Fred Allen

Appeared in:
Rock'n'Roll vs. Zombies, Boy Wonders (radio voice)

Originated by:
Amy Mitchell

What's his deal?:
Fred Allen broke into the radio broadcasting business in Newark, New Jersey in 1947. He moved to WINS as a newsreader in 1949, and was the voice heard on the radio broadcasts in Boy Wonders. Fred began to work closely with the similarly named Alan Freed in the first part of the 50's, but as they both had similar desires to promote rock'n'roll music, and Freed was the much bigger on-air star, Fred looked for other opportunities.

Fred became the late night DJ for WROK in Shreveport in 1956 and was known for his "On-Air, All-Night Rock'n'Roll Parties", through the late 50's. While considered a sub-par radio personality, his taste in music was widely regarded as cutting edge at the time. He fancied himself a bit of a rock'n'roll impresario, and was the booker, organizer, and MC of the ill-fated concert at The Legrande Music Hall. He was often shifty and glad-handing, and always glib and blustrous, the very epitome of a slimy show biz guy. He was killed during the zombie attack on the Legrande, but reappeared in the 2nd rebooted timeline and broke the on air news of Elvis Presley's return to the United States after his military service ended.