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Elvia Allman
Elvia Beatrice Allman (September 19, 1904 – March 6, 1992) was an American actress in Hollywood films and television programs for over 50 years. She is best remembered for her semi-regular roles on The Beverly Hillbillies and Petticoat Junction and for being the voice of Walt Disney's Clarabelle Cow. Her mark in TV history is also ensured by her memorable performance as the stern, no-nonsense boss in the classic I Love Lucy candy factory episode "Job Switching" with a repeat appearance as Nancy Graham the reporter in the 1955 episode "The Homecoming".
Allman was born September 19, 1904, in Enochville, North Carolina.
In 1926, Allman was a children's story reader at KHJ in Los Angeles (another source says 1930). The Los Angeles Times of the day praised her abilities as a dialectician. She married Wesley B. Tourtellotte on August 2, 1930, and divorced within several years. In 1933, she moved to the east coast, billing herself as the "California Cocktail" and began a musical program on NBC. On October 30, 1933, the Times announced she was moving to KNX on a 15-minute program to be heard Tuesday and Thursday evenings. What was supposed to be a long-term contract ended March 3, 1935.
Allman's first big network radio successes were on the Blue Monday Jamboree (where she portrayed beauty expert Auntie MacCasser, high society matron Octavia Smith-Whiffen, and home economist Pansy Pennypincher), and on The Komedy Kingdom (as "Elvia, The Queen of Mirth"). She made her debut on The Pepsodent Show starring Bob Hope as man-chasing Cobina, a parody of society debutante Cobina Wright. She portrayed the role in motion pictures and even spoofed it in the Merrie Melodies cartoon Goofy Groceries. Allman was frequently heard as a supporting actress in various comedy programs well into the 1950s and in the 1970s returned to radio acting with its brief revival of new programs.
In the mid-1930s, Allman appeared in cartoons for producer Leon Schlesinger, released through Warner Bros. She can be heard in the first Porky Pig cartoon I Haven't Got a Hat in 1935. She may have originated the character of Clarabelle Cow prior to this, but there are no records indicating the specific cartoons in which she voiced Clarabelle, who was featured in 28 Disney cartoons from 1928 to 1942. In 1937 Allman voiced the title role in the cartoon Little Red Walking Hood, a spoof of Little Red Riding Hood. Allman married sports promoter C. C. Pyle on July 3, 1937, and was with him when he died on February 3, 1939.
Allman also played Tootsie Sagwell on The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show during the early 1940s. Allman's other roles included Mrs. Kennedy on The Adventures of Maisie, Penelope the Pelican on The Cinnamon Bear, and Cuddles Bongschnook on The Durante-Moore Show. Programs on which she was a regular included The Abbott and Costello Show, The Baby Snooks Show, The Judy Canova Show, and The Ray Bolger Show.
In 1928, Allman acted in The Living Corpse a production of the Pasadena Community Players.
Allman made her film debut as an actress in 1940's The Road to Singapore in an unbilled bit (as were the majority of Allman's motion picture appearances in the 1940s) as a homely woman who pursues Bob Hope. One of her more steady radio gigs was on the Blondie radio series in the part of Cora Dithers, the domineering wife of Dagwood Bumstead's boss.
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Elvia Allman
Elvia Beatrice Allman (September 19, 1904 – March 6, 1992) was an American actress in Hollywood films and television programs for over 50 years. She is best remembered for her semi-regular roles on The Beverly Hillbillies and Petticoat Junction and for being the voice of Walt Disney's Clarabelle Cow. Her mark in TV history is also ensured by her memorable performance as the stern, no-nonsense boss in the classic I Love Lucy candy factory episode "Job Switching" with a repeat appearance as Nancy Graham the reporter in the 1955 episode "The Homecoming".
Allman was born September 19, 1904, in Enochville, North Carolina.
In 1926, Allman was a children's story reader at KHJ in Los Angeles (another source says 1930). The Los Angeles Times of the day praised her abilities as a dialectician. She married Wesley B. Tourtellotte on August 2, 1930, and divorced within several years. In 1933, she moved to the east coast, billing herself as the "California Cocktail" and began a musical program on NBC. On October 30, 1933, the Times announced she was moving to KNX on a 15-minute program to be heard Tuesday and Thursday evenings. What was supposed to be a long-term contract ended March 3, 1935.
Allman's first big network radio successes were on the Blue Monday Jamboree (where she portrayed beauty expert Auntie MacCasser, high society matron Octavia Smith-Whiffen, and home economist Pansy Pennypincher), and on The Komedy Kingdom (as "Elvia, The Queen of Mirth"). She made her debut on The Pepsodent Show starring Bob Hope as man-chasing Cobina, a parody of society debutante Cobina Wright. She portrayed the role in motion pictures and even spoofed it in the Merrie Melodies cartoon Goofy Groceries. Allman was frequently heard as a supporting actress in various comedy programs well into the 1950s and in the 1970s returned to radio acting with its brief revival of new programs.
In the mid-1930s, Allman appeared in cartoons for producer Leon Schlesinger, released through Warner Bros. She can be heard in the first Porky Pig cartoon I Haven't Got a Hat in 1935. She may have originated the character of Clarabelle Cow prior to this, but there are no records indicating the specific cartoons in which she voiced Clarabelle, who was featured in 28 Disney cartoons from 1928 to 1942. In 1937 Allman voiced the title role in the cartoon Little Red Walking Hood, a spoof of Little Red Riding Hood. Allman married sports promoter C. C. Pyle on July 3, 1937, and was with him when he died on February 3, 1939.
Allman also played Tootsie Sagwell on The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show during the early 1940s. Allman's other roles included Mrs. Kennedy on The Adventures of Maisie, Penelope the Pelican on The Cinnamon Bear, and Cuddles Bongschnook on The Durante-Moore Show. Programs on which she was a regular included The Abbott and Costello Show, The Baby Snooks Show, The Judy Canova Show, and The Ray Bolger Show.
In 1928, Allman acted in The Living Corpse a production of the Pasadena Community Players.
Allman made her film debut as an actress in 1940's The Road to Singapore in an unbilled bit (as were the majority of Allman's motion picture appearances in the 1940s) as a homely woman who pursues Bob Hope. One of her more steady radio gigs was on the Blondie radio series in the part of Cora Dithers, the domineering wife of Dagwood Bumstead's boss.