18 Facts About Portland Hoffa

Portland Hoffa was an American comedian, radio host, actress, and dancer.

Portland Hoffa began her career performing as a dancer in numerous Broadway productions in the 1920s, before meeting her first husband, comedian Fred Allen.

Portland Hoffa gained particular notice from audiences for her distinctive, high-pitched voice.

Allen hosted several highly successful network radio shows in the 1930s and 1940s, in which Portland Hoffa was a frequent participant.

Portland Hoffa remained married to him until his death in 1956, after which she married bandleader Joe Rines.

Portland Hoffa helped compile her first husband's correspondence, which was published as Fred Allen's Letters in 1965.

Portland Hoffa died in 1990 in Los Angeles of natural causes, aged 85.

Portland Hoffa's father, an itinerant optometrist, was a native of Washington state of German descent, while her mother was from Pennsylvania.

Portland Hoffa's father was Jewish, while her mother was a Presbyterian.

In New York, Portland Hoffa performed as a dancer in vaudeville and Broadway stage productions, and met Fred Allen while performing in The Passing Show in 1922 and joined him in his vaudeville routines.

One of Allen's sponsors loathed the character played by Portland Hoffa, and kept urging Allen to drop her from the show.

Allen's declining health was the main reason he ceased hosting his own show after 1949, but Portland Hoffa often joined him as a semi-regular on Tallulah Bankhead's radio variety show, The Big Show.

Portland Hoffa 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.

In 1959, Portland Hoffa married bandleader Joe Rines, who later worked as an advertising executive.

Twice widowed and childless, Portland Hoffa died of natural causes in Los Angeles on December 26,1990, aged 85.

Portland Hoffa was survived by her two younger sisters, Lastone Hershkowitz of New York and Los Angeles, and Frederika Bond of Bellingham, Washington.

Portland Hoffa is interred with her first husband Fred Allen at the Gate of Heaven Cemetery in Hawthorne, New York.

Portland Hoffa has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1640 Vine Street.