December 13, 1942: 'Allen's Alley' Has Found a Home

December 13, 1942: Allen's Alley’s first broadcast took place on The Fred Allen Show. This specific section of the program turned out to be so popular that it remained part of the show until 1949. The famous characters included Mrs. Nussbaum, Titus Moody, Ajax Cassidy, and Senator Beauregard Claghorn.

"Allen's Alley" premiered on The Fred Allen Show. It was one of the segments of the show that lampooned small-town America. "Allen's Alley" was a good mix of different characters hobnobbing with the two main protagonists in the persons of Allen himself and his wife, Portland Hoffa. "Allen's Alley" captured the hearts of its listeners because of the hilarious sketches and wacky characters that they dished out each time. The show went on air for seven years before it wrapped up in 1949.

October 23, 1932: Fred Allen Performance on CBS

October 23, 1932: On this date, Fred Allen appeared for the first time on radio on the CBS transmission, where he was later joined by his wife, Portland Hoffa. Allen first presented comedy show The Linit Bath Club Revue which came to be known as The Salad Bowl Revue on NBC. It was later renamed to The Sal Hapatica Revue in 1933, The Hour of Smiles in 1934, and Town Hall Tonight in 1935.  It was finally changed to The Fred Allen Show in 1940.

Fred Allen’s career on radio lasted for seventeen years.  He always wanted to make everything perfect. The need to present the perfect performance made him change his sponsor several times during the show's run.  Town Hall Tonight  helped him to settle down, which made into a radio star.

The show would have a huge influence on radio and, much later, television by the way of news satires. Allen's "Mighty Allen Art Players" were referred to during  The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson through "Mighty Carson Art Players" who appeared on the show. They also satirized other famous shows and films of the time. Town Hall Tonight show was the longest-running hour-long comedy-based show in classic radio history.