biography
| name: |
Allen, Fred
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originally John F Sullivan
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| sex:
| male
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| lived:
| (1894–1956)
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| biography:
| Comedian, born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. Starting as a juggler in his youth, he switched to comedy when he found he was getting more laughs for his quips than applause for his skill. He appeared in vaudeville and Broadway shows (1920s) and moved into radio (1930s). As host of Town Hall Tonight (1934–40) and then CBS's Texaco Star Theatre (1940–9), he wrote much of his material and was one of the first American comedians to employ situations and characters that satirized topical events. He converted reluctantly to television, starring in The Colgate Comedy Hour (1953–4) and Fred Allen's Sketchbook (1954). The nature of his characteristically wry, ironic, sometimes mordant humour was expressed in the title of his autobiography, Treadmill to Oblivion (1954). |
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