Allen Jenkins

Allen Jenkins (born  Alfred McGonegal; April 9, 1900 – July 20, 1974) was an American character actor and singer who worked on stage, film, and television.

Life and career
Jenkins was born Alfred McGonegal on Staten Island, New York on April 9, 1900.

He studied at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. In his first stage appearance, he danced next to James Cagney in a chorus line for an off-Broadway musical called Pitter-Patter, earning five dollars a week. He also appeared in Broadway plays between 1923 and 1962, including The Front Page (1928). His big break came when he replaced Spencer Tracy for three weeks in the Broadway play The Last Mile.

Jenkins was called to Hollywood by Darryl F. Zanuck and signed first to Paramount Pictures and shortly afterward to Warner Bros. His first role in films came in 1931, when he appeared as an ex-convict in the short Straight and Narrow. He had originated the character of Frankie Wells in the Broadway production of Blessed Event and reprised the role in its film adaptation, both in 1932. With the advent of talking pictures, he made a career out of playing comic henchmen, stooges, policemen, taxi drivers, and other 'tough guys' in numerous films of the 1930s and 1940s, especially for Warner Bros. Allen Jenkins was labeled the "greatest scene-stealer of the 1930s" by The New York Times. In 1959, Jenkins played the role of elevator operator Harry in the comedy Pillow Talk.

Jenkins later voiced the character of Officer Charlie Dibble on the Hanna-Barbera TV cartoon, Top Cat (1961–62). He was a regular on the television sitcom Hey, Jeannie! (1956–57), starring Jeannie Carson and often portrayed Muggsy on the 1950s-1970s CBS series The Red Skelton Show. He was also a guest star on many other television programs, such as The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Mr. & Mrs. North, I Love Lucy, Playhouse 90, The Ernie Kovacs Show, Zane Grey Theater, and Your Show of Shows. He had a cameo appearance in It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963). Eleven days before his death, he made his final appearance, at the end of Billy Wilder's remake of The Front Page (1974); it was released posthumously.

Other
He went public with his alcoholism and was the first actor to speak in the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate about it. He helped start the first Alcoholics Anonymous programs in California prisons for women. He is interred at Rock Creek Cemetery in Washington, D.C., Section 10, Lot 31.

Death
Jenkins died of lung cancer early on July 20, 1974. He was 74 years old.

Complete filmography

 * Straight and Narrow (1931, Short) as Ex-convict
 * The Girl Habit (1931) as Tony Maloney
 * Grand Hotel (1932) as Hotel Meat Packer (uncredited)
 * Blessed Event (1932) as Frankie Wells
 * Rackety Rax (1932) as Mike Dumphy
 * Three on a Match (1932) as Dick
 * I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang (1932) as Barney Sykes
 * Lawyer Man (1932) as Izzy Levine
 * Employees' Entrance (1933) as Sweeney (uncredited)
 * Hard to Handle (1933) as Radio Announcer
 * 42nd Street (1933) as Mac Elroy
 * Blondie Johnson (1933) as Louie
 * The Keyhole (1933) as Hank
 * The Mind Reader (1933) as Frank
 * Tomorrow at Seven (1933) as Dugan
 * Professional Sweetheart (1933) as O'Connor
 * The Silk Express (1933) as Robert "Rusty" Griffith
 * The Mayor of Hell (1933) as Mike
 * Bureau of Missing Persons (1933) as Joe Musik
 * 'Tis Spring (1933, Short)
 * Havana Widows (1933) as Herman Brody
 * The Big Shakedown (1934) as Lefty
 * Bedside (1934) as Sam Sparks
 * I've Got Your Number (1934) as Johnny
 * Jimmy the Gent (1934) as Lou
 * Whirlpool (1934) as Mac
 * Twenty Million Sweethearts (1934) as Pete
 * The Merry Frinks (1934) as Emmett Frinks
 * The Case of the Howling Dog (1934) as Sgt. Halcomb
 * Happiness Ahead (1934) as Chuck
 * The St. Louis Kid (1934) as Buck
 * Sweet Music (1935) as Barney Cowan
 * A Night at the Ritz (1935) as Gyp Beagle
 * While the Patient Slept (1935) as Jackson
 * The Case of the Curious Bride (1935) as Spudsy Drake
 * The Irish in Us (1935) as 'Carbarn'
 * Page Miss Glory (1935) as Patsy
 * I Live for Love (1935) as Mac
 * The Case of the Lucky Legs (1935) as Spudsy Drake
 * Miss Pacific Fleet (1935) as Bernard "Kewpie" Wiggins
 * Broadway Hostess (1935) as Fishcake
 * The Singing Kid (1936) as Joe Eddy
 * Sins of Man (1936) as Crusty
 * Cain and Mabel (1936) as Aloysius K. Reilly
 * Three Men on a Horse (1936) as Charlie
 * Sing Me a Love Song (1936) as "Chris" Cress
 * Ready, Willing, and Able (1937) as J. Van Courtland
 * Marked Woman (1937) as Louie
 * A Day at Santa Anita (1937 short) as Allen Jenkins (uncredited)
 * Ever Since Eve (1937) as Jake Edgall
 * The Singing Marine (1937) as Sergeant Mike Kelly
 * Dance Charlie Dance (1937) as Alf Morgan
 * Marry the Girl (1937) as Spees
 * Dead End (1937) as Hunk
 * The Perfect Specimen (1937) as Pinky
 * Sh! The Octopus (1937) as Dempsey
 * Swing Your Lady (1938) as Shiner
 * A Slight Case of Murder (1938) as Mike
 * Fools for Scandal (1938) as Dewey Gilson
 * Gold Diggers in Paris (1938) as Duke "Dukie" Dennis
 * Racket Busters (1938) as 'Sheets' Wilson
 * The Amazing Dr. Clitterhouse (1938) as Okay
 * Hard To Get (1938) as Roscoe
 * Heart of the North (1938) as Cpl. Bill Hardsock
 * Going Places (1938) as Droopy
 * Sweepstakes Winner (1939) as Xerxes "Tip" Bailey
 * Naughty but Nice (1939) as Joe Dirk
 * Five Came Back (1939) as Pete
 * Torchy Blane... Playing with Dynamite (1939) as Lt. Steve McBride
 * Destry Rides Again (1939) as Gyp Watson
 * Oh, Johnny, How You Can Love! (1940) as Ed, aka "The Weasel"
 * Brother Orchid (1940) as Willie "the Knife" Corson
 * Margie (1940) as Kenneth
 * Meet the Wildcat (1940) as Max Schwydel
 * Tin Pan Alley (1940) as Casey
 * Footsteps in the Dark (1941) as Wilfred
 * Time Out for Rhythm (1941) as Off-Beat Davis
 * Dive Bomber (1941) as 'Lucky' James
 * The Gay Falcon (1941) as Jonathan "Goldie" Locke
 * Go West, Young Lady (1941) as Deputy Hank
 * Ball of Fire (1941) as Garbage Man
 * A Date with the Falcon (1942) as Jonathan "Goldie" Locke
 * Tortilla Flat (1942) as Portagee Joe
 * The Falcon Takes Over (1942) as Jonathan "Goldie" Locke
 * Maisie Gets Her Man (1942) as "Pappy" Goodring
 * They All Kissed the Bride (1942) as Johnny Johnson
 * Eyes in the Night (1942) as Marty
 * My Wife's an Angel (1943 short)
 * Stage Door Canteen (1943) as Himself
 * Wonder Man (1945) as Chimp
 * Lady on a Train (1945) as Danny
 * Meet Me on Broadway (1946) as Deacon Trimble
 * The Dark Horse (1946) as Willis Trimble
 * Singin' in the Corn (1946) as Glen Cummings
 * Easy Come, Easy Go (1947) as Nick
 * Fun on a Weekend (1947) as Joe Morgan
 * The Hat Box Mystery (1947 short) as "Harvard"
 * The Case of the Baby Sitter (1947 short) as Howard "Harvard" Quinlan
 * Wild Harvest (1947) as Higgins
 * The Senator Was Indiscreet (1947) as Farrell
 * The Inside Story (1948) as Eddie
 * The Big Wheel (1949) as George
 * Bodyhold (1949) as Slats Henry
 * Let's Go Navy! (1951) as CPO Mervin Longnecker
 * Behave Yourself! (1951) as Plainsclothesman
 * Crazy Over Horses (1951) as Weepin' Willie
 * Chained for Life (1951) as Hinkley
 * Oklahoma Annie (1952) as Coffin Creek Café Bartender Lou
 * The WAC from Walla Walla (1952) as Mr. Reddington
 * Pillow Talk (1959) as Harry
 * It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963) as Policeman (uncredited)
 * For Those Who Think Young (1964) as Col. Leslie Jenkins
 * Robin and the 7 Hoods (1964) as Vermin
 * I'd Rather Be Rich (1964) as Fred
 * The Spy in the Green Hat (1967) as Enzo "Pretty" Stilletto
 * Doctor, You've Got to Be Kidding! (1967) as Joe Bonney
 * Getting Away from It All (1972, TV Movie) as Doorman
 * The Front Page (1974) as Telegrapher (final film role)

Partial television credits

 * The Abbott and Costello Show - episode "The Actors' Home" as Retired Actors Home Man on Street (1953)
 * Wagon Train - episode "The Horace Best Story" as Mr. Gillespie (1960)
 * Top Cat - 30 episodes as Officer Charlie Dibble (1961-1962)
 * The Real McCoys - episode "Army Reunion" as Skinny Howard (1962)
 * The Man from U.N.C.L.E. - episodes "The Concrete Overcoat Affair: Parts 1 & 2" as Enzo "Pretty" Stilletto (1966)
 * Batman - episode "Scat! Darn Catwoman" as Little Al (uncredited) (1967)
 * Bewitched - four episodes as various characters (1971-1972)