Allen Jenkins, 1900-1974

If you stayed up late last night, you would have seen A Slight Case of Murder on TCM. Nothing remarkable about that, including the presence of Allen Jenkins. The only coincidence is that April 9 just happens to be the anniversary of his birth.

Jenkins was a stalwart of the movies in the 1930s and 1940s, showing up over and over in supporting roles, often as a light humor gangster (see also The Amazing Dr. Clitterhouse or Brother Orchid), or some sort of supporting sidekick. Even if I haven't mentioned him, there are quite a few films I've recommended in the past where you're sure to have seen him. I don't actually remember his being one of the many convicts in I Am a Fugitive From a Chain Gang, but IMDb says yes, he was there. He's one of the people working for director Warner Baxter in 42nd Street; Perry Mason's helper Spudsy in some of the Perry Mason movies; or, recently, as a put-upon diner owner in the TCM premiere of Fun on a Week-End, which showed up on TCM for the first time last Friday night.