Fred Allen: The Art of Wit

 Here we are again, folks! After missing two posts, I wouldn't dare miss my favorite segment in this blog. The spotlight posts not only gives me the chance to write about my idols, it also lives me the remote chance to inform the general public of these people who walked the walk back there. This post is on Fred Allen, known to many as, "Who?" The other two comedians I've mentioned here have shows and specials and regular appearances on television that have kept them in the social limelight for longer. Fred, however, died a bit too early to really make a name for himself in television.

Fred Allen was born in Cambridge Massachusetts in 1894. His career started off in vaudeville as a juggler with a penchant for one-liners and dry humor. He would join every entertainment branch of the era. From broadway, to movies, to short subjects, finally landing a spot in radio in 1932. 1932 appeared to be a magic year for radio, as George and Gracie, Jack Benny and Fred Allen all dropped onto the scene in that year.

Fred Allen was the host and master of ceremonies of a variety of shows, including his Town Hall Tonight program, in which he'd interview budding stars. One of which was a young violinist, which prompted Fred to make a jab at his biggest competitor, Jack Benny. With that, one of the greatest feud of the 30s and 40s started. Fred Allen, always a lover of extemporaneousness, would always mention Jack in his ad-lib whenever he could. Jack would often write in events and characters in his programs that mirrored Fred Allen and his characters. Movies would span from these feuds, and articles and meetups, including an actual boxing match between the two of them. Of course, the two of them were good friends outside of this, and Jack spoke highly of him in his autobiography. One famous program is the "King For a Day" episode of Fred Allen's program, in which Fred tricked him into thinking he won a quiz show.  At the end, Fred pulls Jack's pants off...On stage, and the audience died laughing.

Jack (With his pants off): You haven't seen the end of me!
Fred: Oh, it won't be long, now!

One thing that made old school comedians famous was their audience. Obviously, one cannot be famous without an audience, but today, an unfunny act can be punctuated with a laugh track and no one would know the difference. In radio, this was not done, the performer would simply need to build a persona, and a style of joke-telling that could grab an audience. Jack benny did this, he had the stinginess, the deadpan look, his cast of characters. Bob Hope did this, he had his rapid fire delivery, his sort of half smile, his distinct voice. Fred Allen had his wit, but this was not enough to grab a clear audience. He didn't have a very distinct character, and his style of dry humor was found in many comedians of the time, like Groucho Marx or Henry Morgan. This dwindling reaction with audiences was present since his days in vaudeville, and Fred, ever persistent and ever unrelenting, never changed his act, stating, "There must be intelligent people left in the world, and it's my job to entertain them,"

As he got older, hypertension gave him
bags under his eyes, to which audiences would constantly
comment on, and he turned it into a joke.

Fred Allen was most comfortable on a live stage. His friends would describe him as happiest when he's allowed to be himself, not bogged down  by sponsors, or networks, or writers. He had his quick, ever-moving wit in the style of Mark Twain and Will Rogers, existing in a world that was slowly losing interest in that. In radio, though he had a long tenure, he was never quite happy. His audiences were not too pleased with his written material, and would only laugh when he'd ad-lib. Such ad-libbing got him in trouble with his network, who had a mimeographed copy of the script, and didn't want him to deviate from it. He was also a workaholic, who stressed over each show, each joke and, as a result, was never too happy. 

Jack :When you got him off vaudeville, Allen became somebody else,
a bitter and frustrated and unhappy man. 
What was wrong? I didn't know what he wanted
 or expected out of life, or why he was so basically disgruntled about living.

Television was one of Fred's most hated mediums. He hated the bulky cameras, the separation between audience and performer, most of all, he hated the oversaturation of programs. It seemed that every network just needed to have their version of the exact same show. Thus, Fred was extremely averse to joining this medium, and preferred to stay in radio. However, even radio was forsaking him. The abundance of quiz shows on his network eventually kicked him out of his spot in 1949. Thus, begrudgingly, he took to television. His health was failing him, and he needed a job which was not as mentally demanding as hosting. So, he was offered a spot as the permanent fourth panelist of the panel show, "What's My Line?". He took the job, and for almost two years, he delighted a new era of audiences. 

Fred: John, may I ask you a question?
John: Yes, Fred?
Fred: Do you think Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis will split up?

As time goes by, we find that television is more easily remembered and looked back on than radio, since it had such a long run. So now, if people know Fred Allen at all, it's more likely from his more than 50 episodes on WML. However, when he was younger, spryer and perhaps less scornful, his humor was completely different. The odd remark he'd make in the show used to be his whole shtick. Nonetheless, his wit always showed, and the panelists and host of the show loved him. When he died in 1956, the cast of What's My Line had a tribute planned for him, in which they'd show his life and accomplishments. Fred's wife, Portland Hoffa, advised them against it. Instead, they played their usual game, and at the end, they each took turns speaking of the man who came, and made them laugh for not nearly long enough.

Steve Allen on Fred Allen's death: "A few months ago, Fred read a postcard that asked if he was my father, he laughed at it. When I heard the news, I couldn't have been any more depressed, than if the answer had been, "yes". 

Fred Allen never quite got the chance to become the institution he had the potential to be. Many of his contemporaries were long-lived, with Jack Benny living to 80, and George Burns and Bob Hope famously passing the century mark. With such a long life, comes appealing to more audiences. Perhaps it was that inability to accept and overcome change which was his downfall. However, if you'll take the chance to listen and see all that he had done, you'd find a wit and humor that scarcely exists today, and that anyone can learn from. Thank you, Fred Allen.

I hope to see you Back There

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