 Groucho Marx, Fanny Brice, Ezio Pinza 50-11-26 Fred Allen, Ed Wynn, Ed Gardner 50-12-03 Fred Allen, Phil Silvers, Margaret Truman 51-05-06 Fred Allen, Groucho Marx, George Jessel Town Hall Tonight 1st Show of New Season Town Hall Tonight Next to the Last Show of the Season Town Hall Tonight Starring Fred Allen Town Hall Tonight With Jack Benny xx-xx-xx Fred Allen Santa Quits, T Hee xx-xx-xx Fred Allen What is Worst Storm You Remember xx-xx-xx Fred Allen With Beatrice Lilly, David Ledmere xx-xx-xx Fred Allen With Charlie McCarthy xx-xx-xx Fred Allen With Frank Sinatra, Leo Durocher xx-xx-xx Fred Allen With Gregory Ratoff, George Jessel xx-xx-xx Fred Allen With Jack Benny, Monte Wooley xx-xx-xx Fred Allen With James Farley xx-xx-xx Fred Allen With Laurentz Melchoir xx-xx-xx Fred Allen With Leo Durocher xx-xx-xx Fred Allen With Leo Durocher2 xx-xx-xx Fred Allen With Lowell Thomas, Tony Martin xx-xx-xx Fred Allen With Orson Wells, Carman Miranda xx-xx-xx Fred Allen With Ray Milland, Doc Rockwell xx-xx-xx Fred Allen Last Show