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Barbara Jo Allen‌

Gender

Female

Birthday

calendar1906-09-02

Popularity

star2.0

Barbara Jo Allen

New York City, New York, USA

Barbara Jo Allen

New York City, New York, USA

Gender

Female

Birthday

calendar1906-09-02

Popularity

star2.0

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.

Movie Credits

Sleeping Beauty

Sleeping Beauty‌
star6.9
calendar 1959

The Mad Doctor

The Mad Doctor‌
star6.0
calendar 1940

Moving Vanities

Moving Vanities‌
star0.0
calendar 1939

Larceny, Inc.

Larceny, Inc.‌
star7.0
calendar 1942

Goliath II

Goliath II‌
star6.1
calendar 1960

Girl Rush

Girl Rush‌
star5.0
calendar 1944

Kiss the Boys Goodbye

Kiss the Boys Goodbye‌
star5.0
calendar 1941

Ice-Capades

Ice-Capades‌
star5.0
calendar 1941

Born to Be Loved

Born to Be Loved‌
star5.2
calendar 1959

Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch

Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch‌
star0.0
calendar 1942

Snafu

Snafu‌
star6.0
calendar 1945

Mohawk

Mohawk‌
star5.6
calendar 1956

Moon Over Las Vegas

Moon Over Las Vegas‌
star0.0
calendar 1944

Rosie the Riveter

Rosie the Riveter‌
star4.5
calendar 1944

Henry Aldrich Plays Cupid

Henry Aldrich Plays Cupid‌
star0.0
calendar 1944

The Women

The Women‌
star7.1
calendar 1939

Hiss and Yell

Hiss and Yell‌
star3.0
calendar 1946

Village Barn Dance

Village Barn Dance‌
star0.0
calendar 1940

Earl Carroll Sketchbook

Earl Carroll Sketchbook‌
star6.0
calendar 1946

Broadway Melody of 1940

Broadway Melody of 1940‌
star6.7
calendar 1940

Ice Capades Revue

Ice Capades Revue‌
star5.7
calendar 1942

Melody and Moonlight

Melody and Moonlight‌
star5.0
calendar 1940

Square Dance Katy

Square Dance Katy‌
star2.0
calendar 1950

Sing, Dance, Plenty Hot

Sing, Dance, Plenty Hot‌
star0.0
calendar 1940

Get Going

Get Going‌
star0.0
calendar 1943

Buy Me That Town

Buy Me That Town‌
star6.0
calendar 1941

Cowboy Canteen

Cowboy Canteen‌
star0.0
calendar 1944

The Opposite Sex

The Opposite Sex‌
star5.2
calendar 1956

Melody Ranch

Melody Ranch‌
star5.5
calendar 1940

Columbia Laff Hour

Columbia Laff Hour‌
star7.0
calendar 1956

Lake Placid Serenade

Lake Placid Serenade‌
star0.0
calendar 1944

Happy Go Wacky

Happy Go Wacky‌
star0.0
calendar 1952

Doctor, Feel My Pulse

Doctor, Feel My Pulse‌
star1.0
calendar 1944

The Jury Goes Round 'n' Round

The Jury Goes Round 'n' Round‌
star0.0
calendar 1945

Strife of the Party

Strife of the Party‌
star0.0
calendar 1944

You Dear Boy!

You Dear Boy!‌
star0.0
calendar 1943

She Snoops to Conquer

She Snoops to Conquer‌
star0.0
calendar 1944

Calling All Fibbers

Calling All Fibbers‌
star0.0
calendar 1945

Headin' for a Weddin'

Headin' for a Weddin'‌
star0.0
calendar 1946

Reno-Vated

Reno-Vated‌
star0.0
calendar 1946

Cupid Goes Nuts

Cupid Goes Nuts‌
star0.0
calendar 1947

Miss in a Mess

Miss in a Mess‌
star0.0
calendar 1949

She Took a Powder

She Took a Powder‌
star0.0
calendar 1951

Nursie Behave

Nursie Behave‌
star0.0
calendar 1950

Clunked in the Clink

Clunked in the Clink‌
star0.0
calendar 1949

Wha' Happen?

Wha' Happen?‌
star0.0
calendar 1949

Priorities on Parade

Priorities on Parade‌
star0.0
calendar 1942

The Sword in the Stone

The Sword in the Stone‌
star7.2
calendar 1963

Design for Scandal

Design for Scandal‌
star5.2
calendar 1941

Swing Your Partner

Swing Your Partner‌
star0.0
calendar 1943

Kennedy the Great

Kennedy the Great‌
star0.0
calendar 1939

Disney’s Coyote Tales

Disney’s Coyote Tales‌
star6.0
calendar 1991

Tv Credits

Surfside 6

Surfside 6‌
star5.0
calendar 1960

General Electric Theater

General Electric Theater‌
star5.5
calendar 1953

Maverick

Maverick‌
star6.8
calendar 1957

The George Gobel Show

The George Gobel Show‌
star6.0
calendar 1954