Editing Allen Swift

{{short description|American voice actor (1924–2010)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2019}}
{{Infobox person
|name = Allen Swift
|image =
|imagesize =
|alt =
|caption =
|birthname = Ira Stadlen
|birth_date = {{birth date|mf=yes|1924|1|16}}
|birth_place = New York City, U.S.
|death_date = {{death date and age|mf=yes|2010|4|18|1924|1|16}}
|death_place = New York City
|othername =
|occupation = Voice actor
|years_active = 1946&ndash;2010
|spouse = Lenore Loveman
|domesticpartner =
|children = [[Lewis J. Stadlen]], Maxime Zahra, and Clare A. Stadlen
|website =

}}
{{more citations needed|date=March 2024}}
'''Ira J. Stadlen''' (January 16, 1924 &ndash; April 18, 2010<ref name="death">{{cite web| title=Allen Swift (1924&ndash;2010)| url=http://www.cartoonbrew.com/classic/allan-swift-1924-2010.html| access-date=April 18, 2010| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100421013511/http://www.cartoonbrew.com/classic/allan-swift-1924-2010.html| archive-date= April 21, 2010| url-status=live| website=[[Cartoon Brew]]| date=July 24, 2006}}</ref>), known professionally as '''Allen Swift''', was an American actor, writer and magician, best known as a voiceover artist who voiced cartoon characters [[Simon Bar Sinister]] and Riff-Raff on the [[Underdog (TV series)|''Underdog'']] cartoon show.<ref name="NYTobit">{{cite news| title=Allen Swift, Voice Actor for Radio and TV, Dies at 86| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/28/arts/28swift.html | last=Grimes| first=William| author-link=William Grimes (journalist) | newspaper=[[The New York Times]]| date=April 28, 2010| page=B18| url-access=subscription}}</ref> He took his professional name from radio comedian [[Fred Allen]] and 18th century satirist [[Jonathan Swift]].

==Early life and education==
He was born January 16, 1924,<ref name=nytobit>{{cite news|last=Grimes|first=William|title=Allen Swift, Voice Actor for Radio and TV, Dies at 86|work=The New York Times|date=April 27, 2010|accessdate=January 16, 2024|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/28/arts/28swift.html}}</ref> in [[Washington Heights, Manhattan]], and raised in [[Brooklyn]]. Swift graduated from the [[High School of Music & Art]], after which he enlisted in the [[United States Army Air Forces]], where he served from November 1942 to November 1945.<ref name=NYTobit/><ref>"Index Record for Ira Stadlen (1924) Veterans Affairs Beneficiary Identification Records Locator Subsystem Death File", ''[[Fold3]] by Ancestry.com website''. Retrieved November 22, 2020. Enlistment Date is listed as "1 Nov 1942" and Release Date is listed as "1 Nov 1945".</ref> While in the Army, he was an entertainer and became a private first class.<ref>[https://www.newspapers.com/image/998170129/ "PFC. Ira Stadlen Presents Program"], ''[[Santa Ana Register]]'', Santa Ana, California, 39th year, number 83, March 4, 1944, page 7. {{subscription required}}</ref><ref>[https://www.newspapers.com/image/117018107/ "Army Exhibit Opens Today"], ''[[Arizona Republic]]'', Phoenix, Arizona, 55th year, number 248, January 21, 1945, page 7. {{subscription required}}</ref>

==Career==
{{More citations needed section|date=March 2024}}

===Children's television===
Allen Swift was an early television star who began his career by replacing Buffalo Bob Smith on ''[[Howdy Doody|The Howdy Doody Show]]'' while Smith was recovering from a heart attack. At various times, he played the characters of [[Clarabell the Clown]], Chief Thunderchicken, and the voice of the Howdy Doody puppet, as well as other characters. From September 10, 1956, to September 23, 1960, Swift was the host of another popular children's show, ''The [[Popeye]] Show'', on [[WPIX]] in New York City, playing a sea captain named "Captain Allen Swift". In the show, he commented on the cartoons, told stories, sang sea shanties and did magic tricks.{{cn|date=December 2023}}

===Cartoon voices===
Swift was best known for providing the fiendish voices for the cartoon villains [[Simon Bar Sinister]] and Riff-Raff on the [[Underdog (TV series)|''Underdog'']] cartoon show, and Popeye in the ''Popeye'' cartoons created in the 1960s. He also voiced the cartoon character, Clint Clobber.{{cn|date=December 2023}}

Swift voiced the cartoon mascot [[Twinkie the Kid]] in animated TV advertisements for [[Hostess Brands|Hostess]]'s cream-filled snack cakes, [[Twinkie]]s, in the 1970s.{{cn|date=December 2023}} He also voiced many of the characters in the 1960s underwater puppet show ''[[Diver Dan]]'', and [[Gene Deitch]]'s 1961–1962 group of ''[[Tom and Jerry]]'' cartoons, as well as ''[[The Bluffers]]''. According to ''Mopar'' magazine, he was also the voice of "Tech" for their series of service training films, providing color commentary and dry humor to help keep things digestible and interesting. He also voiced his talents for ''[[Sesame Street]]''.{{cn|date=December 2023}}

===Rankin/Bass===
Swift provided the majority of the voices in [[Rankin/Bass]]'s ''[[Mad Monster Party?]]'', credited as Alan Swift in the movie's credits.<ref>{{IMDb title|0061931|Mad Monster Party?}}</ref> He was also in other Rankin/Bass productions, including the TV specials, ''[[The Enchanted World of Danny Kaye|The Enchanted World of Danny Kaye: The Emperor's New Clothes]]'', as the voice of Musty,{{cn|date=December 2023}} and as the voice of Gadzooks the Bear in ''[[The Easter Bunny Is Comin' to Town]]''.{{cn|date=March 2024}}

===Howdy Doody===
Swift supplied most of the character voices for the NBC ''[[Howdy Doody]]'' show. When [[Buffalo Bob Smith]] — who did the voice of the lead puppet character Howdy Doody, and had proclaimed many times that "nobody else could do Howdy" — suffered a heart attack, Swift took home some recordings over the weekend, came back Monday, and supplied Howdy's voice for more than a year.<ref>Tv Bloq section of TV Party.Com</ref>

===Writing===
Swift became the second comedy writer for ''Howdy Doody'' following the abrupt departure of the series' first comedy writer and songwriter, [[Edward Kean]].<ref>"TV Bloq"/Past entry No. 168 at "TV Party.Com"</ref> He also wrote the play ''[[Checking Out (play)|Checking Out]]'', which was the basis of the film of the same name starring Peter Falk, Laura San Giacomo, Judge Reinhold and David Paymer.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0417532/?ref_=fn_al_tt_2|title=Checking Out|date=December 19, 2006|via=IMDb}}</ref>

Toward the end of his life, Swift penned the memoir, ''Chutzpah! Hi-Diddle-Dee-Dee, An Actors Life For Me''.{{cn|date=December 2023}}

===Commercials and ''MAD'' Magazine===
Swift provided the original voice of the [[Frito Bandito]] in the animated [[Fritos]] Corn Chips commercials of the 1960s. In the 1970s and 1980s, he was the talking drain in [[Drano]] television commercials, the voice of the Mirinda Craver in [[Jim Henson]]'s [[Mirinda]] commercials, and the voice of The [[Burger King advertising|Burger King]]. Because of his uncanny ability to create so many different sounds, tones and accents, he was able to voice competing products, including Tip-Top, [[Braun (company)|Braun]], [[Bimbo Bakeries USA|Stroehmann]] or Taystee.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,938905-2,00.html |title=Show Business: How To Be Rich Though a Pencil|magazine=Time |accessdate=2023-08-07}}</ref> He impersonated [[Carroll O'Connor]] as [[Archie Bunker]] and [[Adolf Hitler]] as "Dolf" on [[Mad (magazine)|''MAD'' magazine]]'s vinyl insert recording of "Gall in the Family Fare", the ''[[All in the Family]]'' satire that ran in the magazine's Super Special No. 11 in 1973.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UhIpR1x1-fI|title=MAD Magazine presents "Gall in the Family Fare"|date=July 10, 2007 |via=www.youtube.com}}</ref> He also played [[Captain Cupcake]] in the Hostess Brands commercials.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.behindthevoiceactors.com/commercials/Hostess/Captain-Cupcake/ |title=CAPTAIN CUPCAKE |website=Behind The Voice Actors |access-date=January 13, 2020}}</ref>

==Personal life==
Swift was married to actress Lenore Loveman, and is the father of [[character actor]], mimic and singer [[Lewis J. Stadlen]], holistic health practitioner Maxime Zahra, and eating disorder specialist/entrepreneur Clare A. Stadlen.  He resided in [[Manhattan]]. He was also a figurative painter, creating and exhibiting landscapes and figures reminiscent of those of artists [[Leland Bell]] and [[Fairfield Porter]].

===Death===
Swift died in his home of at the age of 86 on April 18, 2010.<ref name=nytobit /><ref>"[http://forum.bcdb.com/forum/Allen_Swift_86_was_voice_of_Simon_Bar-Sinister_P108339/ Allen Swift, 86, was voice of Simon Bar-Sinister ] {{webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20120721185819/http://forum.bcdb.com/forum/Allen_Swift_86_was_voice_of_Simon_Bar-Sinister_P108339/ |date=July 21, 2012}}". ''forum.bcdb.com'', April 19, 2010</ref> He had been "suffering with a series of health calamities for several years, since he fell and broke his hip while walking his dog. From that moment, one thing led to another," said personal friend and director [[Gene Deitch]].

==Filmography==
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+
!Years
!Film/Show
!Roles
!Notes
|-
|1947-60
|''[[Howdy Doody]]''
|Most of the characters' voices
|
|-
|1956-60
|''The [[Popeye]] Show''
|Host
|
|-
|1960-63
|''[[King Leonardo and His Short Subjects]]''
|Odie Cologne, Itchy Brother, Tooter Turtle, narrator in "King and Odie" segments
|
|-
|1961-62
|''[[Tom and Jerry]]''
|[[Tom Cat|Tom]]/[[Jerry Mouse|Jerry]]/[[List of Tom and Jerry characters#Gene Deitch era (1961–1962)|The Grumpy Owner]]/Various Others
|[[Gene Deitch]] era
|-
|1964-67
|[[Underdog (TV series)|''Underdog'']]
|[[Simon Bar Sinister]]/Riff Raff
|
|-
|1960s
|[[Fritos]] Commercials
|[[Frito Bandito]]
|
|-
|1966-67
|[[The Beagles (TV series)|''The Beagles'']]
|Tubby, Scotty
|
|-
|1967
|''[[Mad Monster Party?]]''
|[[Count Dracula]], [[Igor (character)|Igor]], [[Frankenstein's monster|the Monster]], Claude the [[Griffin (The Invisible Man)|Invisible Man]], Ghoul the Invisible Boy, Boobula ([[Count Alucard (character)|Count Dracula's son]]), Ron Chanley the [[Werewolf]], [[Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (character)|Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde]], Rosebud the [[vulture]], Harold, Harvey, Post Office Boss
|
|-
|1971-72, 1976
|''[[Sesame Street]]''
|Voices in three animated segments
|
|-
|1972
|''[[The Enchanted World of Danny Kaye]]''
|Mufti, Ivan
|TV special
|-
| rowspan="2" |1974
|''[[Where the Wild Things Are]]''
|Narration (original soundtrack)
|Film animated by Gene Deitch, Book by [[Maurice Sendak]]
|-
|''[[Twas the Night Before Christmas]]''
|Santa Claus, City Clerk, Councilman #1
|TV show
|-
|1976
|[[Checking Out (play)|''Checking Out'']]
|Wrote and starred on Broadway
|
|-
|1980
|[[Pinocchio's Christmas]]
|[[The Fox and the Cat|The Fox]], [[Santa Claus]], Mr. Cherry
|
|-
| 1985
| ''[[The Equalizer (1985 TV series)|The Equalizer]]''
| Monty Wynn
| Episode: "[[The Equalizer (1985 TV series) season 1#ep13|Back Home]]"
|-
|1986
|''[[The Bluffers]]''
|Many characters
|
|-
|2000
|''[[Courage the Cowardly Dog]]''
|Hunchback
|Final role
|}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{IMDb name|0842563}}
*{{IBDB name}}
*{{iobdb name|11506}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Swift, Allen}}
[[Category:1924 births]]
[[Category:2010 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century American male actors]]
[[Category:American male voice actors]]
[[Category:Animal impersonators]]
[[Category:Jubilee Records artists]]
[[Category:Male actors from Brooklyn]]
[[Category:Male actors from Manhattan]]
[[Category:People from Washington Heights, Manhattan]]
[[Category:United States Army Air Forces soldiers]]
[[Category:American television hosts]]
[[Category:The High School of Music & Art alumni]]