Portland Hoffa
Encyclopedia
Portland Hoffa was an American
comedienne, actor
, and dancer. She is remembered best as the stage and radio partner of her first husband, Fred Allen
.
A veteran of vaudeville
and Broadway
-level stage productions, Portland Hoffa met Fred Allen
while performing in The Passing Show in 1922 and joined him in his vaudeville routines (centered around his clever jokes spun off his weakness as a juggler); the couple married before Allen began his long-running radio
work in 1932, with Hoffa taking instruction in the Roman Catholic Church prior to the marriage.
Hoffa became familiar for her high-pitched voice, her brief routines involving jokes bounced off or from her mother, and, later, strolling Allen's Alley with her husband, after asking him what his question of the week for the Alley denizens would be. Although Hoffa performed under her real name on her husband's show, the character she portrayed as "Portland Hoffa" in the radio broadcasts was not Allen's wife; instead, she depicted an enthusiastic girl of indeterminate age, around thirteen years old. One of Allen's sponsors loathed the character played by Hoffa, and kept urging Allen to drop her from the show. Allen ignored these requests for as long as he could, then finally — in an angry outburst at a sales meeting — told the executive that the broadcasts were bearable only due to Hoffa's presence, and that if she were removed from the program then Allen would quit.
Fred Allen's declining health was the main reason why he ceased hosting his own show after 1949, but Hoffa often joined him as a semi-regular on Tallulah Bankhead
's radio variety show, The Big Show
(1950–52). She also appeared as the "mystery guest" on one episode of television's What's My Line, on which Allen had become a panelist from 1954 until his death in early 1956. Hoffa and Allen had also appeared in such films as Is Everybody Listening?
(1947) and the Jack Benny
vehicle Buck Benny Rides Again
(1940).
Hoffa re-married in 1959, to bandleader Joe Rines, later an advertising executive. Hoffa and Rines lived long enough to celebrate a silver wedding anniversary, allowing Hoffa an unusual second such anniversary in one lifetime. In 1965, Hoffa rounded up a large volume of her first husband's correspondence to be edited into Fred Allen's Letters. Rines died in the mid-1980s. One of three sisters, Hoffa died Christmas Day in 1990. Like her first husband, Portland Hoffa has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
comedienne, actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
, and dancer. She is remembered best as the stage and radio partner of her first husband, Fred Allen
Fred Allen
Fred Allen was an American comedian whose absurdist, topically pointed radio show made him one of the most popular and forward-looking humorists in the so-called classic era of American radio.His best-remembered gag was his long-running mock feud with friend and fellow comedian Jack Benny, but it...
.
A veteran of vaudeville
Vaudeville
Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
and Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
-level stage productions, Portland Hoffa met Fred Allen
Fred Allen
Fred Allen was an American comedian whose absurdist, topically pointed radio show made him one of the most popular and forward-looking humorists in the so-called classic era of American radio.His best-remembered gag was his long-running mock feud with friend and fellow comedian Jack Benny, but it...
while performing in The Passing Show in 1922 and joined him in his vaudeville routines (centered around his clever jokes spun off his weakness as a juggler); the couple married before Allen began his long-running radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
work in 1932, with Hoffa taking instruction in the Roman Catholic Church prior to the marriage.
Hoffa became familiar for her high-pitched voice, her brief routines involving jokes bounced off or from her mother, and, later, strolling Allen's Alley with her husband, after asking him what his question of the week for the Alley denizens would be. Although Hoffa performed under her real name on her husband's show, the character she portrayed as "Portland Hoffa" in the radio broadcasts was not Allen's wife; instead, she depicted an enthusiastic girl of indeterminate age, around thirteen years old. One of Allen's sponsors loathed the character played by Hoffa, and kept urging Allen to drop her from the show. Allen ignored these requests for as long as he could, then finally — in an angry outburst at a sales meeting — told the executive that the broadcasts were bearable only due to Hoffa's presence, and that if she were removed from the program then Allen would quit.
Fred Allen's declining health was the main reason why he ceased hosting his own show after 1949, but Hoffa often joined him as a semi-regular on Tallulah Bankhead
Tallulah Bankhead
Tallulah Brockman Bankhead was an award-winning American actress of the stage and screen, talk-show host, and bonne vivante...
's radio variety show, The Big Show
The Big Show (NBC Radio)
The Big Show, an American radio variety program featuring 90 minutes of top-name comic, stage, screen and music talent, was aimed at keeping American radio in its classic era alive and well against the rapidly-growing television tide...
(1950–52). She also appeared as the "mystery guest" on one episode of television's What's My Line, on which Allen had become a panelist from 1954 until his death in early 1956. Hoffa and Allen had also appeared in such films as Is Everybody Listening?
Is Everybody Listening?
Is Everybody Listening? is a live album from the Progressive Rock band Supertramp, released in 2001 . Taken from a 1975 recording during the Crime of the Century tour and credited as being a concert that took place in Cleveland, Ohio, the actual concert took place at London’s Hammersmith Odeon on 9...
(1947) and the Jack Benny
Jack Benny
Jack Benny was an American comedian, vaudevillian, and actor for radio, television, and film...
vehicle Buck Benny Rides Again
Buck Benny Rides Again
Buck Benny Rides Again is a 1940 Paramount Pictures feature film starring Jack Benny and Ellen Drew. The film featured regulars from Benny's radio show including Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson, Andy Devine, Phil Harris, and Dennis Day. The film was directed and produced by Mark Sandrich and produced...
(1940).
Hoffa re-married in 1959, to bandleader Joe Rines, later an advertising executive. Hoffa and Rines lived long enough to celebrate a silver wedding anniversary, allowing Hoffa an unusual second such anniversary in one lifetime. In 1965, Hoffa rounded up a large volume of her first husband's correspondence to be edited into Fred Allen's Letters. Rines died in the mid-1980s. One of three sisters, Hoffa died Christmas Day in 1990. Like her first husband, Portland Hoffa has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
Hollywood Walk of Fame
The Hollywood Walk of Fame consists of more than 2,400 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along fifteen blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, California...
.