Allen Jenkins


Allen Curtis Jenkins was an American character actor, voice actor and singer who worked on stage, film, and television. He may be best known to some audiences as the voice of Officer Charlie Dibble in the Hanna-Barbera TV cartoon series Top Cat.

Life and career

Jenkins was born on Staten Island, New York, on April 9, 1900. He is sometimes reported as having been born with the name Alfred McGonegal, but his birth, census and draft card records, as well as his New York Times obituary indicate he was born Allen Curtis Jenkins, the son of actor Robert Oliver Jenkins and musical performer and teacher Leona Jenkins,.
Jenkins's father, born in Baltimore, was descended from a colonial Catholic family who settled Maryland in the early 1600s. His mother's family were mainly New England Yankees from Massachusetts and Vermont. In fact, Jenkins's maternal grandfather and great-grandfather were both named Ebenezer Cooley.
Jenkins had been a stage actor since 1922. He signed a seven-year contract with Warner Bros. in 1932 and established himself quickly as a gloom-faced, wisecracking character player, useful in comedies, dramas, and musicals. Though mainly of English and Welsh descent, he was considered a member of Hollywood's so-called "Irish Mafia", a group of Irish-American actors and friends which included Spencer Tracy, James Cagney, Pat O'Brien, and Frank McHugh. His Warner agreement was non-exclusive so he could appear in films for other studios, such as Whirlpool and Dead End.
After his Warner agreement lapsed, Jenkins freelanced for the rest of his career. After World War II, when Hollywood studios made fewer feature films, Jenkins found work at lesser studios, including those of Robert L. Lippert, Monogram Pictures, and Republic Pictures. He also began appearing in the new field of television.
In 1959, Jenkins played the role of elevator operator Harry in the comedy Pillow Talk. He was a regular on the television sitcom Hey, Jeannie!, 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. and Mrs. North, I Love Lucy, Playhouse 90, The Tab Hunter Show, 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. Eleven days before his death, he made his final appearance, at the end of Billy Wilder's remake of The Front Page ; it was released posthumously.

Death

Jenkins died of lung cancer on July 20, 1974, at age 74. His body was cremated, and the ashes were scattered at sea.

Complete filmography

Film

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

    Partial television credits

  • The Abbott and Costello Show as Retired Actors Home Man on Street
  • I Love Lucy as Policeman/Officer Jenkins/Police Sergeant
  • The Red Skelton Hour as Muggsy, a friend of Red Skelton's character Freddie the Freeloader
  • Hey, Jeannie! as Al Murray, a cabbie
  • Wagon Train as Mr. Gillespie
  • The Tab Hunter Show as Frenchy
  • Top Cat as Officer Charlie Dibble
  • The Real McCoys as Skinny Howard
  • The Man from U.N.C.L.E. as Enzo "Pretty" Stilletto
  • Batman as Little Al
  • Bewitched as Janitor / Cabbie / Alex Johnson
  • Adam-12 episode S4:E9 "Anniversary" - Jobey