Robert Allen (born Irvine E. Theodore Baehr, March 28, 1906-October 9,
1998), was an American actor in both feature films and B-movie
westerns between 1935 and 1944.Allen was born in Mount Vernon, New
York and graduated 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 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.
1998), was an American actor in both feature films and B-movie
westerns between 1935 and 1944.Allen was born in Mount Vernon, New
York and graduated 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 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.
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