caption death_date death_place birth_place imagesize birth_date spouse birthname image article_title name occupation
portland hoffa in 1940 . 25 december 1990 los angeles , california portland , oregon 200px 25 january 1905 fred joe rines -lrb- 1959-1986 -rrb- -lrb- his death -rrb- allen -lrb- 1927-1956 -rrb- -lrb- his death -rrb- portland hoffa portland hoffa 1940.jpg portland hoffa
 portland hoffa actress comedienne dancer
portland hoffa

portland hoffa -lrb- 25 january 1905 , portland , oregon -- 25 december 1990 , los angeles , california -rrb- was an american comedienne , actress , and dancer .
one of three sisters , she is remembered best as the stage and radio partner of her first husband , fred allen .
a veteran of vaudeville and broadway-level stage productions , portland hoffa met fred allen while performing in `` the passing show '' in 1922 and joined him in his vaudeville routines -lrb- centered on his clever jokes spun off his weakness as a juggler -rrb- ; the couple married before allen began his long-running radio work in 1932 , with hoffa taking instruction in the roman catholic church prior to the marriage .
hoffa became familiar for her high-pitched voice , her brief routines involving jokes bounced off or from her mother , and , later , strolling allen 's alley with her husband , after asking him what his question of the week for the alley denizens would be .
although hoffa performed under her real name on her husband 's show , the character she portrayed as `` portland hoffa '' in the radio broadcasts was not allen 's wife ; instead , she depicted an enthusiastic girl of indeterminate age , around thirteen years old .
one of allen 's sponsors loathed the character played by hoffa , and kept urging allen to drop her from the show .
allen ignored these requests for as long as he could , then finally -- in an angry outburst at a sales meeting -- told the executive that the broadcasts were bearable only due to hoffa 's presence , and that if she were removed from the program then allen would quit .
fred allen 's declining health was the main reason why he ceased hosting his own show after 1949 , but hoffa often joined him as a semi-regular on tallulah bankhead 's radio variety show , `` the big show '' -lrb- 1950 -- 52 -rrb- .
she also appeared as the `` mystery guest '' on one episode of television 's `` what 's my line '' , on which allen had become a panelist from 1954 until his death in early 1956 .
hoffa and allen had also appeared in such films as `` is everybody listening ? ''
-lrb- 1947 -rrb- and the jack benny vehicle `` buck benny rides again '' -lrb- 1940 -rrb- .
hoffa remarried in 1959 , to bandleader joe rines , later an advertising executive .
hoffa and rines lived long enough to celebrate a silver wedding anniversary , allowing hoffa an unusual second such anniversary in one lifetime .
in 1965 , hoffa rounded up a large volume of her first husband 's correspondence to be edited into `` fred allen 's letters '' .
rines died in 1986 .
like her first husband , portland hoffa has a star on the hollywood walk of fame .
hoffa died of natural causes in 1990 .
