{{Short description|American clown (1928–2015)}} {{Redirect|Rusty Nails||Rusty Nail (disambiguation){{!}}Rust Nail}} {{Use mdy dates|date=June 2025}} thumb|Allen as "Rusty Nails", circa 1974 '''James H. Allen''' (May 15, 1928 – July 28, 2015) was an American actor who portrayed the clown character '''Rusty Nails''' and was the host of various children's television shows in the Portland, Oregon television market from 1957–1972. His program on KPTV was the second-longest running children's program in Portland, second only to Ramblin' Rod Anders.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://home.comcast.net/~kptv/Shows/rusty.htm |title=Rusty Nails' Cartoons |accessdate=2008-12-04 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://archive.today/20121220051413/http://home.comcast.net/~kptv/Shows/rusty.htm |archivedate=2012-12-20 }}</ref>
In 2003, ''The Simpsons'' creator Matt Groening credited Rusty Nails as the inspiration for ''Simpsons'' character Krusty the Clown.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web| url= https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/james-allen-dead-simpsons-krusty-811814/ |title=James Allen, TV Personality Who Inspired Krusty the Clown on 'The Simpsons,' Dies at 87| first=Mike|last=Barnes|website=Hollywoodreporter.com|date=July 29, 2015| access-date=April 5, 2022}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Turner |first=Chris |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lm43EetfI8kC&dq=%E2%80%9CBut+he+had+that+name%2C+Rusty+Nails%2C+which+I+found+incredibly+disturbing+as+a+child+because+you+know+you%E2%80%99re+supposed+to+avoid+Rusty+Nails.%E2%80%9D&pg=PA40 |title=Planet Simpson: How a Cartoon Masterpiece Documented an Era and Defined a Generation |date=2010-05-28 |publisher=Random House of Canada |isbn=978-0-307-36609-2 |language=en}}</ref>
==Early life== Allen grew up in North Portland, Oregon. His father was part of a traveling magic act inspired by Harry Houdini.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Alteir |first=Nuran |date=2015-07-29 |title=James Allen, the beloved 'Rusty Nails,' dies at 87 |url=https://www.oregonlive.com/portland/2015/07/jim_allen_rusty_nails_the_clow.html |access-date=2025-06-29 |website=OregonLive |language=en}}</ref>
== Show == Allen, as Rusty Nails, hosted cartoon shows on KATU, KOIN, and KPTV. In 1998, he wrote an autobiographical book called ''Send in the Clowns''.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Allen |first1=James |title=Send in the Clowns |date=1998 |publisher=Shiloh Publishing House |isbn=1891879014}}</ref>
Among Allen's guest stars was American voice actor Mel Blanc, a fellow Portlander and personal friend.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last=Hollis |first=Tim |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=O3N1jksw1kcC&dq=Mel+blanc+rusty+nails&pg=PA234 |title=Hi There, Boys and Girls! America's Local Children's TV Programs |date=2001-10-29 |publisher=Univ. Press of Mississippi |isbn=978-1-57806-396-3 |language=en}}</ref> On the show, Blanc would demonstrate his various voice acted characters; these included ''Looney Tunes'' characters such as Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Yosemite Sam, Foghorn Leghorn, and the Tasmanian Devil.<ref name=":2" />
== Death and legacy == Allen died on July 28, 2015, of congestive heart failure at the age of 87, after a month of hospice care in Portland.<ref>{{cite web |date=July 28, 2015 |title=Beloved Portland entertainer 'Rusty Nails' dies at 87 |url=http://koin.com/2015/07/28/beloved-pdx-entertainer-rusty-nails-dies-at-87/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20150730090354/http://koin.com/2015/07/28/beloved-pdx-entertainer-rusty-nails-dies-at-87/ |archive-date=July 30, 2015 |accessdate=July 28, 2015 |publisher=KOIN news}}</ref>
In a 2003 interview, Matt Groening credited Rusty Nails as the inspiration behind ''Simpsons'' character Krusty the Clown, a corrupt and cynical TV clown.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /> Groening described Allen as "a very nice guy and a very sweet clown", but he found his stage name "incredibly disturbing as a child because, you know, you're supposed to avoid rusty nails."<ref name=":1" />
==See also== *List of local children's television series (United States)
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== * {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050403163112/http://rustynails.com/index.html |date=April 3, 2005 |title=Official website }} * [https://web.archive.org/web/20051215164913/http://kptv.home.comcast.net/Shows/rustyshour.htm ''Rusty's Hour'']: September 1958 to December 1959 * [https://web.archive.org/web/20051215171806/http://kptv.home.comcast.net/Shows/rustystooges.htm ''Rusty Nails and the Three Stooges'']: January 1960 to March 1962 * [https://web.archive.org/web/20051215152423/http://kptv.home.comcast.net/Shows/rusty.htm ''The Rusty Nails Cartoon Show'']: January 1967 to September 1972 * [https://web.archive.org/web/20051215151007/http://kptv.home.comcast.net/Shows/kids.htm ''Kids' Comedy Theater'']: September 1972 to March 1973
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Allen, James H.}} Category:1928 births Category:2015 deaths Category:20th-century evangelicals Category:21st-century evangelicals Category:American clowns Category:American evangelicals Category:American children's television presenters Category:Culture of Portland, Oregon Category:Local children's television programming in the United States Category:Male actors from Portland, Oregon Category:Roosevelt High School (Oregon) alumni
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