Jack Allen(1907-1995)

Jack came from a theatrical family which relished personality but he started out, after his education at Rugby and Cambridge, working for ICI but despite difficult economic times he quit industry for the stage and by the mid '30's was established in the West End appearing in Sweet Alloes (1934) Bulldog Drummond Hits Out (1937) Poison Pen (1938) and Three Blind Mice. After the Second World War he was a regular at the Embassy, Swiss Cottage, which was a try out venue for plays before going into the West End.such as Message For Margaret, The Deep Blue Sea, Meet Mr Callaghan, Goodnight Mrs Puffin and Pride and Prejudice in which he brought the right kind of humour to Mr Bennet. He belonged to the breed of gentlemanly actors with a wider range and more emotional force than the stereotype roles which usually came his way. He was a long serving member of the Actors Benevolent Fund and it's Vice President from 1983 to his death in 1995. He was married to the actress Ruth Dunning who died in 1983