James H. Allen (May 15, 1928 – July 28, 2015) was an American actor who portrayed the clown character Rusty Nails and was the host of various children's television shows in the Portland, Oregon television market from 1957–1972. His program on KPTV was the second-longest running children's program in Portland, second only to Ramblin' Rod Anders.[1]
In 2003, The Simpsons creator Matt Groening credited Rusty Nails as the inspiration for Simpsons character Krusty the Clown.[2][3]
He hosted shows on KOIN, KPTV, and KATU as Rusty Nails. In 1998 he wrote an autobiographical book called Send in the clowns.[4]
Among Allen's guest stars was American voice actor Mel Blanc, a personal friend of Allen's and fellow Portland native.[5] On the show, Blanc would demonstrate his various voice acted characters; these included Looney Tunes characters such as Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Tweety, Sylvester, Yosemite Sam, Foghorn Leghorn, and the Tasmanian Devil.[5]
Allen died on July 28, 2015, of congestive heart failure at the age of 87, after a month of hospice care in Portland.[6]
In a 2003 interview, Matt Groening credited Rusty Nails as the inspiration behind Simpsons character Krusty the Clown, a corrupt and cynical TV clown.[2][3] Groening described Allen as "a very nice guy and a very sweet clown", but he found his stage name "incredibly disturbing as a child because, you know, you're supposed to avoid rusty nails."[3]
