Fred Allen
Fred Allen was an American comedian, actor, screenwriter, radio personality, and journalist born in Cambridge on May 31, 1894.
Educated at Boston University, Allen built a career that stretched across multiple disciplines in American entertainment. He worked as a comedian and actor while also taking on roles as a screenwriter and journalist, a range of occupations that reflected a restless professional versatility. His work in radio earned him particular recognition, and he received Peabody Awards in acknowledgment of his contributions to broadcasting.
Allen died in New York City on March 17, 1956, and was posthumously honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. His output spanned comedy, writing, and radio performance, and those overlapping roles across entertainment and media remained a consistent thread throughout his working life.
Quotes by Fred Allen
Fred Allen's insights on:
Most of us spend the first six days of each week sowing wild oats, then we go to church on Sunday and pray for a crop failure.
Television is a device that permits people who haven’t anything to do to watch people who can’t do anything.
Success is like dealing with your kid or teaching your wife to drive. Sooner or later you’ll end up in the police station.
I’m a little hoarse tonight. I’ve been living in Chicago for the past two months, and you know how it is, yelling for help on the way home every night. Things are so tough in Chicago that at Easter time, for bunnies the little kids use porcupines.