Allen was born John F. Sullivan in Cambridge, Mass. on May 31, 1894. His mother died when Fred was 3; his father was an alcoholic who often deposited young Allen and his brother in the crowded ...

A gaudy branch of human botany, vaudeville finds in Fred Allen an affectionate and scrupulous botanist who cherishes every last contortionist, hypnotist, iron-jawed lady, human xylophone, one ...