Phyllis Allen

Active - 1914 - 1923  |   Born - Nov 25, 1861   |   Died - Mar 26, 1938   |   Genres - Comedy, Romance, Drama

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Biography by AllMovie

Rotund screen comedian Phyllis Allen had made quite a splash in vaudeville and musical comedy prior to signing with the Selig company around 1910. Allen, however, enjoyed her greatest popularity at Mack Sennett's slapstick factory Keystone, where she became a favorite foil of the equally burly Mack Swain and appeared as Charles Chaplin's wife in such farces as The Rounders (1914) and Getting Acquainted (1914). She was later found in several of Chaplin's Mutual comedies, including The Adventurer (1917; as the governess), but by 1920 she was supporting the lesser-known Gale Henry in low-budget "Model Comedies." There would be a reunion with Chaplin in the 1922 First National short Pay Day, but Allen's screen work slowed considerably in the early 1920s and her screen career seems to have run its course by the middle of the decade.

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