Great American Comedians-Fred Allen

Fred Allen - Funny Guy

John Florence Sullivan was born on May 31, 1894 in Cambridge, Massachusetts to Irish Catholic parents, Cecilia Herlihy and James Henry Sullivan. John was later to quip that when one's mother names you Florence in a rough neighborhood like the one he was raised in, '..she's trying to get rid of you!'

Blessed with a sharp wit and a pointed sense of humor, the young man would grow up to be Fred Allen, one of the era's most recognised radio stars and comedians. His long-running mock feud with Jack Benny, though thought by many at the time to be the real thing, was in fact a well played joke by two friends who held both respect and affection for each other.

One of Benny's answers to an Allen barb, 'You wouldn't say that if my writers were here!", amusingly illustrates how clever ALlen was with an ad-libbed line.

Beloved Aunt Lizzie

Sadly John never really knew his mother who died of pneumonia in 1897. The death of his wife caused John's already morose father to descend yet further into drink and years later John described he and his brother Bob helping an unsteady James home as, '..two sardines guiding an unsteady Moby Dick into port.'

The father took the boys to live with their Aunt Lizzie Herlihy where they shared accommodations with Lizzie's disabled husband and assorted relatives. Aunt Lizzie was a huge influence on John, providing a generous and stable hand and when in 1909 James Sullivan remarried and gave the boys the option to come and live with him and his new wife, John chose instead to stay with Lizzie and her sisters.

Fred's First Dollar

John attended the Boston High School of Commerce which he graduated in 1911. He joined a local outfit called the Colonial Piano Company and a few years later at the age of 14, took up a job as a stack boy at Boston Public Library for 3 hours a night at 20¢ an hour. Here he would devour comedy books and practise his juggling skills and when the Library put on a talent show, John impressed his colleagues, that one girl in particular encouraged him to immediately give up his day job and take to the stage.

Like many youngsters eager to break out of the ghetto and the daily grind of working class poverty, John attended amateur nights to home his juggling skill and entertaining talents. Agent Sam Cohen spotted John Florence Sullivan early on and took him under his wing. The excitement of actually being paid a dollar to perform at other amateur nights thrilled him so much that his library days were finished for good.

Between 1912 and 1914, John now a professional vaudeville entertainer, played many one night stands ranging as far as Connetticut and Maine for the nights hire. He described himself as a Comedy Juggler and during this time called himself first Freddy St. James and later Freddy James.

Throughout this period, John was refining his act, learning the ropes, learning about himself too. One thing he discovered was that he cracked jokes better than he spun balls and towards the end of this entertainment apprenticeship, his act was more about the wisecracks than the juggling.

In 1914 Freddy James took his act as 'The World's Worst Juggler', to New York, centre of the vaudeville world. In 1916 and 1917, with war being declared in Europe, John toured Australia further honing his act and adding ventriloquism to his repertoire in a performance that included the gradual dismemberment of his puppet .

Back in the US, in 1918 he took the name that would be inscribed under his birthname on his headstone and with which he would gain headline comedian status in 1922 - Fred Allen. That was also the year he met Portland Hoffa who was at the time performing in The Passing Show. They started dating in 1924 but the memory of his early years prevented Fred from proposing to Portland until he felt he could offer her a secure future.

Eventually in 1927, after Portland had taken instruction in the Roman Catholic faith they were married and began touring as a comedy team soon after, progressing from vaudeville stage to revues.

Though the couple had been working solidly and Allen was rarely without stage time in the years preceding their marriage, in 1932, Allen hit a dry spell. No work was forthcoming and with money getting tight, seeking employment in the new medium of radio started to look more and more attractive.

By that October, Fred Allen landed his first radio show and Portland Hoffa was his co-star. Called the Linit Bath Club Review, that show was sponsored by Linit Bath Oil. When the sponsor changed to Hellman's mayonnaise, so did the name of the show. It became the Salad Bowl Review in August 1933 and the Sal Hepatica review in January 1934.

Later in 1934, Fred Allen was starring in the hour long Town Hall Tonight and it was on this show in 1937 that he and Jack Benny had their mock-feud which was to last over a decade and garner them both heaps of publicity and laughs.

The feud started when Allen compared the talent of a twelve year old violinist unfavourably to Jack Benny's skills. The latter having been playing the violin for nigh on forty years rose to the bait and radio's longest running spat was born.

In 1943 Fred Allen was diagnosed with hypertension and advised to rest. He did so for a year but was back in 1944 with a hour hour long show which followed the format of a 10 minute guest interview and a walk with Hoffa down Allen's Alley where assorted regular characters were invited to comment on current events.

What's on your mind, if you will allow the overstatement?

The last time I saw him he was walking down lover's lane holding his own hand.

Television is a medium because anything well done is rare.

I'd rather have a full bottle in front of me than a full frontal lobotomy.