Elvia Allman
Biography
Biography
She was not a great beauty--her credit in the Bob Hope/Bing Crosby comic adventure "Road to Signapore" is simply "Homely Girl"--but Elvia Allman carved out an impressive 70-year career in radio, television, and movies sparring with legendary comedians like George Burns, Jack Benny, and Lucille Ball. Fans of Ball's classic sitcom "I Love Lucy" will forever remember Allman as the chocolate factory foreman who puts Lucy and best friend Ethel on that ever-accelerating assembly line in the iconic 1952 episode "Job Switching." Allman also had recurring roles on two classic '60s sitcoms: Elverna Bradshaw, Granny's longtime rival, on "The Beverly Hillbillies" and the meddling Selma Plout on "Petticoat Junction." Before her lengthy career onscreen, Allman--who started her radio career in 1926 at Los Angeles's KHJ--provided the voice for Disney's Clarabelle Cow. She was married three times, including to legendary (and notorious) sports promoter/agent Charles "C.C." Pyle, until his death in 1939.