Allen Swift

Biography

Ira Stadlen (January 16, 1924 – April 18, 2010 ), known professionally as Allen Swift, was an American voice actor,  known for playing characters including Simon Bar Sinister and Riff-Raff on the Underdog cartoon show. He provided the voices of many of the characters in The Bluffers, most of the voices for the 1960s underwater puppet show Diver Dan, and the voices in Gene Deitch's 1960–1962 group of Tom and Jerry cartoons. Swift was a children's television show host on WPIX in New York City as "Captain Allen". He took his professional name from radio comedian Fred Allen and 18th century satirist Jonathan Swift. Swift was an early television star who hosted The Popeye Show from September 10, 1956 to September 23, 1960, until he was forced to leave the program. The reason for his dismissal from "The Popeye Show" was creative differences with station management.(Info can be found in"The Popeye Show"aticle in The NYC Kids Shows Round Up"section of"TV Party.Com") Swift did the majority of the voices in Rankin/Bass's Mad Monster Party?, credited as Alan (sic) Swift in the movie's credits.  He supplied most of the character voices for the NBC Howdy Doody Show, and when Buffalo Bob Smith, who himself did the voice of the lead puppet character Howdy Doody and had many times proclaimed that "nobody else could do Howdy" suffered a heart attack, Swift took home some recordings over the weekend, came back on Monday and did Howdy's voice for more than a year.(Info can be found in Tv Bloq section of TV Party.Com) Swift also served as the second comedy writer for "Howdy Doody." He took on the job, following the abrupt departure of the series' first comedy writer and songwriter, Edward Kean.(info at "TV Bloq"/Past entry #168 at "TV Party.Com") He also wrote the play Checking Out. Swift was married to actress Lenore Loveman, and is the father of character actor, mimic and singer Lewis J. Stadlen, holistic health practitioner, Maxime Stadlen and psychotherapist, Clare A. Stadlen. He lived in Manhattan. Allen had been "suffering with a series of health calamities for several years, since he fell and broke his hip while walking his dog. From that moment, one thing led to another," said personal friend and director Gene Deitch. "Even though [I've been] here for 50 years, hardly a year went by without a visit to his 57th Street apartment, nor a day go by without e-mail and most recently Skype visits," added Deitch, an American expatriate living in the Czech Republic. ​From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Known For

Gaston le Crayon

Gaston’s Mama Lisa

Sir Blur / Robin Hood

Robin Hoodwinked

Simeon / Soldiers (voice)

The Little Drummer Boy Book II

Gadzooks / Newsreel announcer / blue engine / Town guard (voice)

The Easter Bunny Is Comin' to Town

Felix Flankin / Yetch / Dracula / Invisible Man / Dr. Jekyll / Mr. Hyde / Additional Voices

Mad Monster Party?

Narrator (voice)

Where the Wild Things Are

Maurice Venice

Seize the Day

Old Mother Clobber

Sol

Safe Men

Mufty (voice)

Hans Christian Andersen's The Emperor's New Clothes

Gaston Is Here

Gaston, Go Home

Gaston's Easel Life

The Tale of a Dog

François / Narrator / King (segment "Many Moons") / Lord High Chamberlain (voice)

Alice of Wonderland in Paris

(voice)

It's a Living

How to Avoid Friendship

Narrator

Le schiave esistono ancora

Various Fish (uncredited)

The Seapreme Court

Audience Members (uncredited)

Popeye's 20th Anniversary

The Mad Magazine TV Special

Lookout

Boo Moon

Lookout (archive footage)

3-D Rarities

English Narrator (voice)

Ocurrido en Hualfín

Fox (voice)

Pinocchio's Christmas

Francios (voice)

Anatole

Narrator (voice)

The Tom and Jerry Cartoon Kit

Santa Claus (voice)

'Twas the Night Before Christmas

(voice)

High Steaks

(voice)

Dicky Moe

Economist / Communications Expert / Sociologist / Museum Curator / Wife / Bartender (voice)

Depth Study

Sir Blur/King Arthur (voice)

A Wedding Knight

Voice

The Blacksheep Blacksmith

Wickhead/Geronimo/Say-Ah (voice)

Geronimo and Son

Bee / Moth (voice) (uncredited)

Keep the Cool, Baby

Santa Claus

A Family Circus Christmas

Father / People saying goodbye / Boxer (uncredited)

Crazytown

Tom / Jerry / Clint (voice)

It's Greek to Me-ow!

Maxi-Fixit (voice)

Raggedy Ann & Andy: A Musical Adventure!

Clint Clobber / General / Mr.Lofy (voice)

Camp Clobber

Voice

The Red Baron

Tom Cat / Jerry Mouse / Clint Clobber (voice)

Down and Outing

Tom / Jerry (voice)

Sorry Safari

(voice)

Tall in the Trap

Dracula / The Monster / Dr. Jekyll / The Invisible Man (voice)

The Mad, Mad, Mad Monsters