Chet Allen

Chet R. Allen (May 6, 1939 – June 17, 1984) was an American child actor known for his role as Amahl in Gian Carlo Menotti's Amahl and the Night Visitors, the first opera written for television, which he made with the NBC Opera Theatre.[1]

Chet Allen
Allen in 1952
Born(1939-05-06)May 6, 1939
Chillicothe, Ohio, U.S.
DiedJune 17, 1984(1984-06-17) (aged 45)
Columbus, Ohio, U.S.
OccupationActor
Years active1952–1958

Allen was born in Chillicothe, Ohio, and later moved to Columbus, Ohio.[2] At the time he was selected as Amahl, Allen was a soprano in the Columbus Boychoir, founded in Columbus. He reprised the role of Amahl in April 1952 with the New York City Opera, conducted by Thomas Schippers.[3]

In 1953, Allen starred with Dan Dailey in the film Meet Me at the Fair in the role of 14-year-old Tad Bayliss.[4] That same year, he played the young teenager Jerry Bonino in the short-lived NBC series Bonino, starring Ezio Pinza as a recently widowed Italian-American opera singer Babbo Bonino, undertaking the rearing of his eight children. Mary Wickes co-starred as Martha the housekeeper.[5]

Death

In 1984, at the age of forty-five, Allen died by suicide by taking five times the fatal dosage of an anti-depressant.[6]

References
  1. TVparty.com, "An Opera for Television": http://www.tvparty.com/xmas-amahl.html
  2. "Chillicothe Youth Is Nation's First Television Opera Star". The Palouse Republic. March 7, 1952.
  3. "The Boy Choir and Soloist Directory, Chet Allen". boysoloist.com. Archived from the original on May 28, 2018. Retrieved December 15, 2008.
  4. Dan Dailey, Meet Me at the Fair (film): https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0046059/
  5. Alex McNeil, Total Television, New York: Penguin Books, 1996, p. 111
  6. Smith, Starita (June 19, 1984). "Talent Too Much for Chet Allen, 44". Columbus Dispatch. p. B3.
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