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James B. Allardice

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James B. Allardice
Born(1919-03-20)March 20, 1919
Canton, Ohio, U.S.
DiedFebruary 15, 1966(1966-02-15) (aged 46)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
OccupationsAmerican TV and film screenwriter/director
Years active1942–1966

James Burns Allardice Jr. (March 20, 1919 – February 15, 1966) was an American television comedy writer of the 1950s and 1960s, best known for his decade-long association with Alfred Hitchcock.[1][2][3][4]

Early life and career

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Born in Canton, Ohio,[5] Allardice was the son of James Burns Allardice, a native of Scotland, and Lucinda (Lula) Masters Gladden. He attended McKinley High School,[6] then the College of Wooster,[7] where he was active in theater,[8] collaborating on at least two musical comedies with fellow student, composer James Wise.[9][10] Following his graduation in 1941, Allardice worked as a reporter for The Canton Repository for approximately one year.[11]

During World War II he served in the US Army, rising to rank of Sergeant.[11] Following the war, Allardice attended graduate school at Yale University and wrote the play At War with the Army under playwright Marc Connelly, who taught drama courses.[12][13] [14][15] At War with the Army ran 151 performances on Broadway in 1949.[16] It was filmed in 1949 and released in 1950 in a production starring Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis.[17]

Allardice is also known for his collaborations with writing partner Tom Adair on a number of American 1960s TV sitcoms including The Munsters, F Troop, My Three Sons, Gomer Pyle, USMC and Hogan's Heroes. In 1955, Allardice—along with Jack Douglas, Hal Kanter, and Harry Winkler—won an Emmy in the category "Best Written Comedy Material" for his work during the 1954-1955 season on NBC's new comedy series, The George Gobel Show.[11]

He contributed to Alfred Hitchcock Presents, and wrote Hitchcock's prologues, intermissions and epilogues for all of the 359 episodes of the series,[18][19] as well as many speeches for Hitchcock's public engagements.

Personal life and death

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Following his wartime service, Allardice married Utica, New York native and fellow Wooster alumnus Alice Neff, with whom he would have three children: a son, James, and daughters Jean and Barbara.[20][5]

On February 15, 1966, Allardice died, aged 46, from a heart attack in Van Nuys, Los Angeles.[11] Survived by his wife and children, as well as his mother and sister, Allardice was buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Cemetery.[5]

References

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  1. ↑ Olsson, Jan (2015). Hitchcock à la Carte. Duke University Press. p. 93. ISBN 978-0-8223-5804-6. "2.3. James B. Allardice (1919-1966), the man behind Hitchcock's on-tube performances. Photographs courtesy of Jim Allardice. The combination of Allardice's facetious scripts and Hitchcock's peerless delivery proved to be a perfect fit for television."
  2. ↑ Garber, Arlene (June 21, 1960). "James Allardice Man Behind Hitchcock Character on TV". Hollywood Citizen-News. p. 20. Retrieved May 11, 2026 – via Newspapers.com. Back of every amusing commercial you see Alfred Hitchcock do on the "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" drama series, on KNXT (2) at 9:30 p.m., is writer James Allardice. Allardice is the man who creates the brief vignettes, starring Hitchcock, which open and close the program. Before the series started on the air, Hitchcock was known only as the master of suspense, and as a gentleman whose ellipsoidal shape could sometimes be spotted in his movies. It was Allardice's assignment to write the Hitchcock character which is now familiar to viewers.
  3. ↑ Freeman, Donald (March 20, 1960). "A Worrier With a Typewriter Gets Away With Murder". San Francisco Chronicle Datebook. p. 7. Retrieved May 11, 2026 – via Newspapers.com. THE Alfred Hitchcock show is enlivened most Sunday' nights (9:30 p. m., KPIX) by droll, often grisly commentary delivered by Hitchcock himself and written for him by Jim Allardice, a worrier with a typewriter. Allardice, a small, glum looking man with horn-rim glasses- -the classic comedywriter- -has written 100 commentaries, or 'lead-ins,' for Hitchcock since 1955. Allardice, fretting the other day over a cup of cotfee, explained: 'Besides being a way to spoof the commercials and contributing to of the show's humor, the leadan ins help us conform to the ing, broadcasting code which, of course, Mr. Hitchcock would up never dream of violating.
  4. ↑ Humphrey, Hal (February 18, 1966). "HITCHCOCK'S WRITER CALLS HIM A COMIC". Los Angeles Mirror. p. 9A. Retrieved May 11, 2026 – via Newspapers.com. The words which Hitch lets fall so impeccably from his jowly face in these epilogues and lead-ins to his TV chillers are written by an equally impeccable fellow by the name of James Allardice.
  5. 1 2 3 "Last Rites Set Tomorrow for Writer J. B. Allardice". The Van Nuys News and Valley Green Sheet. February 18, 1966. p. 9A. Retrieved May 10, 2026 – via Newspapers.com. Funeral services will be held tomorrow for television writer James B. Allardice of Van Nuys, who died Tuesday at the age of 47. Rites will be held at 10 a.m. in the First Presbyterian Church of Van Nuys, 14701 Friar St., and will be followed by interment at Forest Lawn Memorial Park, 6300 Forest Lawn Drive, Los Angeles. [...] Born in Canton, Ohio, he brought his family to California in 1952. Mr. Allardice was a member of the First Presbyterian Church of Van Nuys He leaves his wife Alice, has son James and his daughters Jeani and Barbara. Others include his mother Mrs. Lula Allardice and his sister Mrs. Olive Smith, both of Van Nuys.
  6. ↑ "Ancestry - Sign In". www.ancestry.com.
  7. ↑ "Last Rites Set Tomorrow for Writer J. B. Allardice". The Van Nuys News and Valley Green Sheet. February 18, 1966. p. 9A. Retrieved May 10, 2026 – via Newspapers.com. Funeral services will be held tomorrow for television writer James B. Allardice of Van Nuys, who died Tuesday at the age of 47. Rites will be held at 10 a.m. in the First Presbyterian Church of Van Nuys, 14701 Friar St., and will be followed by interment at Forest Lawn Memorial Park, 6300 Forest Lawn Drive, Los Angeles. [...] Born in Canton, Ohio, he brought his family to California in 1952. Mr. Allardice was a member of the First Presbyterian Church of Van Nuys He leaves his wife Alice, has son James and his daughters Jeani and Barbara. Others include his mother Mrs. Lula Allardice and his sister Mrs. Olive Smith, both of Van Nuys.
  8. ↑ "Last Rites Set Tomorrow for Writer J. B. Allardice". The Van Nuys News and Valley Green Sheet. February 18, 1966. p. 9A. Retrieved May 10, 2026 – via Newspapers.com. Funeral services will be held tomorrow for television writer James B. Allardice of Van Nuys, who died Tuesday at the age of 47. Rites will be held at 10 a.m. in the First Presbyterian Church of Van Nuys, 14701 Friar St., and will be followed by interment at Forest Lawn Memorial Park, 6300 Forest Lawn Drive, Los Angeles. [...] Born in Canton, Ohio, he brought his family to California in 1952. Mr. Allardice was a member of the First Presbyterian Church of Van Nuys He leaves his wife Alice, has son James and his daughters Jeani and Barbara. Others include his mother Mrs. Lula Allardice and his sister Mrs. Olive Smith, both of Van Nuys.
  9. ↑ "Composer". The Akron Beacon Journal. March 5, 1939. p. 9B. Retrieved May 10, 2026 – via Newspapers.com. ALL OF THE MUSIC for the annual 'Gum Shoe Hop' successfully staged recently by students of Wooster college was written by an high school graduate, 19-year-old James Wise, now a sophomore at Wooster. The lyrics for the musical comedy entitled 'Number, Please,' were written by James Allardice of Canton and Bert Bond of Puerto Rico.
  10. ↑ "Dan Miles Plays Role; Students Present Musical Comedy". The Akron Beacon Journal. December 24, 1939. p. 4-B. Retrieved May 10, 2026 – via Newspapers.com. DAN MILES, freshman at Wooster, will have the part of King Ferdinand of Gertalsia, in the original musical comedy 'The Goose Steps High' which will be given for the annual college 'Gum Shoe Hop' on or near Washington's birthday. The comedy was written by two Wooster students, James Wise of Akron and James Allardice of Canton.
  11. 1 2 3 4 "Obituaries: James B. Allardice". Variety. March 16, 1966. p. 79. ProQuest 1286029956. James B. Allardice, 46, screen writer and playwright who had also turned out many comedy scripts for TV, died of a heart attack Feb. 15 in Van Nuys, Calif. A native of Canton, O., he was a reporter for the Canton Repository in 1941-42 following his graduation from the College of Wooster (Ohio). Allardice drew upon his World War II experience as a segeant to author the Broadway play, 'At War with the Army,' which chalked up 150 performances at the Booth Theatre in 1949. The comedy was later adapted for a Dean Martin - Jerry Lewis film [...] During the 10-years run of TV's 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents,' Allardice wrote the humorous openings and closings of the series, which became a Hitchcock trademark. He was a member of the scripting team which one an 'Emmy' from the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in 1954 for the best comedy writing in that year. [...] Surviving are
  12. ↑ "Connelly | Pennsylvania Center for the Book". pabook.libraries.psu.edu.
  13. ↑ "Marc Connelly | American playwright". Encyclopedia Britannica.
  14. ↑ "Hollywood Authors to Create Music for Little Theatre," October 9, 1959, Wooster Voice. Found at https://openworks.wooster.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1199&context=voice1951-1960
  15. ↑ pp. 142-3 LIFE, April 4, 1949.
  16. ↑ "At War with the Army Broadway @ Booth Theatre - Tickets and Discounts". Playbill.
  17. ↑ At War with the Army on IMDb
  18. ↑ Weaver, Tom, "Norman Lloyd Interview", I was a Monster Movie Maker: Conversations with 22 SF and Horror Filmmakers, p. 152. McFarland, 2001.
  19. ↑ Schumach, Murray (1959-11-13). "HITCHCOCK GHOST HAS HAUNTING WIT; James B. Allardice Finds Mirth in Murder in Lines Written for TV Director". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-01-31.
  20. ↑ Wilson, Earl (April 5, 1955). "Canton Man On Gobel Writing Team". The Akron Beacon Journal. p. 9A. Retrieved May 10, 2026 – via Newspapers.com. Jimmy matriculated at Wooster College, took a course in writing from Frederick Moore, and collaborated on a couple of musical comedies, one with Bert Bond, now of the Wooster Daily Record. Jim Wise, then of Akron but now a New Yorker, wrote the music. After Wooster he joined the Repository, Then, the War Years. 'I CAME OUT a sergeant,' he confided. 'because a charitable commanding officer learned I had been in grade longer than anyone else in the outfit.' Jimmy married a Wooster classmate, the former Alice Neff, of Utica, N.Y. They have three children: Jimmy, 6; Jean, 4, and Barbara, 1. In 1946, a civilian again, Jimmy enrolled at Yale to study playwriting with Marc Connelly. 'I guess the break came when Alice persuaded me to dig out a play I'd written while in the Army when I was hard pressed to meet an assignment.'"
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