Allen Jenkins
Biography
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
Mac Elroy
42nd Street
Louie
Blondie Johnson
Harry
Pillow Talk
Danny (Waring chauffeur)
Lady on a Train
Self
Behind the Scenes of Cain and Mabel
Louie
Marked Woman
Willie 'The Knife' Corson
Brother Orchid
Mike
A Slight Case of Murder
Hunk
Dead End
Barney Sykes
I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang
Garbage Man
Ball of Fire
Dick
Three on a Match
Hinkley
Chained for Life
Frankie Wells
Blessed Event
Farrell
The Senator Was Indiscreet
Jonathan 'Goldy' Locke
A Date with the Falcon
Johnny Johnson
They All Kissed the Bride
Sweeney, store detective (uncredited)
Employees' Entrance
Gyp Watson
Destry Rides Again
Jonathan 'Goldy' Locke
The Falcon Takes Over
Jonathan G. 'Goldie' Locke
The Gay Falcon
Wilfred
Footsteps in the Dark
Droopy
Going Places
Okay
The Amazing Dr. Clitterhouse
Lucky James
Dive Bomber
Vermin Witowski
Robin and the 7 Hoods
Pete
Five Came Back
Shiner Ward
Swing Your Lady
Lou
Jimmy the Gent
Howard 'Harvard' Quinlan
The Case of the Baby-Sitter
Marty
Eyes in the Night
Dempsey
Sh! The Octopus
Skeets Wilson
Racket Busters
George
The Big Wheel
Off-Beat Davis
Time Out for Rhythm
Lefty
The Big Shakedown
Mike
The Mayor of Hell
Portagee Joe
Tortilla Flat
'Pappy' Goodring
Maisie Gets Her Man
Col. Leslie Jenkins
For Those Who Think Young
'Harvard'
The Hat Box Mystery
Frank
The Mind Reader
Izzy Levine
Lawyer Man
Slats Henry
Bodyhold
Sam Sparks
Bedside
Sgt. Holcomb
The Case of the Howling Dog
Duke 'Dukie' Dennis
Gold Diggers in Paris
Charlie
Three Men on a Horse
Chuck
Happiness Ahead
CPO Mervin Longnecker
Let's Go Navy!
Spudsy Drake
The Case of the Lucky Legs
Emmett Frink
The Merry Frinks
radio announcer
Hard to Handle
J. Van Courtland
Ready, Willing and Able
Joe Eddy
The Singing Kid
Bernard 'Kewpie' Wiggins
Miss Pacific Fleet
Dugan
Tomorrow at Seven
Eddie
The Inside Story
Barney Cowan
Sweet Music
Alf Morgan
Dance Charlie Dance
Fred
I'd Rather Be Rich
Steve McBride
Torchy Blane.. Playing with Dynamite
Dewey Gibson
Fools for Scandal
Dodo
Cain and Mabel
Cop (uncredited)
It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World
Buck Willetts
The St. Louis Kid
Petey
Page Miss Glory
Fishcake Carter
Broadway Hostess
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage
Joe Morgan
Fun on a Weekend
Bill Hardsock
Heart of the North
Carbarn Hammerschlog
The Irish in Us
Hank Wales
The Keyhole
Specs
Marry the Girl
Gyp
A Night at the Ritz
Mac
I Live for Love
O'Connor
Professional Sweetheart
Herman Brody
Havana Widows
Nick
Easy Come, Easy Go
Hank
Go West, Young Lady
Lou
Oklahoma Annie
Roscoe
Hard to Get
John 'Johnny'
I've Got Your Number
Pinky
The Perfect Specimen
Mac
Whirlpool
Robert 'Rusty' Griffith
The Silk Express
Self (archive footage)
42nd Street: From Book to Screen to Stage
Enzo 'Pretty' Stilletto
The Spy in the Green Hat
Allen Jenkins (uncredited)
A Day at Santa Anita
Jake Edgall
Ever Since Eve
Sergeant Mike
The Singing Marine
Chimp
Wonder Man
Chris Cross
Sing Me a Love Song
Deacon McGill
Meet Me on Broadway
Mr. Redington
The WAC from Walla Walla
Pete
Twenty Million Sweethearts
Max Schwydel
Meet the Wildcat
Spudsy
The Case of the Curious Bride
Weepin' Willie
Crazy Over Horses
Joe Dirk
Naughty But Nice
Xerxes 'Tip' Bailey
Sweepstakes Winner
Police Sgt. Jim Jackson
While the Patient Slept
Crusty
Sins of Man
Detective Joe Musik
Bureau of Missing Persons
Allen Jenkins
Stage Door Canteen
Casey
Tin Pan Alley
Ed aka The Weasel
Oh, Johnny, How You Can Love!
Kenneth
Margie
Self
Breakdowns of 1936
Willis Trimble
The Dark Horse
Benefit Show Guest (archive footage) (uncredited)
Talent Scout
Self
Blow-Ups of 1947
Telegrapher
The Front Page
Higgins
Wild Harvest
Hotel Meat Packer (uncredited)
Grand Hotel
Shiner Ward / Duke Dennis (archive footage) (uncredited)
Breakdowns of 1938
Marine Sergeant in Chorus (archive footage) (uncredited)
Three Cheers for the Girls
Self
Breakdowns of 1937
Self
Things You Never See on the Screen
Self
Breakdowns of 1940
Mike Dumphy
Rackety Rax
Self (archive footage)
Complicated Women
Glenn Cummings
Singin' in the Corn
Self (archive footage)
James Stewart: A Wonderful Life
Member of Ship's Crew (uncredited)
King Kong
Joe Bonney
Doctor, You've Got to Be Kidding!
Police Plainclothesman
Behave Yourself!
Tony Maloney
The Girl Habit
Doorman
Getting Away from It All
Sam
My Wife's an Angel
Personal Info
Known For
Acting
Known Credits
130
Gender
Male
Birthday
1900-04-08
Place of Birth
Staten Island, New York City, New York, USA
Also Known As
Alfred McGonegal