---
title: "Fred Allen: Stand-Up Comedian, TV Roles | D.O.C."
description: "Fred Allen was an American vaudeville monologist and radio comedian from Cambridge, Massachusetts. He was born to Irish parents. Stand-up comedy."
url: https://disciplesofcomedy.com/comedian-fred-allen.html
updated: 2026-11-11
---

Stand-up comedian · 1894–1956

# Fred Allen

## Who Fred Allen is

Fred Allen was an American vaudeville monologist and radio comedian from Cambridge, Massachusetts. He began in vaudeville as a juggler, and by 1916 he was touring Australia and New Zealand; in his own words, he came to Australia a juggler and returned to America a monologist. He made his radio debut on CBS on 23 October 1932, starring on The Linit Bath Club Revue, was starring on Town Hall Tonight by 1934, and returned in the fall of 1945 with The Fred Allen Show, which ran until 26 June 1949. He was born to Irish parents. He was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 1988.

## Vote in My D.O.C. Legends

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## At a glance

**Born**

1894

**Died**

1956

**From**

Cambridge, Massachusetts

**On screen**

The Linit Bath Club Revue, Town Hall Tonight and The Fred Allen Show

## Specials, shows and podcasts

### On screen

- **The Linit Bath Club Revue** radio, CBS, 1932
- **Town Hall Tonight** radio, 1934
- **The Fred Allen Show** radio, 1945–1949

## Career timeline

1. **1894** Born
2. **1932** The Linit Bath Club Revue (radio, CBS, 1932) On screen
3. **1934** Town Hall Tonight (radio, 1934) On screen
4. **1945** The Fred Allen Show (radio, 1945–1949) On screen
5. **1956** Died

## Questions and answers

### What TV shows and films is Fred Allen in?

The Linit Bath Club Revue (radio, CBS, 1932), Town Hall Tonight (radio, 1934) and The Fred Allen Show (radio, 1945–1949).

### Where are they from?

From Cambridge, Massachusetts.

### How old were they?

They were born in 1894 and died in 1956.

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## The full SUCDb record

The full record — the career in order, the specials and credits, and the sources for each — is on SUCDb, with a button to vote them into My D.O.C. Legends.

[Their SUCDb record →](https://disciplesofcomedy.com/comedian-fred-allen.html)

### Sources

- [Radio Hall of Fame (Museum of Broadcast Communications) — Fred Allen inductee profile ↗](https://www.radiohalloffame.com/fred-allen) Born John Florence Sullivan on 31 May 1894; began in vaudeville; radio debut on The Linit Bath Club Revue, 23 October 1932; starring on Town Hall Tonight by…
- [National Catholic Register — profile of Fred Allen by K. V. Turley (23 October 2021) ↗](https://www.ncregister.com/blog/fred-allen-radio-comic-genius-and-catholic) Born to Irish parents in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on 31 May 1894; juggling; touring Australia and New Zealand by 1916; came to Australia a juggler and…
- [Wikipedia ↗](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Allen) died 17 March 1956

Updated 11 November 2026 · the record checked 10 November 2026