Allen Case (born Alan Case Lavelle Jones, October 8, 1934 – August 25, 1986) was an American television actor most noted for the lead role of Deputy Clay McCord in NBC-TV's '' The Deputy'' (1959–1961) opposite series regular

Henry Fonda Henry Jaynes Fonda (May 16, 1905 – August 12, 1982) was an American actor whose career spanned five decades on Broadway theatre, Broadway and in Hollywood. On screen and stage, he often portrayed characters who embodied an everyman image. Bo ...

, who received top billing, but appeared far less frequently than Case.

Early years

Case was born in

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

, Texas. His parents were retail clothiers Casey Jones and Nadine Allen Jones. He attended

Southern Methodist University Southern Methodist University (SMU) is a Private university, private research university in Dallas, Texas, United States, with a satellite campus in Taos County, New Mexico. SMU was founded on April 17, 1911, by the Methodist Episcopal Church, ...

, but left in his junior year.

Career

After he left SMU, Case sang on a television program in Dallas, and then toured in musicals. Following those experiences, he traveled to New York to audition for the ''

Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts ''Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts'' (also known as ''Talent Scouts'') is an American radio and television variety show that ran on CBS from 1946 until 1958. Sponsored by Lipton Tea, it starred Arthur Godfrey, who was also hosting '' Arthur God ...

'' program. Case signed a contract with

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

in 1955, and performed on the first studio cast recording of the Gershwins' musical '' Oh, Kay!'' He starred in his first Broadway show, ''Reuben, Reuben''. He also toured with musicals, including ''South Pacific,'' ''Damn Yankees'', and ''My Fair Lady''. In addition to starring in ''The Deputy'', Case was one of the "friends" on ''

Arthur Godfrey and His Friends ''Arthur Godfrey and His Friends'' is an American television variety show hosted by Arthur Godfrey. The hour-long series aired on CBS Television from January 12, 1949, to June 1957 (as ''The Arthur Godfrey Show'' after September 1956), then agai ...

''. Case made more than 30 television appearances between 1958 and 1982. Case made three guest appearances on the CBS courtroom drama series '' Perry Mason'', including the role of defendant Adam Conrad in the 1964 episode, "The Case of the Ruinous Road". In the 1965–1966 season, Case co-starred as

Frank James Alexander Franklin James (January 10, 1843 – February 18, 1915) was a Confederate States Army, Confederate American Civil War, soldier and Guerrilla warfare in the American Civil War, guerrilla; in the Reconstruction era, post-Civil War p ...

with Christopher Jones in the ABC Western series '' The Legend of Jesse James''. In 1969, Case played Sheriff Pat Garritt in the epiosode "Billy The KId' in the TV show "Time Tunnel." He made a return to Broadway book musicals in 1967 as the third lead in

Jule Styne Jule Styne ( ; born Julius Kerwin Stein; December 31, 1905 – September 20, 1994) was an English-American songwriter and composer widely known for a series of Broadway theatre, Broadway musical theatre, musicals, including several famous frequ ...

and

Arthur Laurents Arthur Laurents (July 14, 1917 – May 5, 2011) was an American playwright, theatre director, film producer and screenwriter. With a career spanning seven decades he received numerous accolades including two Tony Awards, a Drama Desk Award, ...

' '' Hallelujah, Baby!'', and his singing is featured prominently on the original cast album. Buoyed by his role on ''The Deputy'', Case made personal appearances. In 1961, he came to

Shreveport Shreveport ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is the List of municipalities in Louisiana, third-most populous city in Louisiana after New Orleans and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Baton Rouge. The bulk of Shreveport is in Caddo Parish, Lo ...

, Louisiana, to appear on KWKH radio and at the rodeo, at which he played

Johnny Horton John LaGale Horton (April 30, 1925 – November 5, 1960) was an American country, honky tonk, and rockabilly musician during the 1950s. He is best known for a series of history-inspired narrative country saga songs that became international ...

's guitar. In 1977, Case guest-starred on '' Quincy, M.E.'' in the second-season episode, "A Good Smack in the Mouth", as Stuart Harrison, the father of a runaway boy who crosses Quincy's path. In 1981, Case played Harold Knitzer in ''

The Life and Times of Eddie Roberts ''The Life and Times of Eddie Roberts'' (a.k.a. ''L.A.T.E.R.'') is an American syndicated television sitcom about a college professor and his family. It was intended to be a spoof of soap operas in the same style as ''Soap Soap is a salt ...

'', a syndicated television drama.

Partial television appearances

Business activities

In the late 1960s, Case went into business manufacturing fur coats for men. Furs used in the coats included wolf, Norwegian seal, muskrat, and sheared rabbit. Prices ranged from $350 to $1,250.

Personal life

On September 22, 1961, Case married Bobbie Jones. They had a daughter, and they divorced on June 27, 1979.

Death

While on vacation, he died after suffering a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

in Truckee, California, at the age of 51.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Case, Allen 1934 births 1986 deaths American male television actors 20th-century American male actors Male actors from Dallas Western (genre) television actors American male musical theatre actors 20th-century American male singers 20th-century American singers