AllMovie

Born in Cleveland, Corey Allen began acting while attending UCLA. A proponent of "The Method," Allen found himself in the company of several like-minded young actors in his first film of consequence, Rebel Without a Cause (1955). Allen played Buzz, the high-school ringleader who dies horribly during the "chickie run" with James Dean. Though Buzz became a comparatively sympathetic character before his screen demise, producers tended to think of Allen as a surly, punkish type, and cast him accordingly. Frustrated with being typecast, Allen turned director in 1962. Corey Allen's theatrical-film directorial efforts were hardly Oscar calibre (have you seen The Erotic Adventures of Pinocchio?), but his TV work was n quite impressive, enough so to earn him an Emmy award.