Robert (Tex) Allen

Robert (Tex) Allen

Signed to a standard Columbia contract in 1935, strapping young Robert "Tex" Allen labored in two-reelers and small feature-film parts before gaining attention as coloratura Grace Moore's leading man in When You're in Love (1936). Anxious to replace their recently departed cowboy star Ken Maynard, Columbia planted Allen into Maynard's boots-and his familiar costume. Allen starred in six B westerns in 1936 and "37, all of which had the word "Ranger" in the title. Born I.E. Theodore Baehr, Allen graduated from the New York Military Academy and Dartmouth College prior to signing with Columbia Pictures. Though he went back to dinner-jacket parts after his Columbia tenure, Allen ever afterward listed himself as both an action star and a romantic lead in Hollywood casting directories, frequently offering two different publicity photos for that purpose. Robert Allen (or Bob Allen, depending on the role), remained active on the stage and in television into the 1970s, appearing on the daytime soap operas First Love and Somerset. During WW II, Allen starred in Over 21, a USO production that played in North Africa and Italy. Throughout his career, Allen occasionally appeared in national tours of plays such as The Greeks had a Word for It and Blind Alley. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide