Acting
Allen Jenkins
EN cinema · 131 credits
Born
8 April 1900
Died
20 July 1974 (aged 74)
Birthplace
Staten Island, New York City, New York, USA
Also known as Alfred McGonegal · Allen Curtis 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.
Known for
Filmography
42nd Street: From Book to Screen to Stage
as Self (archive footage)
Complicated Women
as Self (archive footage)
James Stewart: A Wonderful Life
as Self (archive footage)
Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage
as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
The Front Page
as Telegrapher
Getting Away from It All
as Doorman
The Spy in the Green Hat
as Enzo 'Pretty' Stilletto
Doctor, You've Got to Be Kidding!
as Joe Bonney
Robin and the 7 Hoods
as Vermin
For Those Who Think Young
as Col. Leslie Jenkins
It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World
as Cop (uncredited)
Pillow Talk
as Harry
Chained for Life
as Hinkley
The WAC from Walla Walla
as Mr. Redington
Let's Go Navy!
as CPO Mervin Longnecker
Crazy Over Horses
as Weepin' Willie
Behave Yourself!
as Police Plainclothesman
The Big Wheel
as George
Bodyhold
as Slats Henry
The Inside Story
as Eddie
The Senator Was Indiscreet
as Farrell
The Case of the Baby-Sitter
as Howard 'Harvard' Quinlan
The Hat Box Mystery
as 'Harvard'
Fun on a Weekend
as Joe Morgan
Blow-Ups of 1947
as Self
Wild Harvest
as Higgins
Meet Me on Broadway
as Deacon McGill
The Dark Horse
as Willis Trimble
Singin' in the Corn
as Glenn Cummings
Lady on a Train
as Danny (Waring chauffeur)
Wonder Man
as Chimp
Stage Door Canteen
as Allen Jenkins
Three Cheers for the Girls
as Marine Sergeant in Chorus (archive footage) (uncredited)
A Date with the Falcon
as Jonathan 'Goldy' Locke
They All Kissed the Bride
as Johnny Johnson
The Falcon Takes Over
as Jonathan 'Goldy' Locke
Eyes in the Night
as Marty
Tortilla Flat
as Portagee Joe
Maisie Gets Her Man
as 'Pappy' Goodring
Ball of Fire
as Garbage Man
The Gay Falcon
as Jonathan G. 'Goldie' Locke
Footsteps in the Dark
as Wilfred
Dive Bomber
as Lucky James
Time Out for Rhythm
as Off-Beat Davis
Brother Orchid
as Willie 'The Knife' Corson
Meet the Wildcat
as Max Schwydel
Tin Pan Alley
as Casey
Oh, Johnny, How You Can Love!
1940
Oh, Johnny, How You Can Love!
as Ed aka The Weasel
Margie
as Kenneth
Destry Rides Again
as Gyp Watson
Five Came Back
as Pete
Torchy Blane... Playing with Dynamite
as Steve McBride
Naughty but Nice
as Joe Dirk
Sweepstakes Winner
as Xerxes 'Tip' Bailey
Going Places
as Droopy
Swing Your Lady
as Shiner Ward
Racket Busters
as Skeets Wilson
Gold Diggers in Paris
as Duke 'Dukie' Dennis
Fools for Scandal
as Dewey Gibson
Heart of the North
as Bill Hardsock
Hard to Get
as Roscoe
Breakdowns of 1938
as Shiner Ward / Duke Dennis (archive footage) (uncredited)
Marked Woman
as Louie
Dead End
as Hunk
Sh! The Octopus
as Dempsey
Ready, Willing and Able
as J. Van Courtland
Dance Charlie Dance
as Alf Morgan
Marry the Girl
as Specs
The Perfect Specimen
as Pinky
A Day at Santa Anita
as Allen Jenkins (uncredited)
Ever Since Eve
as Jake Edgall
The Singing Marine
as Sergeant Mike
Talent Scout
as Benefit Show Guest (archive footage) (uncredited)
Three Men on a Horse
as Charlie
The Singing Kid
as Joe Eddy
Cain and Mabel
as Dodo
Sing Me a Love Song
as Chris Cross
Sins of Man
as Crusty
The Case of the Lucky Legs
as Spudsy Drake
Miss Pacific Fleet
as Bernard 'Kewpie' Wiggins
Sweet Music
as Barney Cowan
Page Miss Glory
as Petey
Broadway Hostess
as Fishcake Carter
The Irish in Us
as Carbarn Hammerschlog
While the Patient Slept
as Police Sgt. Jim Jackson
The Big Shakedown
as Lefty
Bedside
as Sam Sparks
The Case of the Howling Dog
as Sgt. Holcomb
Happiness Ahead
as Chuck
The Merry Frinks
as Emmett Frink
The St. Louis Kid
as Buck Willetts
I've Got Your Number
as John 'Johnny'
Whirlpool
as Mac
42nd Street
as Mac Elroy
Blondie Johnson
as Louie
Employees' Entrance
as Sweeney, store detective (uncredited)
The Mind Reader
as Frank
Hard to Handle
as radio announcer
Tomorrow at Seven
as Dugan
The Keyhole
as Hank Wales
Professional Sweetheart
as O'Connor
Havana Widows
as Herman Brody
The Silk Express
as Robert 'Rusty' Griffith
Bureau of Missing Persons
as Detective Joe Musik
King Kong
as Member of Ship's Crew (uncredited)
I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang
as Barney Sykes
Three on a Match
as Dick
Blessed Event
as Frankie Wells
Lawyer Man
as Izzy Levine
Grand Hotel
as Hotel Meat Packer (uncredited)
Rackety Rax
as Mike Dumphy
The Girl Habit
as Tony Maloney