{{Short description|Television actor}} {{Use mdy dates|date=February 2016}} {{Infobox actor |name = Allen Case |image = Vivian Vance Allen Case The Deputy 1959.JPG |caption = Case as Deputy Clay McCord, on ''The Deputy'' with guest star Vivian Vance (1959). |birth_name = Alan Case Lavelle Jones |birth_date = {{Birth date|1934|10|8}} |birth_place = Dallas, Texas, US |death_date = {{Death date and age|1986|8|25|1934|10|8}} |death_place = Truckee, California, US |occupation = Actor |years_active = 1958–1982 | alma_mater = Southern Methodist University | spouse = {{marriage|Bobbie Jones|1961|1979|end=divorced}} | children = 1 }}
'''Allen Case''' (born '''Alan Case Lavelle Jones''', October 8, 1934{{Citation needed |date=May 2023}} – August 25, 1986) was an American television actor most noted for the lead role of Deputy Clay McCord in NBC-TV's ''The Deputy'' (1959–1961) opposite series regular Henry Fonda, who received top billing, but appeared far less frequently than Case.
==Early years== Case was born in Dallas, Texas. His parents were retail clothiers Casey Jones and Nadine Allen Jones. He attended Southern Methodist University, but left in his junior year.<ref name="twp">{{cite book|last1=Aaker|first1=Everett|title=Television Western Players, 1960-1975: A Biographical Dictionary|date=2017|publisher=McFarland|isbn=9781476662503|pages=87–88|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ltUkDwAAQBAJ&dq=%22Allen+Case%22+actor&pg=PA1861|access-date=1 July 2017|language=en}}</ref>
==Career== After he left SMU, Case sang on a television program in Dallas and then toured in musicals. Following those experiences, he traveled to New York City to audition for the ''Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts'' program.<ref name=twp/>
Case signed a contract with Columbia Records in 1955 and performed on the first studio cast recording of the Gershwins' musical ''Oh, Kay!'' He starred in his first Broadway show, ''Reuben, Reuben''. He also toured with musicals, including ''South Pacific,'' ''Damn Yankees'', and ''My Fair Lady''.<ref name="lat">{{cite news|title=Allen Case, 51, Dies; Actor in Variety of TV Western Shows|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-08-28-me-13881-story.html|access-date=1 July 2017|work=Los Angeles Times|date=August 28, 1986|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170701210623/http://articles.latimes.com/1986-08-28/local/me-13881_1_allen-case|archive-date=1 July 2017}}</ref>
In addition to starring in ''The Deputy'',{{r|etvs|page1=253}} Case was one of the "friends" on ''Arthur Godfrey and His Friends''.<ref name="etvs">{{cite book|last1=Terrace|first1=Vincent|title=Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010|date=2011|publisher=McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers|location=Jefferson, N.C.|isbn=978-0-7864-6477-7|page=59|edition=2nd}}</ref>
Case made more than 30 television appearances between 1958 and 1982. In 1959 he appeared on Wagon Train's S2 E22 "The Jasper Cato Story" as Jim Collins/ Jack Daly, a thief who's been pursued West from Boston who convinces Brian Donlevy (in the title role) that he's turned his life around. He made three guest appearances on the CBS courtroom drama series ''Perry Mason'', including the role of defendant Adam Conrad in the 1964 episode, "The Case of the Ruinous Road".
In the 1965–1966 season, Case co-starred as Frank James with Christopher Jones in the ABC Western series ''The Legend of Jesse James''.{{r|etvs|page1=593}} In 1969, Case played Sheriff Pat Garritt in the epiosode "Billy the Kid' in the TV show ''Time Tunnel''.
He made a return to Broadway book musicals in 1967 as the third lead in Jule Styne and Arthur Laurents' ''Hallelujah, Baby!'', and his singing is featured prominently on the original cast album.<ref>Original Broadway Cast, ''Hallelujah, Baby!'', 30 April 1967, Sony Broadway CD reissue SK 48218, 1992.</ref>
Buoyed by his role on ''The Deputy'', Case made personal appearances. In 1961, he came to Shreveport, Louisiana, to appear on KWKH radio and at the rodeo, at which he played Johnny Horton's guitar.<ref>''Shreveport Times'', April 4, 5 and 7, 1961</ref>
In 1977, Case guest-starred on ''Quincy, M.E.'' in the second-season episode, "A Good Smack in the Mouth", as Stuart Harrison, the father of a runaway boy who crosses Quincy's path.
In 1981, Case played Harold Knitzer in ''The Life and Times of Eddie Roberts'', a syndicated television drama.{{r|etvs|page1=600}}
==Partial television appearances== {| class="wikitable" |- ! Year ! Title ! Role ! Notes |- |1959 |''Lawman'' |Larry Delong |"Riding Shotgun" (S1E29) |- |1959|| ''Have Gun - Will Travel'' || Tad Pike || "Juliet" (S2E20) |- |1959-1961|| ''The Deputy'' || Deputy Clay McCord || 76 episodes |- |1962|| ''The Virginian'' || Sheriff Blade || "West" (S1E10) |- |1964|| ''Gunsmoke'' || Lieutenant || "The Promoter" (S9E30) |- |1966|| ''Gunsmoke'' || Gabe Baker || "The Good People" (S12E5) |- |1967|| ''The Time Tunnel'' || Sheriff Pat Garrett || "Billy The Kid" (S1E22) |- |1979|| ''"CHiPs"'' || Councilman Walter Dunlap || "Ride the Whirlwind" (S2E22) |- |}
==Business activities== In the late 1960s, Case went into business manufacturing fur coats for men. Furs used in the coats included wolf, Norwegian seal, muskrat, and sheared rabbit. Prices ranged from $350 to $1,250.<ref>{{cite news|last1=DeStefano|first1=Carl|title=Fur Coats Are Back, This Time for Men|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/12058750/the_corpus_christi_callertimes/|work=The Corpus Christi Caller-Times|agency=Chicago Daily News Service|date=September 18, 1968|location=Texas, Corpus Christi|page=26|via = Newspapers.com|accessdate = July 1, 2017}} {{Open access}}</ref>
==Personal life== On September 22, 1961, Case married Bobbie Jones. They had a daughter, and they divorced on June 27, 1979.<ref name=twp/>
==Death== While on vacation, he died after suffering a heart attack in Truckee, California, at the age of 51.<ref name=lat/>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== *{{IMDb name|0143175}} *{{IBDB name}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Case, Allen}} Category:1934 births Category:1986 deaths Category:American male television actors Category:20th-century American male actors Category:Male actors from Dallas Category:Western (genre) television actors Category:American male musical theatre actors Category:20th-century American male singers Category:20th-century American singers