Robert Allen (actor)

Robert (Tex) Allen
120px Robert Allen in 1938
Born	Irvine E. Theodore Baehr (1906-03-28)March 28, 1906 Mount Vernon, New York, U.S.
Died	Oyster Bay, New York, U.S.
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1926–1986
Spouse(s)	Frances Cookman (1964-?) Evelyn Peirce (1934-1960; her death) 2 children

Robert "Tex" Allen was a leading actor in both feature films and B-movie westerns between 1935 and 1944.

Born as Irvine E. Theodore Baehr on March 28, 1906, in Mount Vernon, New York, Allen went on to graduate from the New York Military Academy in 1924, where he rode in the academy cavalry and from Dartmouth College in 1929 with a degree in English. In vacations he had driven a truck as a labourer. He worked for a bank which soon failed in the Great Depression. He flew briefly with the Curtis Flying service as a commercial pilot. He first came to the screen in 1926 before signing a standard acting contract with Paramount Pictures, in 1929. He appeared in the famous Marx Brothers movie Animal Crackers and several other small parts. Then, he signed with Columbia Pictures in 1935. He also later contracted with 20th Century Fox.

Allen's first notable role was the male lead in Love Me Forever (1935), for which he won a Box Office Award.

After the departure of cowboy star Ken Maynard, Allen was plugged into producer Larry Darmour's formulaic Ranger pictures. Along with sidekick Wally Wales (played by Hal Taliaferro), he redefined the role, starring in six films for director Spencer Gordon Bennet in that year alone. The star was billed as Bob Allen. However, the great success of Wild Bill Elliott in Columbia's 1938 serial The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok prompted Columbia to drop Bob Allen and replace him with Elliott.

Allen continued to work in pictures, as Robert Allen or Robert "Tex" Allen. He had acted on Broadway in the original productions of Show Boat and Kiss Them for Me. In 1956 he appeared in the original production of Auntie Mame, opposite Rosalind Russell, and later Greer Garson. He appeared in other Broadway plays, in touring productions, in soap operas, documentaries and commercials. He became a real estate broker in 1964 but returned to the stage from time to time, including an appearance as J.B. Biggley in the 1972 Equity Library Theatre revival of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying.

Family

Allen was married twice; the first was to movie actress Evelyn Peirce until her death in 1960. They had two children. Their son, Ted Baehr (born 1946) is a prominent Christian minister and movie critic. They also had a daughter, Katherine Meyer.

Allen died on October 9, 1998, aged 92, of complications from cancer in Oyster Bay, Long Island, New York. He was survived by his son and daughter, seven grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.

Partial filmography

• The Reckless Hour (1931)
• Saturday's Millions (1933)
• The Menace (1934)
• Jealousy (1934)
• The Black Room Mystery (1935)
• The Law Beyond the Range (1935)
• Death Flies East (1935)
• Guard That Girl (1935)
• I'll Love You Always (1935)
• Fighting Shadows (1935)
• Air Hawks (1935)
• The Revenge Rider (1935)
• Crime and Punishment (1935)
• White Lies (1935)
• Party Wire (1935)
• Love Me Forever (1935)
• I'm a Father (1935)
• The Life of Lafayette (1936)
• Lady of Secrets (1936)
• Craig's Wife (1936)
• The Unknown Ranger (1936)
• Pride of the Marines (1936)
• The Awful Truth (1937)
• Law of the Ranger (1937)
• Let's Get Married (1937)
• The Big Broadcast of 1938 (1937)
• Reckless Ranger (1937)
• The Rangers Step In (1937)
• Rio Grande Ranger (1937)
• Ranger Courage (1937)
• Penitentiary (1938)
• Keep Smiling (1938)
• Everybody's Baby (1938)
• Up the River (1938)
• Meet the Girls (1938)
• Fighting Thoroughbreds (1939)
• Winter Carnival (1939)
• Winner Take All (1939)
• City of Chance (1940)
• Blazing Guns (1943)
• Death Valley Rangers (1944)
• She Gets Her Man (1945)
• The Web (1947)
• Terror in the City (1964)
• Naked Evil (1966)
• Hells Angels on Wheels (1967)
• Dirtymouth (1970)
• Raiders of the Living Dead (1986)

External links

• Bob Allen at the Internet Movie Database
• Bob Allen at AllMovie
• Bob Allen at the Internet Broadway Database
• Bob Allen Biography
• Columbia in Transition: Bob Allen and Jack Luden at The Old Corral