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Barbara Jo Allen

Barbara Jo Allen

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.

Personal information

Birthday

1906-09-02

Birth Place

New York City, New York, USA

Movies and TV shows :

Born to Be Loved

Born to Be Loved

1959

5.2

Movie
Broadway Melody of 1940

Broadway Melody of 1940

1940

6.7

Movie
Buy Me That Town

Buy Me That Town

1941

6.0

Movie
Calling All Fibbers

Calling All Fibbers

1945

0.0

Movie
Clunked in the Clink

Clunked in the Clink

1949

0.0

Movie
Columbia Laff Hour

Columbia Laff Hour

1956

7.0

Movie
Cowboy Canteen

Cowboy Canteen

1944

0.0

Movie
Cupid Goes Nuts

Cupid Goes Nuts

1947

0.0

Movie
Design for Scandal

Design for Scandal

1941

5.2

Movie
Disney’s Coyote Tales

Disney’s Coyote Tales

1991

6.0

Movie
Doctor, Feel My Pulse

Doctor, Feel My Pulse

1944

1.0

Movie
Earl Carroll Sketchbook

Earl Carroll Sketchbook

1946

6.0

Movie
poster

General Electric Theater

1953

6.0

TV
Get Going

Get Going

1943

0.0

Movie
Girl Rush

Girl Rush

1944

5.0

Movie
Goliath II

Goliath II

1960

6.3

Movie
Happy Go Wacky

Happy Go Wacky

1952

0.0

Movie
Headin' for a Weddin'

Headin' for a Weddin'

1946

0.0

Movie
Henry Aldrich Plays Cupid

Henry Aldrich Plays Cupid

1944

0.0

Movie
Hiss and Yell

Hiss and Yell

1946

3.0

Movie
Ice Capades Revue

Ice Capades Revue

1942

5.7

Movie
Ice-Capades

Ice-Capades

1941

5.0

Movie
Kennedy the Great

Kennedy the Great

1939

0.0

Movie
Kiss the Boys Goodbye

Kiss the Boys Goodbye

1941

5.0

Movie
Lake Placid Serenade

Lake Placid Serenade

1944

0.0

Movie
Larceny, Inc.

Larceny, Inc.

1942

7.0

Movie
poster

Maverick

1957

6.8

TV
Melody and Moonlight

Melody and Moonlight

1940

5.0

Movie
Melody Ranch

Melody Ranch

1940

5.5

Movie
Miss in a Mess

Miss in a Mess

1949

0.0

Movie
Mohawk

Mohawk

1956

5.6

Movie
Moon Over Las Vegas

Moon Over Las Vegas

1944

0.0

Movie
Moving Vanities

Moving Vanities

1939

0.0

Movie
Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch

Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch

1942

0.0

Movie
Nursie Behave

Nursie Behave

1950

0.0

Movie
Priorities on Parade

Priorities on Parade

1942

0.0

Movie
Reno-Vated

Reno-Vated

1946

0.0

Movie
Rosie the Riveter

Rosie the Riveter

1944

4.5

Movie
She Snoops to Conquer

She Snoops to Conquer

1944

0.0

Movie
She Took a Powder

She Took a Powder

1951

0.0

Movie
Sing, Dance, Plenty Hot

Sing, Dance, Plenty Hot

1940

0.0

Movie
Sleeping Beauty

Sleeping Beauty

1959

6.9

Movie
Snafu

Snafu

1945

6.0

Movie
Square Dance Katy

Square Dance Katy

1950

2.0

Movie
Strife of the Party

Strife of the Party

1944

0.0

Movie
poster

Surfside 6

1960

5.0

TV
Swing Your Partner

Swing Your Partner

1943

0.0

Movie
poster

The George Gobel Show

1954

7.0

TV
The Jury Goes Round 'n' Round

The Jury Goes Round 'n' Round

1945

0.0

Movie
The Mad Doctor

The Mad Doctor

1940

6.0

Movie
The Opposite Sex

The Opposite Sex

1956

5.2

Movie
The Sword in the Stone

The Sword in the Stone

1963

7.2

Movie
The Three Stooges Follies

The Three Stooges Follies

1974

0.0

Movie
The Women

The Women

1939

7.1

Movie
Village Barn Dance

Village Barn Dance

1940

0.0

Movie
Wha' Happen?

Wha' Happen?

1949

0.0

Movie
You Dear Boy!

You Dear Boy!

1943

0.0

Movie