In the following essay, originally published in 1944, Zolotow offers personal observations of Allen, to which Allen himself replies in footnotes.
NOTE: Fred Allen read this chapter on himself. His...
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In the following excerpt, Grauer claims Allen's humor as the progenitor of such modern humorists as David Letterman and Garrison Keillor.
Satire, according to the playwright George S. Kaufma...
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In the following excerpt, Havig characterizes Allen's humor as "verbal slapstick, " which he attributes to Allen's use of puns, double entendres, and hyperbole.
The 1930...
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In the following essay, Allen—a noted comedian and television host and no relation to Fred Allen—reminisces about Allen, his career in radio, and the reasons behind his failure to adapt ...
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In the following review of Fred Allen's Letters, Nichols excerpts some of Allen's wittiest letters.
Fred Allen died in 1956, and less than a decade later he has been almost forgotten....
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In the following review of Fred Allen's Letters, the critic finds an undercurrent of darkness in Allen's humor that was seldom revealed on his radio programs.
"You can count on...
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In the following review of Fred Allen's Letters, Weales enjoys the examples of Allen's wit, while finding fault with editor Joe McCarthy's organization of the book.
One of the ...
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In the following excerpt, Harmon details the decline of popularity of Allen's radio program because of competition from game shows.
"Somebody, ah say, somebody's knockin...
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In the following essay, which was originally published in the Journal of Popular Culture in 1978, Havig discusses Allen's censorship troubles with broadcast executives, sponsors, and advertisin...
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In the following excerpt, Wertheim examines the use of ethnic and regional characterizations on Allen's Alley.
One of the funniest shows on radio in the 1940s was Allen's Alley, which...
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In the following excerpt, Sies traces Allen's radio career, and his use of satire to parody contemporary American institutions.
Johnny Carson, when asked recently by Kenneth Tynan who was th...
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Margaret Truman, the only child of former President Harry S. Truman who became a concert singer, actress, radio and TV personality and mystery writer, died Tuesday. She was 83.Truman, known as Marg...
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Margaret Truman, the only child of former President Harry S. Truman and a concert singer, actress, radio and TV personality, and mystery writer, died Tuesday. She was 83.Truman, known as Margaret T...
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Today is Saturday, March 17, the 76th day of 2007. There are 289 days left in the year. This is St. Patrick's Day.Today's Highlight in History:On March 17, 1776, British forces evacuated Boston dur...
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Today is Friday, May 18, the 138th day of 2007. There are 227 days left in the year.Today's Highlight in History:On May 18, 1896, the U.S. Supreme Court endorsed "separate but equal" racial segrega...
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As the distressed cries of crows blare from a tape player, a group of hunters in training hunkers in the brush, waiting for the varmint to swoop.
Before them, a perched, plastic owl gazes ...
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The same television networks that bring chilling news of war, natural disaster and economic woes into American homes will try to make amends this fall by offering viewers an escape route.In a retre...
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The late humorist Fred Allen wasn't thinking of Albany when he entitled his memoirs Treadmill to Oblivion. But the phase neatly describes the experience of recent New York Governors who saw the sta...
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Critical Essay by Maurice Zolotow
Harry Truman's daughter dies at age 83
