Back in the days when radio ruled the airways among discerning listeners, one man was king. Fred Allen is forgotten today, but for two decades his comedy show set the standard for the best of American humor. His combination of satire, puns and topical comedy influenced what shows such as "Second City" and "Saturday Night Live" sought to do.
Allen was born John Florence Sullivan into a typical Irish Catholic family in Boston in 1894. He took the name Fred Allen in the 1920s when he entered show business but remained the typical dry New England Yankee. Like other comedians, Allen suffered family tragedies as a young man. His mother died when he was three and he and his father went to live with one of her sisters.
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