Jack Allen
- Jack redirects here. For other uses see Jack (disambiguation). You may be looking for Jack Davis
Jack Wilbur Allen is a major character in Adventures in Odyssey, voiced by Alan Young. Jack, as he is known to most AIO characters, is a quiet, kind, level-headed older man with gray eyes and standing 5' 10" tall. Jack is in a total of 90 episodes; his first episode was #280: “Gone...” in 1994 and his final episode voiced by original actor Alan Young was #725: “Home Again, Part 2” in 2012.
Family and Personality
- Main article: Allen family
Jack is known for his passive nature, preferring to remain behind-the-scenes rather than take aggressive action or confront enemies. Jack loves studying, and talking about history. Little is known about Jack's immediate family other then the fact that he definitely had at least one child as he's mentioned that he's a grandparent. Jack Allen's first wife was Emily, who was not a Christian and died from a stroke. During Jack's first several seasons on the show, he was a widower; however Jack later meets Joanne Woodston in #367: “The Decision” and marries her in #374: “For Whom the Wedding Bells Toll, Part 3”. It is uncertain what Jack's child(ren) name(s) is/are, but he references having grandchildren in #296: “Red Wagons and Pink Flamingos”, #302: “Share and Share Alike”, and #526: “Seeing Red”.
In #808: “No Friend Like an Old Friend”, Jack mentions that his mother has a condition in her feet and that by middle school his father had either died or abandoned his family.
Life History
Jack was originally born in Nebraska. Jack was childhood friends with John Whittaker (Whit). As kids Jack and Whit experienced an adventure that involved treasure, bad men, and a "ghost" (#297: “Blackbeard's Treasure”). Later, Jack went to college at UCLA and worked at an auction house in Pasadena, CA. During this time, Whit attended USC. Jack dated Jenny Morrow for a time and even professed his love for her, but then he found out that Whit and Jenny were in love (#464: “The Triangle, Part 1”). Some time after this he married his first wife Emily. Then for a time he lived in Nebraska and ran an orphanage there. Soon after Whit's wife Jenny died, Jack invited Whit to visit the orphanage for a while. Jack was impressed that Whit and a girl named Clara became such good friends. He let them grow close so that they would help each other, but he didn't tell Whit that Clara was being adopted. He had to tell Whit the news when the family was there to take her. Whit was upset with him about this at the time (#365: “Clara”). Years later, Jack came to Odyssey to see Whit and found out he had gone to the Middle East. Jack ended up deciding to stay in Odyssey and helped manage Whit's End (#280: “Gone...” and #281: “...But Not Forgotten”). Once Jason Whittaker arrived in Odyssey, Jack co-managed Whit's End with Jason for a time. Jason's experimental, risky, personality tended to clash with Jack's personality every now and then. Despite their clashes the two were good friends. Jack played a prominent role during Regis Blackgaard's plot to become mayor of Odyssey. He restarted a group called the Israelites to counter the acts of vandalism that the Bones of Rath were committing. He disbanded the group when someone got hurt. During this time Jack had dreams that tended to relate to things happening around him (Album 25: Darkness Before Dawn). When Whit returned to Odyssey, Jack was hesitant to see Whit because of the happenings with Clara. Whit caught Jack at the airport just before Jack's plane would leave, and told him Jack was forgiven (#365: “Clara”). Jack remained in Odyssey, and fell in love with Joanne Woodston (#367: “The Decision”). After a time he married Joanne in September/October of 1997 and they bought an antique shop, naming it J and J Antiques. They went on a three month extended missions honeymoon to the Philippines (#374: “For Whom the Wedding Bells Toll, Part 3”). Several years later, a company called Novacom came to Odyssey. Jack and Joanne played a part in finding out what was going on with Eugene and got caught up in the chaos of it all, including a crazy taxi ride and getting held up at the post office (#484: “Plan B, Part 1: Missing in Action” - #487: “Plan B, Part 4: Resistance”). Jack served in Odyssey's Historical Society, and played a huge part in locating the town's time capsule that was buried one hundred years before (#631: “A Capsule Comes to Town”). Years after that, Jack and Joanne decided to hand off their shop to Jason so that they could travel and see more of the world (#725: “Home Again, Part 2”).
Status
Jack's original actor Alan Young passed away in 2016. Since then, all appearances of Jack have been flashback stories of his childhood, including #789: “The Journal of John Avery Whittaker” and #808: “No Friend Like an Old Friend”.
Trivia
- His and Joanne's address is 813 Harper St (#554: “Call Me if You Care”)
- Joanne is his second wife, his first being Emily Allen (#353: “A Question About Tasha”)
- He helped start B-TV (#298: “I Want My B-TV”)
- According to Townsend Coleman, his character was created as a split between both halves of Whit's distinctive personality: while Jason played out Whit's adventurous and rambunctious side, Jack portrayed Whit's level-headed and wise side
- Originally, they planned on naming his character John Lewis Allen but decided against it, because of John Whittaker
- His first name is a tribute to C.S. "Jack" (C.S.) Lewis and his last name honors Alan Young
- His middle name, Wilbur, was named after Alan Young's role in Mister Ed
- His illustration was drawn to look something like Alan Young did when he played Wilbur in Mister Ed
- An early draft of #290: “A Name, Not a Number, Part 1” revealed that he was an NSA agent; although this was dropped, Alan Young did voice NSA agent Donovan
- He tried to save Regis Blackgaard's soul before his death (#334: “The Final Conflict”)
- He is known to have many dreams foretelling what happened in the past or future (#293: “A Code of Honor”, #406: “Malachi's Message, Part 1”, #324: “Small Fires, Little Pools”)
- He ran an orphanage in Nebraska at one point (#365: “Clara”)
- In addition to growing up with Whit, he also grew up with Whit's brother-in-law Wilson Knox (#808: “No Friend Like an Old Friend”).
- He wears glasses (#471: “Fifteen Minutes”)
Gallery
Jack as depicted in the Jumpstart Comics.
Gary Locke's first depiction of Young Jack.
Gary Locke's second depiction of Young Jack.
Quotes
See, Allen Family quotes.
Episodes
All (90) · Mark Shillinger (1995) · Marshal Younger (2001-2007) · Alan Young (1994-2012) · Garrett McQuaid (2016) · Noah Rosenthal (2017) · Jonathan Crowe (1992) |
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Album Appearances
Jack Allen has appeared in the following albums:
- Family Portraits
- The Lost Episodes (4 episodes)
- Album 01: The Adventure Begins
- Album 02: The Wildest Summer Ever
- Album 03: Heroes
- Album 04: FUN-damentals
- Album 05: Daring Deeds, Sinister Schemes
- Album 06: Mission: Accomplished
- Album 07: On Thin Ice
- Album 08: Beyond Expectations
- Album 09: Just in Time
- Album 10: Other Times, Other Places
- Album 11: It’s Another Fine Day...
- Album 12: At Home and Abroad
- Album 13: It All Started When...
- Album 14: Meanwhile, in Another Part of Town
- Album 15: A Place of Wonder
- Album 16: Flights of Imagination (1 episode)
- Album 17: On Earth as It Is in Heaven
- Album 18: A Time of Discovery
- Album 19: Passport to Adventure
- Album 20: A Journey of Choices
- Album 21: Wish You Were Here! (3 episodes)
- Album 22: The Changing Times (7 episodes)
- Album 23: Twists and Turns (5 episodes)
- Album 24: Risks and Rewards (11 episodes)
- Album 25: Darkness Before Dawn (8 episodes)
- Album 26: Back on the Air (7 episodes)
- Album 27: The Search for Whit (1 episode)
- Album 28: Welcome Home! (6 episodes)
- Album 29: Signed, Sealed and Committed (4 episodes)
- Album 30: Through Thick and Thin (2 episodes)
- Album 31: Days to Remember (1 episode)
- Album 32: Hidden Treasures (4 episodes)
- Album 33: Virtual Realities
- Album 34: In Your Wildest Dreams
- Album 35: The Big Picture (2 episodes)
- Album 36: Danger Signals (3 episodes)
- Album 37: Countermoves (4 episodes)
- Album 38: Battle Lines (3 episodes)
- Album 39: Friends, Family, and Countrymen
- Album 40: Out of Control
- Album 41: In Hot Pursuit (1 episode)
- Album 42: No Way Out (1 episode)
- Album 43: Along for the Ride (2 episodes)
- Album 44: Eugene Returns!
- Album 45: Lost and Found
- Album 46: A Date with Dad (and Other Calamities)
- Album 47: Into the Light
- Album 48: Moment of Truth (1 episode)
- Album 49: The Sky’s the Limit
- Album 50: The Best Small Town (3 episodes)
- The Truth Chronicles
- Passages: Darien’s Rise (2 episodes)
- Album 51: Take it From the Top
- Album 52: Cause and Effect
- Album 53: The Green Ring Conspiracy
- Album 54: Clanging Cymbals...and the Meaning of God's Love
- Album 55: The Deep End
- Album 56: The Grand Design (1 episode)
- Album 57: A Call to Something More
- Album 58: The Ties That Bind
- Album 59: Taking the Plunge
- Album 60: Head Over Heels
- Album 61: Without a Hitch
- Album 62: Let’s Put on a Show! (1 episode)
- Album 63: Up in the Air
- Album 64: Under the Surface
- Album 65: Expect the Unexpected
- Album 66: Trial by Fire
- Album 67: More Than Meets the Eye
- Album 68: Out of the Blue
- Album 69: Best Kept Secrets
- Album 70: Finding a Way
- Album 71: A Slippery Slope
- Album 72: The Long Road Home
- Album 73: 28 Hours
- Album 74: Buckle Up!
- Album 75: The Best Is Yet to Come
- Album 76: Keep it Together
- Album 77: A New Perspective
- Album 78: At Face Value
- Album 79
Jack Allen has appeared in the following club seasons:
- Odyssey Adventure Club: Season 1
- Odyssey Adventure Club: Season 2
- Odyssey Adventure Club: Season 3 (1 episode)
- Adventures in Odyssey Club: Season 4
- Adventures in Odyssey Club: Season 5
- Adventures in Odyssey Club: Season 6
- 30th Birthday Live Show (album)
- Adventures in Odyssey Club: Season 10
- Adventures in Odyssey Club: Season 11
- Adventures in Odyssey Club: Season 12
- Adventures in Odyssey Club: Season 7
- Adventures in Odyssey Club: Season 8
- Adventures in Odyssey Club: Season 9 (1 episode)
- Aventuras en Odisea: Volumen 1
- Aventuras en Odisea: Volumen 2
- Aventuras en Odisea: Volumen 3
- B-TV: The Collection (1 episode)
- Daily Bible Readings (album)
- Hope in Trying Times (2 episodes)
- Odyssey Adventure Club: Season 1 Soundtrack
- Odyssey Adventure Club: Season 2 Soundtrack
- Odyssey Adventure Club: Season 3 Soundtrack
- Adventures in Odyssey Club: Season 4 Soundtrack
- Adventures in Odyssey Club: Season 5 Soundtrack
- Adventures in Odyssey Club: Season 6 Soundtrack
- The Leonard Meltsner Saga
- The Officer Harley Collection
Jack Allen has appeared on the front cover of the following albums:
Resources
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