Jeffrey Allen Mishler (born June 5, 1956), known professionally as Jeff Allen, is an American comedian best known for his film ''Happy Wife, Happy Life, Revisited''. He is also known for his starring roles in several full-length comedy films, including: ''Bananas'', ''Thou Shalt Laugh'', ''Apostles of Comedy'', and ''Apostles of Comedy: Onwards and Upwards''.

Early life

He was born in

Sauk Village, Illinois Sauk Village (locally known as "The Village") is a village and a south suburb of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 9,921 at the 2020 census. Geography Sauk Village is located at (41.488535, -87.565658). Acco ...

. Allen's father, Jack Mishler, aspired to be a painter but could only support his family as a construction worker. His mother, Arlene Mishler, worked for 30 years at Stauffer Chemical Company.

Early career

Allen began his career in 1978 in the comedy clubs of

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

. Humiliated by the low pay and lack of respect, Allen, then a self-declared

atheist Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...

, turned to drugs and alcohol. In 1987 he got sober and in 1997 he became a

born-again Christian To be born again, or to experience the new birth, is a phrase, particularly in evangelical Christianity, that refers to a "spiritual rebirth", or a regeneration of the human spirit. In contrast to one's physical birth, being "born again" is d ...

. As he worked clean, in the style of

Bill Cosby William Henry Cosby Jr. ( ; born July 12, 1937) is an American retired comedian, actor, and media personality. Often cited as a trailblazer for African Americans in the entertainment industry, Cosby was a film, television, and stand-up comedy ...

and

Jerry Seinfeld Jerome Allen Seinfeld ( ; born April 29, 1954) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and producer. As a stand-up comedian, Seinfeld specializes in observational comedy. Seinfeld gained stardom playing a semi-fictionalized version ...

, churches became a significant venue for his act.

Personal life

He resides in

Fairview, Tennessee Fairview is a city located in Williamson County, Tennessee. It is part of the Nashville metropolitan area. The population was 9,357 at the 2020 census, . In the communities just outside Fairview, there are an additional 4,100 people, for a total ...

with his wife Tami and two children (his wife has one additional child from a previous marriage). His older son served with the

101st Airborne The 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) ("Screaming Eagles") is a light infantry division (military), division of the United States Army that specializes in air assault military operation, operations. The 101st is designed to plan, coordinat ...

in Iraq.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Allen, Jeff 1956 births Living people American male comedians 21st-century American comedians Film directors from Illinois American male film actors Christians from Illinois Converts to Protestantism from atheism or agnosticism Comedians from Illinois Comedians from Tennessee America's Got Talent contestants