Fred Allen


(4.3 stars; 7 reviews)

Radio shows featuring Fred Allen. Read about Fred Allen's career on wikipedia at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Allen .

This recording is part of the Old Time Radio collection.

Chapters

Side B 13:45
Side B 13:29
1949 - Fred Allen on American Comedy 23:39
Town Hall Tonight 57:53
380518 The House that Jack Built 58:15
The Fred Allen Radio Show 2:54
410302 Philanda Blank 57:28
410319 57:16
410326 56:40
410402 56:55
410423 57:05
430103 27:26
430404 29:02
440102 27:52
440326 30:01
451007 Teaming Up With Charlie McCarthy 28:58
451028 Charlie Mccarthy Sues Fred for slander 23:58
4510XX How is the Housing Shortage Effecting You 26:26
451104 With Martha Raye 29:18
451111 Mob Buster - ALT 30:14
451230 American Radio Shows in Russia 28:47
460120 A Movie on Fred Allens Life - ALT 29:39
460428 Racing Form Trial 29:36
461030 With Bing Crosby 29:55
470615 With Ozzie and Harriet 27:58
471019 Have You Ever Been Swindled 29:41
471214 New Years Eve Plans 27:21
480418 Author Meets His Match 29:47
480606 Quiz Program and Soap Opera 27:42
481107 Sam Shovel Private Eye 27:59
481128 Is Radio Comedy Suffering 29:53
50xxxx Peggy Lee Fred Allen 30:52
560529 A Portrait of 53:51
640318 Salute to 1:06:08
Allen's Alley Etc 1:00:12
B66.MP3 29:39
Benny-Allen Feud 1 of 6 The Vaudeville Days 27:19
Benny-Allen Feud 2 of 6 Reunited After 7 Years of Fueding 29:28
Benny-Allen Feud 3 of 6 Bennys Boulevard 26:14
Benny-Allen Feud 4 of 6 King for a Day 21:05
Benny-Allen Feud 5 of 6 Mammoth Department Store 20:30
Benny-Allen Feud 6 of 6 The Wright Brothers True Story 24:50
Benny Allen Feud - Various clips - 60 min 1:01:38
Bergen McCarthy 1945-09-03 Fred Allen 34:50
Bergen McCarthy 1945-10-21 Fred Allen.MP3 29:57
Bergen McCarthy 1947-11-02 with Fred Allen 29:57
Bing Crosby 1947-06-06 Fred Allen and Connie Boswell 29:46
Bing Crosby 1950-05-17 Fred Allen 28:44
A Portrait Of Fred Allen 53:51
Spring 1946 Fred Allen, Ginny Simms, Jack Benny 30:13
Spring 1946 Fred Allen, Ginny Simms, Jack Benny 30:13
FREDALLEN 371222 SANTACLAU.MP3 50:38
Linit Bathclub Revue 29:07
Linit Bathclub Revue 24:45
Fred Allen - 351002 Once An Amateur 59:51
Fred Allen - 360115 1st half.MP3 31:41
Fred Allen - 360122 Amateur Show - One Long Pan 58:07
Fred Allen - 361007 Who Killed Rappaport 58:29
Fred Allen - 370310 Amateur Show 58:43
Fred Allen - 370317 St Patricks Day Show 1:00:49
Fred Allen - 371222 Santa Will Not Ride Tonight 58:51
Fred Allen - 380525 Who Stole the Favorite 1:00:07
Track 1 58:12
Fred Allen - 390322 Murder at Madison Square 58:38
Fred Allen - 390621 Crisis on the Showboat 56:05
Fred Allen - 391025 59:42
Fred Allen - 400320 Eagle Gets Loose in the Studio 1:01:41
Fred Allen - 400327 Who Killed Mack Borden 23:54
Fred Allen - 400508 Barber College 59:35
Fred Allen - 400612 Jack Boyle - Hillbilly Court 59:30
Fred Allen - 40XXXX Fred Interviews Superman Writer Jerry Sie 11:12
Fred Allen - 410305 58:03
Fred Allen - 411210 - Louella Parsons - War News 56:13
Fred Allen - 420503 Freak Show Murder 59:33
Fred Allen - 420510 58:01
Fred Allen - 420524 Vaudville 1:00:54
Fred Allen - 420607 English Radio Spoof 58:00
Fred Allen - 420621 Mountain Justice 58:47
Fred Allen - 420628 - Judy Canova - Last Show of Season 57:31
Fred Allen - 421004 31:03
Fred Allen - 421011 - Roland Young - Shrimp Cocktail 27:58
Fred Allen - 421018 Les Miserables 27:57
Fred Allen - 421025 - Roy Rogers - Courting of Jenny Sugs 28:55
Fred Allen - 421101 - Robert Benchley - Trouble Hearing Show 27:39
Fred Allen - 421115 Bbc Take it or Leave It Gracie Fields 28:01
Fred Allen - 421129 - Adolph Menjou - New Suit 27:51
Fred Allen - 421206 - George Jessel - First Allens Alley 29:13
Fred Allen - 421220 Risa Stevens-Santa Claus Sits Down 29:01
Fred Allen - 430131 Oscar Levant 30:45
Fred Allen - 430208 Phil Baker 30:33
Fred Allen - 430307 Judy Canova 29:46
Fred Allen - 430523 George Jessel - Freds Biography 28:54
Fred Allen - 431212 Lauritz Melchior-Getting a radio job 30:31
Fred Allen - 431231 Selection From An Hour Program 13:53
Fred Allen - 440109 - Ed Gardner - Hit by a Beer Barrel 28:04
Fred Allen - 440319 - Ted Lewis - The Life of Ted Lewis 27:50
Fred Allen - 440402 jack Haley radio vs TV 28:24
Fred Allen - 440403 - Oscar Levant - AFRS 29:33
Fred Allen - 440409 - Reginald Gardiner - Fetlock Bones 27:51
Fred Allen - 440611 - Deems Taylor - South Dakota 28:21
Fred Allen - 451021 - Frank Sinatra - Charlie McCarthy sues 28:24
Fred Allen - 451108 Boris Karloff - Renting A Room 23:45
Fred Allen - 451111 - Monte Wooley - Charlie the Chicken 29:53
Fred Allen - 451125 - Leo Durocher - Brooklyn Pinafore 29:22
Fred Allen - 460106 Take it or Leave It 28:16
Fred Allen - 460113 - Maurice Evans - AFRS 29:47
Fred Allen - 460120 - George Jessel - Movie of Freds Life 28:31
Fred Allen - 460203 - Bea Lilly - Picadilly 27:56
Fred Allen - 460210 - with Orson Welles 28:45
Fred Allen - 460224 - Arthur Treacher - Hillbilly Sketch 24:20
Fred Allen - 460411 Basil Rathbone 27:58
Fred Allen - 460414 - Leo Durocher - Brooklyn Pinafore II 23:36
Fred Allen - 460421 30:12
Fred Allen - 460512 Cairo 31:43
Fred Allen - 460526 - King for a Day guest Jack Benny 28:54
46-05-26 28:24
Fred Allen - 461027 Breakfast Show 29:11
Fred Allen - 470314 With Rogers and Hammerstein 24:23
Fred Allen - 470323 - Rodgers Hammerstein - Picadilly II 26:27
w/Rodgers & Hammerstein 28:50
Fred Allen - 470511 - Bing Crosby - poor 26:14
Fred Allen - 470525 - Rudy Vallee And His Megaphone 26:59
Fred Allen - 470615 - Ozzie Harriet - Fred the Boarder 27:49
Fred Allen - 471026 The Haley and Allen Show 30:00
Fred Allen - 471228 - Monty Wooley - Returning a Clock 28:06
Fred Allen - 480000 The Belmont Is On The Air 1St Show - Don 4:45
Fred Allen - 480104 - James Mason - 1st Show for Ford 29:31
Fred Allen - 480104 What is the Worst Storm You Remember 30:10
Fred Allen - 480328 - James Pamela Mason - Morning Show 29:47
Fred Allen - 480411 With Basil Rathbone 29:33
Fred Allen - 480418 - James Farley - Literary Panel 29:30
Fred Allen - 480502 Jp Morgan Court of Human Relati 31:12
Fred Allen - 480509 - Don McNeill - Break the Contestant 28:44
Fred Allen - 480523 Fred Wants to do Bings Life St 30:57
Fred Allen - 480627 Jack Benny - Stop the Music 29:05
Fred Allen - 481111 Samshovel With Arthur Treacher 29:19
Fred Allen - 481205 Tv Commercials 29:10
Fred Allen - 48XXXX Most Important Advance in Sci 28:51
Fred Allen - 48XXXX Xmas Fragment -15 Min 15:17
Fred Allen - 490109 - H Allen Smith - Literary Panel 29:01
Fred Allen - 490320 - Victor Moore - Mister Mob Buster 28:53
Fred Allen - 490501 Jamaica Race Track 55:19
Fred Allen - 490626 - Fred Allens Final Show 28:51
Fred Allen - 490626 Final Show 26:35
FA661113 PART 1 26:14
FA661113 PART 2 26:19
Fred Allen - AFRS - 1942 27:59
Fred Allen - Tribute To Fred Allen 14:04
Fred Allen 481024 Dale Carnegie - Breakfast Worries 28:49
Fred Allen 490206 Bert Lahr - Planning a TV show 28:40
Fred Allen 490424 Basil Rathbone - One Long Pan 28:12
Fred Allen 490522 Col Stoopnagle - Babysitting 28:11
Fred Allen 490626 Last Show 26:35
Guest Fred Allen 27:21
JB441001 520 Jack Looks For A Replacement Singer 29:43
Jack Benny 1937-03-14 Jack Benny Vs Fred Allen 28:37
Jack Benny 1938-03-27 guests Fred Allen Kate Smith 29:21
Jack Benny 1942-12-27 New Years Eve Skit 23:27
Jack Benny 1944-10-29 Allens Alley 28:37
Jack Benny 1945-01-14 Mrs Nussbaums Restaurant 30:04
Jack Benny 1945-02-04 From St Albans Hospital NY - Fred Allen 26:53
Jack Benny 1946-01-27 Fred Allen announces contest winners 28:31
Jack Benny 1946-05-19 Fred Allen Asks Jack To Guest Star 29:13
Jack Benny 1947-05-25 From NY with Fred Allen Jack Paar 29:17
Jack Benny 1950-01-15 How Jack and Fred Allen met 29:31
Jack Benny 1953-04-26 From San Francisco with Fred Allen 29:06
The State Of American Humor 23:39
Love thy neighbor 3:42
Philco Hall of Fame 1943-04-05 Fred Allen Tribute 1:00:29
1943-12-xx Fred Allen 13:53
Screen Directors Playhouse 1950-02-17 Its in the Bag 29:15
Skits From Allen And Benny Shows 1:01:38
a290 guestMontyWholley 27:16

Reviews

Not as Funny as Jack Benny


(3 stars)

While I'll no doubt be in the minority here, I am not a big fan of Fred Allen. I have tried to like him, and a few of his shows were funny -- specifically the ones with Henry Morgan and Oscar Levant. They were hilarious, but too many of Fred's programs are just too corny -- like sketches with Portland. The only person I like in Allen's Alley is Mrs. Nussbaum. She was funny! While JB's humor stood the test of time, Allen's sounds dated. I don't like how he supposedly ad-libs and then laughs at his own jokes. I don't think his ad-libs are funny. It is true that Fred refers to a lot of things happening at the time of the broadcast, so if you're listening mostly for it's historical value, then Fred is probably the better program. But for clever writing that is still funny today, I gotta go with Benny!

Corrections/Clarifications


(0 stars)

a290_guestMontyWholley.mp3 is 1947-12-28_-_Monty_Wooley_-_Returning_a_Clock.mp3 Fred_Allen_-_460210_-_with_Orson_Welles.mp3 Is 1946-03-03 (60) Chicken Surplus Fred_Allen_-_481111_Samshovel_With_Arthur_Treacher.mp3 Is 1948-11-07_-_ArthurTreacher-SamShovel.mp3 Fred_Allen_-_470314_With_Rogers_and_Hammerstein.mp3 Is 1947-03-23_-_Rodgers__Hammerstein_-_Picadilly_II.mp3 Fred_Allen_-_460421.mp3 Is Command Performance 460421 Fred_Allen_-_460411_Basil_Rathbone.mp3 Is 1948-04-11BasilRathbone-OneLongPan.mp3 Fred_Allen_-_490501_Jamaica_Race_Track.mp3 Is 1939-10-11 Satire on Surveys and Polls Fred_Allen_-_AFRS_-_1942.mp3 Is 1942-10-18 (3) Les Miserables (AFRS rebroadcast) Fred_Allen_-_Tribute_To_Fred_Allen.mp3 Is 1999-10-23 WNIB Chicago Those Were the Days(excerpt only – no Allen content) ADDED 8/5/08 50xxxx_Peggy_Lee__Fred_Allen is Bing Crosby Show 500208 21 Guest - Fred Allen and Portland Hoffa 1949_-_Fred_Allen_on_American_Comedy is Living 1949 49/01/30 5 The State of American Humor 4510XX_How_is_the_Housing_Shortage_Effecting_You is Fred Allen Show 451007 40 Auditions 410302_Philanda_Blank.mp3 is Fred Allen Show 410312 23 Philanda Blank - My Story 560529_A_Portrait_of_.mp3 is Biography in Sound 56/05/29 50 Fred Allen 640318_Today Show Salute_to_.mp3 is an audio recording of the NBC television show B66.MP3 is Fred Allen Show 46/01/20 54 A Movie on Fred Allen's Life ADDED 8/13/08 Philco_Hall_of_Fame_1943-04-05_Fred_Allen_Tribute.mp3 Is Philco_Hall_of_Fame_1945-03-25 69 The Strange Case Of Robert Rappaport Fred_Allen_-_431212_Lauritz_Melchior-Getting_a_radio_job.mp3 Is 1945-12-16 50 Seeking a Radio Job

Misdated Shows


(0 stars)

43-02-08 Phil Baker should be dated 43-02-28 Phil Baker 43-04-04 Jimmy Durante (Looking for Umbragio) was actually 44-01-23 Jimmy Durante. First question in Allen's Alley is 'How did the fish shortage bother you?' Allen mentions that Jimmy Durante is on the cover of Time Magazine. An internet reference shows January 24, 1944 as the date of that issue 43-12-12 Laurentz Melchior was actually 45-12-16 Lauritz Melchior. Kenny Delmar is the announcer which places the show Oct 1945 or later. The Allen's Alley question again places the date. 44-04-03 Oscar Levant should be dated and labeled 44-04-23 North Dakota 45-11-08 Boris Karloff Renting A Room should be dated 45-11-18 46-02-10 Orson Welles was 46-03-03 46-10-30 Bing Crosby should be dated 47-05-11 Bing Crosby

Fred Allen and American Wartime History


(5 stars)

Hi, I collect old-time radio comedy. While the Jack Benny show is often recognized as having the best writers, I believe that the Fred Allen Show provides the best window into the America of his time. While Jack Benny's shows were about Jack Benny, Fred Allen typically dicussed the issues of the day, such as food shortages and gas rationing. If you want a good natured look at everyday America during WW II, Fred Allen is one of the best sources. Fibber McGee is another.

Alas


(0 stars)

It's a shame the show labelled April 21, 1946 is the incorrect show. That was the week NBC cut Fred Allen off the air for making fun of a network vice-president, as related in his book Treadmill to Oblivion. The Associated Press reported April 22, 1946 that Red Skelton and Bob Hope were faded out by the network that evening for daring to comment on what happened.

Fred vs jack? Enjoy them both


(5 stars)

Feeekie I am thinking that jack and fred are smiling in that big soundstage in the sky..hey old pal, our feud was the best show biz shtick so far I guess, because 70 years later they're still arguing which one of us is funnier!

Right On Feekie


(2 stars)

Fred Allen's shows have aged terribly. The written jokes are so predictable and unfunny. I do think his ad-libs are funny sometimes, but its honestly hard for me to get through an entire episode to hear that many.

Such a time trip


(5 stars)

Like going back into another era. Fred Allen was the cooler, hipper alternative to Jack Benny from what i gathered. Us, the People episode will crack up anybody. The music in the shows? fantastic.