Portland Hoffa was an actress and comedian active in both radio and television. She was married to the comedian Fred Allen. Portland was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. [1]
She was born Mary Portland Hoffa 25 January 1905 in Portland, Oregon, the daughter of Frederick Hoffa and Mary Keesey. Portland's birth was recorded in the Portland Birth Register. Her father's occupation was "Eye specialist," their residence was at 431 6th St., and the birth was reported by J. A. Gillest, M. D.[2]
She was married to the actor and comedian Fred Allen 3 May 1927 in Manhattan, New York City.[3] They were married until his death in 1956. There were no children from the union.
The marriage of Miss Mary Portland Hoffa, 22, an actress in the "Scandals," to John F. Sullivan, 32, an actor, formerly of Boston, Mass., will take place today in St. Malachi's Catholic church. The couple, who gave the Hotel Coolidge as their address, applied for a marriage license yesterday."
Portland married band leader and advertising executive Joseph Wand Rines in 1959.
New York: (UPI)--Portland Hoffa, widow of comedian Fred Allen, was married yesterday to an old friend, advertising executive Jospeh Rines.
Miss Hoffa and Rines, whose wife died shortly after Allen in 1956, were married in St. Malachy's Roman Catholic Church, known as the actor's church, in the heart of Broadway theatrical district.
It was the same church in which Miss Hoffa and Allen were married in 1927. The Rev. Patrick A. Gallagher, a long-time friend of Miss Hoffa, performed the marriage ceremony. Rines' brother, Frank F. Rines, was the best man. Miss Hoffa was attended by Marian B. Voorhees.
Portland died 25 December 1990 in Los Angeles at the age of 85. Her remains were buried at the Gate of Heaben Cemetery in Westchester, New York, alongside the remains of her first husband, Fred Allen.[6]
Portland Hoffa, a comedian and the widow of the humorist Fred Allen, died Tuesday at her home here.
Her niece, Frances Hershkowitz of New York City, gave Miss Hoffa's age as 83 or 84. She said her aunt died in her sleep.
In the 1920s, Miss Hoffa danced in the choruses of several Broadway productions, including "Bombo" and "Earl Carroll's Vanities."
She met Allen in 1922 when they appeared in "Passing Show," a Broadway revue.
Miss Hoffa assisted Allen when he was a juggler in vaudeville, and by the time Allen began his half-hour comedy broadcast in 1932, the two were married.
Her high-pitched voice was heard on the program regularly as she and Allen figuratively strolled down Allen's Alley, talking to the resident characters.
After Allen's death in 1956, Miss Hoffa married Joseph Rines, a bandleader and advertising executive. He died in the mid-1980s.
↑ Portland, Multnomah, Oregon, "Record of Births Aug. 1899-May 1905," January 1905 section, p. 184, Portland Hoffa; Oregon State Archives, Salem.
↑ John F Sullivan in the New York, New York, U.S., Marriage License Indexes, 1907-2018. Name: John F Sullivan
Gender: Male
Marriage License Date: 3 May 1927
Marriage License Place: Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA
Spouse:
Mary Hoffa
License Number: 11398 .
↑ The Daily News, 4 May 1927, Wednesday, page 110.
↑ DAILY RECORD
Tuesday, Feb 17, 1959
Boston, MA
Page: 3.
↑ Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/101820353/portland-hoffa: accessed 08 October 2022), memorial page for Portland Hoffa (25 Jan 1905–25 Dec 1990), Find a Grave Memorial ID 101820353, citing Gate of Heaven Cemetery, Hawthorne, Westchester County, New York, USA; Maintained by Find a Grave .
1910 census
In this census, Portland and her sister Lebanon's names seem to have been reversed by the census taker. All the information recorded for each one of them appears to be correct if applied to the opposite sister.
Frederick Hoffa Head M 50 Washington
Mary Hoffa Wife F 37 Pennsylvania
Portland Hoffa Daughter F 10 Pennsylvania
Lebanon Hoffa Daughter F 5 Oregon
Harlan Hoffa Son M 3 New York
1920 census
Frank Hoffa Head M 59 Washington
Mary Hoffa Wife F 47 Pennsylvania
Lebanon Hoffa Daughter F 19 Pennsylvania
Portland Hoffa Daughter F 15 Oregon
Lastone Hoffa Daughter F 8 New York
Fredericka Hoffa Daughter F 6 New York
1930 census
Frederick Hoffa Head M 70 District Of Columbia
Mary K Hoffa Wife F 57 Pennsylvania
Lebanon Hoffa Daughter F 29 Pennsylvania
Lastone Hoffa Daughter F 18 New York
Fredericka Hoffa Daughter F 16 New York
Portland Allen Daughter F 25 Oregon
1940 census
Fred Allen Head M 45 Massachusetts
Portland Allen Wife F 34 Oregon
"United States Census, 1910," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M53V-9C7 : accessed 2 August 2018), Lebanon Hoffa in household of Frederick Hoffa, Manhattan Ward 12, New York, New York, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 499, sheet 2B, family 43, NARA microfilm publication T624 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1982), roll 1020; FHL microfilm 1,375,033.
"New York State Census, 1915," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K92C-9J3 : 8 November 2014), Portland Hoffa, New York, New York, New York, United States; from "New York, State Census, 1915," database and images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : 2012); citing p. 39, line 36, state population census schedules, 1915, New York State Archives, Albany.
"United States Census, 1920," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MJ1Z-CP1 : accessed 2 August 2018), Portland Hoffa in household of Frank Hoffa, Manhattan Assembly District 19, New York, New York, United States; citing ED 1334, sheet 9A, line 41, family 224, NARA microfilm publication T625 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1992), roll 1221; FHL microfilm 1,821,221.
"New York State Census, 1925," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KSQQ-KR6 : 8 November 2014), Portland Hoffa, New York, A.D. 11, E.D. 44, New York, New York, United States; records extracted by Ancestry and images digitized by FamilySearch; citing p. 25, line 08, New York State Archives, Albany.
"United States Census, 1930," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X45W-QHK : accessed 2 August 2018), Portland Allen in household of Frederick Hoffa, Queens (Districts 0251-0500), Queens, New York, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 390, sheet 6A, line 36, family 75, NARA microfilm publication T626 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2002), roll 1600; FHL microfilm 2,341,335.
"United States Census, 1940," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K3YJ-L2W : accessed 2 August 2018), Portland Allen in household of Fred Allen, Assembly District 15, Manhattan, New York City, New York, New York, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 31-1377, sheet 62B, line 43, family 258, Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940, NARA digital publication T627. Records of the Bureau of the Census, 1790 - 2007, RG 29. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2012, roll 2656.
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