Robert "Tex" Allen (also credited as Bob Allen) was a leading actor in both feature films and B-movie westerns between 1935 and 1944.

Born as Irvine E. Theodore Baehr on March 28 1906 in Mount Vernon, New York, Allen went on to graduate from the New York Military Academy in 1924, where he rode in the academy cavalry and from Dartmouth College in 1929 with a degree in English. He worked for a bank which soon failed in the Great Depression. He flew briefly as a commercial pilot before signing a standard acting contract with Paramount Pictures, in 1929. He appeared in the famous Marx Brothers movie Animal Crackers and several other small parts. Then, he sign with Columbia Pictures in 1935. He also later contracted with 20th Century Fox.

Allen's first notable role was the male lead in Love Me Forever (1935), for which he won a Box Office Award. He gained additional notice as the star of When You're in Love (1936), opposite Grace Moore. The same year, he was nominated for an Academy Award for his performance in the title role in the film The Life of Lafayette.

After the departure of cowboy star Ken Maynard, Allen was plugged into producer Larry Darmour's formulaic Ranger pictures. Along with sidekick Wally Wales (played by Hal Taliaferro), he redefined the role, starring in six films for director Spencer Gordon Bennet in that year alone. These films became known as the Bob Allen Ranger series. However, the studio was looking for a singing cowboy to compete with Gene Autry and Allen was eventually replaced by Roy Rogers. He appeared in two dozen films after that, however.

He had acted on Broadway in the original productions of Show Boat and Kiss Them for Me. In 1956 he appeared in the original production of Auntie Mame, opposite Rosalind Russell, and later Greer Garson. He appeared in other Broadway plays, in touring productions, in soap operas, documentaries and commercials. He became a real estate broker in 1964.

As a young man Robert Allen, born Irvine E. Theodore Baehr, learned about horses: he played polo, hunted fox, and rode in the cavalry of of New York Military School, graduating there in 1924. After graduating Dartmouth College in 1929 with a degree in English he worked for a bank which failed in the Depression. Then he flew as a commercial pilot, but that company also folded. His next stop was Hollywood where he quickly landed acting jobs. While he often was cast in the studio's more adult-targeted productions such as Awful Truth, The (1937), studio boss Harry Cohn (I) was seeking a suitable replacement for the troublesome (yet wildly popular) Ken Maynard in their more modestly budgeted western unit. Allen's place in film history came in the a half dozen "Bob Allen, Ranger" movies produced in 1936 and 1937. Allen became good friends with his frequent co-star (and sometime movie bad guy), Wally Wales and enjoyed a good working relationship with co-star Tim McCoy (I). He couldn't sing or play guitar, so when Columbia decided to challenge Gene Autry (I) they went with a new cowboy star, Roy Rogers (I), and Allen's western career was over. He appeared more than 40 movies and made numerous TV appearances, but he turned primarily to Broadway and Off Broadway for the rest of his acting life. He filled major parts in "Show Boat" and "Kiss Them for Me" and played the nasty Mr. Babcock in "Auntie Mame," playing the part with both Rosalind Russell and Greer Garson. In 1964 he became a real estate broker. He died at age 92 in 1998, survived by daughter Katherine Meyer and son Dr. Theodore Baehr.