Myspace Layouts - Myspace Editor - Image Hosting
EARLY YEARS
Fred Allen was born John Florence Sullivan on May 31, 1894 in Cambridge, MA. Motherless by the age of three, he, his father and his younger brother Robert were taken in by his mother’s sister Lizzie. When John’s father remarried, the boy chose to stay with her rather than go live with the newlyweds and his younger brother.
John’s road to fame began when he participated in a talent show for employees of the Boston Public Library. His act, a combination of juggling and comedy, was such a success that a girl in the crowd told him he was crazy to stay at the library as a book runner. John participated in several local amateur night competitions before being booked with the local vaudeville circuit at the sum of $30 a week. He was billed as Fred St. James, the world’s worst juggler.
THE “FEUD†WITH JACK BENNY
Perhaps Fred Allen is best known today for his long running “feud†with fellow radio comedian Jack Benny. The two had known one another for years in vaudeville and were really good friends. The imagined ire between the two began when a boy violinist named Stewart Canin made a guest appearance on Fred’s show in the mid 1930s. Allen made the remark that the boy’s rendition of “Flight of the Bumblebee should make a “certain alleged violinist hide his head in shame.†Benny fired back on his next show, saying that he could play “The Bee†just as good as any 10 year old. Keeping the joke alive the next week, Allen interviewed three “experts†from Benny’s hometown of Waukegan, IL who testified that Benny could not play The Bee as well as a ten year old. Then Benny had three experts who declared he could. What started out as a joke between friends escalated into one of the best publicity stunts in radio. Allen and Benny did guest spots on the other’s shows until Allen’s radio show ended in 1949 (Benny appeared on that last show as well). They also appeared in films together, including “Love Thy Neighbor†and “It’s in the Bag.†They were so convincing that some of their fans believed them to be bitter enemies. In reality Allen and Benny had as much fun with the running feud as their audience did.