Fred Allen in his comedic feud with Jack Benny
Fred Allen, radio comedian, was born 127 years ago today.
Allen was a comedian whose absurdist, topically pointed radio show (1932–1949) made him one of the most popular and forward-looking humorists in the Golden Age of American radio. His best remembered gag was his long-running mock feud with friend and fellow comedian, Jack Benny.
Radio historian John Dunning (in On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio) wrote that Allen was radio's most admired comedian and most frequently censored. A master ad libber, he often tangled with his network's executives (and often barbed them on the air over the battles), while developing routines whose style and substance influenced fellow comic talents, including Groucho Marx, Stan Freberg, Henry Morgan and Johnny Carson.
His avowed fans also included President Franklin D. Roosevelt and novelists, William Faulkner, John Steinbeck and Herman Wouk, who began his career writing for Allen.
Taking one of his regular late night strolls up New York's West 57th Street on Saturday night, March 17, 1956, Allen suffered a heart attack and died at the age of 61.