Barbara Jo Allen, Acting - KorPlix:Korean Person Archives

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Barbara Jo Allen
Acting

Barbara Jo Allen
Known For
Acting
Birthday
1906-09-02,New York City, New York, USA
Gender
Female
Biography
From Wikipedia Barbara Jo Allen (September 2, 1906 – September 14, 1974) was an actress also known as Vera Vague, the spinster character she created and portrayed on radio and in films during the 1940s and 1950s. She based the character on a woman she had seen delivering a PTA literature lecture in a confused manner. As Vague, she popularized the catch phrase "You dear boy!" Allen's acting ability first surfaced in school plays. Following her high school graduation, she went to Paris to study at the Sorbonne. Concentrating on language, she became proficient in French, Spanish, German and Italian. After the death of her parents, she moved to Los Angeles where she lived with her uncle. In 1937, she debuted on network radio drama as Beth Holly on NBC's One Man's Family, followed by roles on Death Valley Days, I Love a Mystery and other radio series. According to Allen, her Vera Vague character was “sort of a frustrated female, dumb, always ambitious and overzealous… a spouting Bureau of Misinformation.” After Vera was introduced in 1939 on NBC Matinee, she became a regular with Bob Hope beginning in 1941. Allen appeared in at least 60 movies and TV series between 1938 and 1963, often credited as Vera Vague rather than her own name. The character she created was so popular that she eventually adopted the character name as her professional name. From 1943 to 1952, as Vera, she made more than a dozen comedy two-reel short subjects for Columbia Pictures. In 1948, she did less acting and instead opened her own commercial orchid business, while also serving as the Honorary Mayor of Woodland Hills, California. In 1953, as Vera, she hosted her own television series, Follow the Leader, a CBS audience participation show. In 1958, she appeared as Mabel, the boss of the flight attendants, in Jeannie Carson's syndicated version of her situation comedy Hey, Jeannie! The program aired only six episodes in syndication. Allen's first marriage was to actor Barton Yarborough. They had one child together. In 1946, the couple co-starred in the two-reel comedy short, Hiss and Yell, nominated for an Academy Award as Best Short Subject. In 1931-32, Allen married Charles H. Crosby. In 1943, she married Bob Hope's producer, Norman Morrell. They had one child and were married for three decades, until her 1974 death in Santa Barbara, California.

Filmography

Sleeping Beauty

6.947

Sleeping Beauty
1959-02-17

6.2

The Mad Doctor
1940-12-20

Moving Vanities

8

Moving Vanities
1939-05-05

7.125

Larceny, Inc.
1942-04-24

6.609

Goliath II
1960-01-21

6

Girl Rush
1944-10-21

Kiss the Boys Goodbye

6.5

Kiss the Boys Goodbye
1941-08-01

5.857

Ice-Capades
1941-08-19

Born to Be Loved

5.714

Born to Be Loved
1959-06-01

Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch

8

Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch
1942-10-01

7

Snafu
1945-11-22

5.6

Mohawk
1956-04-01

Moon Over Las Vegas

10

Moon Over Las Vegas
1944-04-01

Rosie the Riveter

5.333

Rosie the Riveter
1944-04-08

Henry Aldrich Plays Cupid

10

Henry Aldrich Plays Cupid
1944-04-01

7.2

The Women
1939-09-01

5

Hiss and Yell
1946-02-14

Village Barn Dance

8

Village Barn Dance
1940-01-30

Earl Carroll Sketchbook

8

Earl Carroll Sketchbook
1946-08-22

Broadway Melody of 1940

6.841

Broadway Melody of 1940
1940-02-09

Ice Capades Revue

6

Ice Capades Revue
1942-12-24

Melody and Moonlight

7.5

Melody and Moonlight
1940-10-10

Square Dance Katy

4

Square Dance Katy
1950-03-25

Sing, Dance, Plenty Hot

9

Sing, Dance, Plenty Hot
1940-08-10

7

Get Going
1943-06-21

Buy Me That Town

6.333

Buy Me That Town
1941-10-03

8

Cowboy Canteen
1944-02-09

The Opposite Sex

5.429

The Opposite Sex
1956-11-15

6.167

Melody Ranch
1940-09-15

Columbia Laff Hour

7

Columbia Laff Hour
1956-01-01

Lake Placid Serenade

10

Lake Placid Serenade
1944-12-23

9

Happy Go Wacky
1952-02-07

Doctor, Feel My Pulse

3.333

Doctor, Feel My Pulse
1944-01-22

The Jury Goes Round 'n' Round

10

The Jury Goes Round 'n' Round
1945-06-01

Strife of the Party

7

Strife of the Party
1944-10-13

7

You Dear Boy!
1943-11-04

She Snoops to Conquer

8

She Snoops to Conquer
1944-12-30

Calling All Fibbers

10

Calling All Fibbers
1945-11-29

Headin' for a Weddin'

10

Headin' for a Weddin'
1946-08-15

10

Reno-Vated
1946-11-21

Cupid Goes Nuts

9

Cupid Goes Nuts
1947-05-01

10

Miss in a Mess
1949-01-13

She Took a Powder

8

She Took a Powder
1951-08-11

8

Nursie Behave
1950-05-11

Clunked in the Clink

10

Clunked in the Clink
1949-07-13

9

Wha' Happen?
1949-11-10

Priorities on Parade

7

Priorities on Parade
1942-07-23

The Sword in the Stone

7.224

The Sword in the Stone
1963-12-25

Design for Scandal

5.125

Design for Scandal
1941-12-01

Swing Your Partner

10

Swing Your Partner
1943-05-20

Kennedy the Great

8

Kennedy the Great
1939-12-08

Disney’s Coyote Tales

6

Disney’s Coyote Tales
1991-11-11

The Three Stooges Follies

9

The Three Stooges Follies
1974-11-01

Major Difficulties

7

Major Difficulties

6.333

Surfside 6
1960-10-06

General Electric Theater

6.833

General Electric Theater
1953-02-01

6.94

Maverick
1957-09-22

The George Gobel Show

7.75

The George Gobel Show
1954-10-02