Vintage Radio

The Fred Allen Show
Vintage Radio: Comedy

The Fred Allen Show

The Fred Allen Show was a standup comedy series hosted by Fred Allen. Allen was known for his intelligence, dry wit, and quick humor during the golden age of radio. He was, in fact, widely regarded as the best comedian of his time. Many renowned writers, like Steinbeck and Faulkner, were his big fans. Allen wrote his own show scripts, drawing his themes from the daily news and events.

Allen first hosted The Linit Bath Club Revue on CBS, moving the show to NBC and becoming The Salad Bowl Revue (in a nod to new sponsor Hellmann's Mayonnaise) later in the year. The show became The Sal Hepatica Revue (1933-34), The Hour of Smiles (1934–35), and finally Town Hall Tonight (1935–40).

Fred Allen's perfectionism (odd to some, considering his deft ad-libs) caused him to leap from sponsor to sponsor until Town Hall Tonight allowed him to set his chosen milieu (either an urbane small town or a small neighborhood in the big city) and finally established Allen as a bona fide radio star.
There are 69 shows in our collection! Date Aired
Mammoth Department Store December 25, 1932
Court of Judge Allen January 23, 1933
Bath Club January 23, 1933
Who Killed Rappaport October 7, 1936
Home on the Range (First Half Only) January 15, 1936
Santa Will Not Ride Tonight December 22, 1937
One Long Pan and the Cru March 10, 1937
The House That Jack Built May 18, 1938
Dr. Allen Clinic December 27, 1939
Satire on Surveys and Polls October 11, 1939
Cap'n Andy's Riverboat June 21, 1939
Joe Louis January 31, 1940
An Eagle Escapes March 20, 1940
Guest T Hee Reaction March 27, 1940
Jack Boyle Hillbilly Cout May 8, 1940
The Great American Pastime April 23, 1941
Richard Kroener, Gargantua's Keeper April 16, 1941
One Long Pan - Charlie Chan's Murder April 2, 1941
The Wedlock Society March 26, 1941
Nicotine Alley March 19, 1941
Philanda Blank March 12, 1941
Little Red Riding Hood March 5, 1941
Boris Karloff - Renting a Room November 18, 1945
Monte Wooley - Charlie the Chicken November 11, 1945
Mash Notes With Martha Raye November 4, 1945
AND MANY MORE

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