Allen Jenkins

Allen Jenkins

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

1987

1983

Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage
Movie

Self (archive footage) (uncredited)

1974

1968

1967

The Spy in the Green Hat
Movie

Enzo 'Pretty' Stilletto

1965

Honey West
Tv

Gate Guard

1964

The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
Tv

Enzo 'Pretty' Stilletto

1964

1964

1964

1961

1954

1951

I Love Lucy
Tv

Policeman

1951

Behave Yourself!
Movie

Police Plainclothesman

1947

1946

1945

Lady on a Train
Movie

Danny (Waring chauffeur)

1943

1943

Three Cheers for the Girls
Movie

Marine Sergeant in Chorus (archive footage) (uncredited)

1942

Tortilla Flat
Movie

Portagee Joe

1941

1941

The Gay Falcon
Movie

Jonathan G. 'Goldie' Locke

1941

Dive Bomber
Movie

Lucky James

1940

1940

Brother Orchid
Movie

Willie 'The Knife' Corson

1939

Sweepstakes Winner
Movie

Xerxes 'Tip' Bailey

1938

Breakdowns of 1938
Movie

Shiner Ward / Duke Dennis (archive footage) (uncredited)

1938

1938

Racket Busters
Movie

Skeets Wilson

1938

Gold Diggers in Paris
Movie

Duke 'Dukie' Dennis

1938

1938

1937

Talent Scout
Movie

Benefit Show Guest (archive footage) (uncredited)

1937

1937

1937

A Day at Santa Anita
Movie

Allen Jenkins (uncredited)

1937

1935

Miss Pacific Fleet
Movie

Bernard 'Kewpie' Wiggins

1935

Broadway Hostess
Movie

Fishcake Carter

1935

The Irish in Us
Movie

Carbarn Hammerschlog

1935

While the Patient Slept
Movie

Police Sgt. Jim Jackson

1935

Sweet Music
Movie

Barney Cowan

1934

1934

1934

1934

Bedside
Movie

Sam Sparks

1933

1933

The Silk Express
Movie

Robert 'Rusty' Griffith

1933

1933

King Kong
Movie

Member of Ship's Crew (uncredited)

1933

1933

Employees' Entrance
Movie

Sweeney, store detective (uncredited)

1933

Hard to Handle
Movie

radio announcer

1932

Lawyer Man
Movie

Izzy Levine

1932

Blessed Event
Movie

Frankie Wells

1932

Grand Hotel
Movie

Hotel Meat Packer (uncredited)

Infos

Full Name
Allen Jenkins
Gender
Male
Date of Birth
4/8/1900
Date of Death
7/20/1974
Also Known As

Alfred McGonegal

Allen Curtis Jenkins