Bob ‘Tex’ Allen; 1930s Western Movie Star

Bob “Tex” Allen, an enduring actor whose stardom in Hollywood Westerns during the 1930s was eclipsed by the arrival of such singing cowboys as Gene Autry and Roy Rogers, has died in Oyster Bay, N.Y. He was 92.

Although he was best known for the “Bob Allen Ranger” film series that made him one of the most popular Western stars, his roles as a white-hatted cowboy were only a brief part of an acting career that spanned more than 60 years, including dozens of major screen, television and Broadway roles.

Allen, who died Friday after a brief battle with cancer, was born Theodore Baehr on Aug. 9, 1906. Despite the disapproval of his father, who wanted him to join the family import-export business, the young Dartmouth graduate wanted to be an actor.

After attracting the attention of a talent agent--who gave him his new name--Allen soon found himself under contract to Columbia Pictures and 20th Century Fox.

During the 1930s, he appeared in a wide variety of successful movies, including “Perils of Pauline,” “Love Me Forever,” “Crime and Punishment” and “Winter Carnival.”

In 1934, Allen married Evelyn Pierce, an actress whom no less an expert than Florenz Ziegfeld once pronounced the prettiest woman in the world.

Allen’s leading role in “The Life of Lafayette” won him an Academy Award nomination in 1936.

But it was as a virtuous cowboy lawman, chasing down bad guys, that he won his greatest popularity. He starred in a series of Westerns that included “Rio Grande Ranger,” “The Unknown Ranger,” “The Rangers Step In,” “Ranger Courage,” “The Reckless Ranger” and “Law of the Range.”

When the Box Office Poll of Western stars was published in 1937, Allen ranked right behind one of the all-time favorites, Tim McCoy.

“I thought, ‘Boy, I’m on my way,’ ” Allen recalled several years ago. “But Columbia signed Buck Jones up to produce his own pictures, and that gave the studio three Western stars--Jones, Charlie Starrett and me. Being the low man on the totem pole, my series was dropped.”

Allen said he was negotiating with Republic Pictures, which was looking for a new Western star, when the studio’s casting director, Harold Dobbs called him in for an interview.

“He said, ‘Bob, they want to build up someone to compete with Gene Autry. As you don’t play the guitar, they’ve decided to go with a kid from Ohio they have under contract at $75 a week, a boy named Roy Rogers.’

“That was the end of Bob ‘Tex’ Allen.”

But Allen persevered. During World War II, he starred in the USO production of “Over 21,” which toured North Africa and Italy. After the war, he moved to Broadway, with roles in “Showboat,” “Auntie Mame,” “Kiss Them for Me” and “I Killed the Count.”

More Broadway and off-Broadway work followed, along with appearances in television programs, movies and commercials.

Allen’s wife died in 1960. He is survived by a daughter, Katherine Meyer; a son, Theodore Baehr; seven grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren.