(Courtesy of Minard Coons) Above, Bob Allen during his brief stay as a cowboy hero for Columbia Pictures.

Bob Allen Real name: I. E. Theodore Baehr, Sr. 1906-1998

(Courtesy of Bill McCann) Check the theater prices shown in this newspaper ad!

A great rider and roper, I. E. Theodore Baehr was born in March 28th, 1906 when the cowboys still existed, before the last U.S. Cavalry battles with the Comanches and Apaches from 1910 to 1912. He joined Tim, Roy, Gene, Lash and rest on October 9th, 1998 at the age of 92.

I was fortunate enough to meet Bob in the early 1990s through mutual friends, Ralph and Fay Wofford. Each winter, Bob would come to Atlanta to be with his son and family, Ted and Lili Baehr, Jr. He was very proud of his grandchildren.  We would get together at Ralph and Fay's home to watch the Bob Allen films.  He was a joy to be with.  My wife, Diane described him as the 'last of the true gentlemen'.

Bob 'Tex' Allen could be considered the original Texas Ranger of the silver screen of the 1930s.  Bob starred in six of the original Texas Ranger cowboy movies of the sound era, including RANGER COURAGE and RIO GRANDE RANGER.

He was married to the late Evelyn Peirce, also an actress, who was in the last 'Rex the Wonder Dog' film of the silent era (Peirce is the correct spelling).

Bob graduated from New York Military Academy in 1924 and Dartmouth College in 1929.  In the 1930s, he was under contract to Columbia Pictures and 20th Century Fox.  He played juvenile lead and starring roles in over 40 films, including: CRIME AND PUNISHMENT (1935); AIR HAWKS (1935); THE BLACK ROOM MYSTERY (1935); CRAIG'S WIFE (1936); THE AWFUL TRUTH (1937); FIGHTING THOROUGHBREDS (1939); and WINTER CARNIVAL (1939).  Bob won the coveted Box Office Award for his lead role as Philip Cameron in LOVE ME FOREVER (1935). (Les Adams adds: The Robert Allen actor in the PERILS OF PAULINE (1934) serial is not Ranger Bob Allen. It's actually Hugh Enfield, later known as Craig Reynolds.)

(Advertising herald courtesy of Les Adams) Allen is on the top, far left, and the man in the cop uniform looking up is Ward Bond.

But Bob was most proud of being the star of the 'Bob Allen Ranger' series, directed by Spencer Gordon Bennet for Columbia Pictures.

Between 1939 and 1940, Bob appeared opposite Claudia Morgan in the West Coast company of The Man Who Came to Dinner at the Biltmore Theatre in Los Angeles and the Curran Theatre in San Francisco, and when that closed, Mr. Allen rushed back East to play opposite Miriam Hopkins in a revival of Design For Living.  During World War II, Mr. Allen starred in the USO production of Over 21 in North Africa and Italy. After the war, Mr. Allen starred and was featured in the theater on Broadway in such classic plays as: I Killed the Count, Kiss Them For Me, Showboat, Auntie Mame and, the revival of Whoopie.  Mr. Allen also appeared in highly successful national tours, including such stage plays as The Greeks Had a Word For It, Junior Miss, Blind Alley and Time For Elizabeth.

During a 45-year period after the war, Bob also starred and was a featured player in numerous television programs, movies and many commercials up until his late 80s.

Bob had said, "The years of Hollywood are only a memory, albeit a happy one - and the Bob Allen Ranger films the happiest. Tim McCoy and I got along fine, but my fondest memories are of my wonderful sidekick in the series, Wally Wales (Hal Taliaferro)! God Bless his soul. And yours!"

(Courtesy of Larry Blanks) Above are Bob Allen, Chuck Norris, and Bob's son Ted Baehr, Jr.

The veteran movie star had in July, 1998, presented Chuck Norris, star of the highly rated CBS television series, WALKER, TEXAS RANGER, with the prestigious Sir John Templeton Epiphany Prize. The ceremony took place in Dallas, Texas. The Epiphany Prize is presented annually by the Christian Film & Television Commission, a non-profit organization headed by Dr. Ted Baehr and committed to educating the entertainment industry and the public about the media's impact on society.

(Courtesy of Larry Blanks) Above, Bob Allen and Pal. From L-to-R are cowboy hero Bob Allen, Elaine Shepard, and Hal Taliaferro (Wally Wales) in LAW OF THE RANGER (Columbia, 1937). From L-to-R are Eleanor Stewart, kindly ol' Lafe McKee and star Bob Allen putting the grips on Wally Wales/Hal Taliaferro in this 1937 release.  Les Adams was able to identify Herman Hack as the the player between Allen and Taliaferro/Wales. (Courtesy of Larry Blanks) Above, Columbia cowboy Bob Allen, F TROOP's Melody Patterson, and Larry Blanks, circa 1993? (Courtesy of Larry Blanks) 1996 --- the 90th Birthday Party for Bob Allen.  Standing in front of a table of lobby cards from Allen's UNKNOWN RANGER film are, from L-to-R: John Smith, Bob Allen (Ted Baehr Sr.), Ted Baehr Jr. (Bob's son), Larry Blanks and Clyde Carroll.

Bob Allen did his Columbia films right after Ken Maynard.  On the left are Maynard and his palomino Tarzan from their days at Columbia, and note the range costume on Maynard --- white hat, twin six-guns, dark shirt with those crazy arrows on the pockets, etc. Allen's outfit was patterned after Maynard in order to utilize stock footage from Ken's films.  In addition to similar costumes, Allen also rode a palomino named 'Pal'.  Producer Larry Darmour was in charge of the Allen Ranger films as well as the earlier Ken Maynard group.

  Although some of the data is incomplete or inaccurate, the Internet Movie Database (IMDB) has information on Bob Allen: http://us.imdb.com/name/nm0020979/

Bob's son, Ted Baehr, Jr., has the MovieGuide website at: http://www.movieguide.org/