- His favorite operas were Verdi's "Otello," Wagner's "Tristan und Isolde" and Mussorgsky's "Boris Godunov.".
- During the 1973-74 season, he was hired as a substitute for Milton Cross, who had been the Met announcer since the 1930s. Mr. Allen sat through 25 Saturday matinees. Mr. Cross died on Jan. 3, 1975, a Friday. The next day, Mr. Allen was in the broadcast booth for Rossini's "L'Italiana in Algeri.".
- He grew up in Cleveland.
- He was a commanding officer of minesweepers in the Navy during WWII. After the war, he attended Ohio State University, where he first got into announcing at the campus radio station. He was also the principal violist in the university's symphony orchestra. He moved to New York and became an announcer on WQXR, as well as an actor, a film and TV announcer, and a narrator.
- He was for 29 years the informative announcer on the Metropolitan Opera broadcasts on radio and TV . He had succeeded Milton Cross and was replaced by Margaret Juntwait.
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