Corey Allen earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts from UCLA in Theatre in 1954. While there, he received the department's Best Actor award and starred in the UCLA film, "A Time Out of War", which won the Academy Award & Cannes & Venice Film Festival for Best Short Film. Upon graduation, he appeared in approximately twenty plays in the Los Angeles area. Director Nicholas Ray spotted Allen and subsequently chose him for the role of "Buzz" in Rebel Without a Cause (1955). This led to featured roles in another dozen films such as Private Property (1960), Party Girl (1958), Darby's Rangers (1958) and The Chapman Report (1962). Allen also appeared in many leading television series including Perry Mason (1957) and Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955). Meanwhile, he created, directed for and co-produced the Freeway Circuit Theatre which toured the Southwest for six seasons. Allen also directed numerous Equity productions in Los Angeles theatres. This led to a thirty year directorial career in television and film during which he directed three movies including Avalanche; television movies including the Emmy winning The Ann Jillian Story (1988); created a dozen pilots for television series including Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987), Murder, She Wrote (1984), Simon & Simon (1981), Code Name: Foxfire (1985), Stone (1979) and Capitol (1982). He has earned two Directors Guild nominations for Best Direction in a television series, the Award for Cable Excellence for Best Direction of The Paper Chase (1978) and received an Emmy for Best Direction of a Hill Street Blues (1981). Throughout this career, Allen instructed acting, including three years at the Actors Workshop, and for the last nine years, conducted cold reading workshops at the Margie Haber Studio. Allen was presented with an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Columbia College-Hollywood for his work in helping to create their acting and directing curricula.

Filmography

• 2023Departure — Camera Operator
• 2005The Works — Mr. M
• The Cosby Mysteries — Director
• 1994The Hero — Director
• 1993Moment of Truth: Stalking Back — Director
• Star Trek: Deep Space Nine — Director
• FBI: The Untold Stories — Director
• The New Lassie — Director
• Unsub — Director
• Sonny Spoon — Director
• Supercarrier — Director
• 1988The Ann Jillian Story — Director
• 1987Destination: America — Director
• 1987Infiltrator — Director
• J.J. Starbuck — Director
• Spies — Director
• Star Trek: The Next Generation — Director
• 1987The Last Fling — Director
• 1986I-Man — Director
• 1985Beverly Hills Cowgirl Blues — Director
• 1985Brass — Director
• 1985Code Name: Foxfire — Director
• Otherworld — Director
• Hunter — Director
• Jessie — Director
• Legmen — Director
• Murder, She Wrote — Director
• 1983Lost — Co-Producer
• Scarecrow and Mrs. King — Director
• Whiz Kids — Director
• Chicago Story — Director
• Matt Houston — Director
• T. J. Hooker — Director
• The Powers of Matthew Star — Director
• Tucker's Witch — Director
• Hill Street Blues — Director
• McClain's Law — Director
• Simon & Simon — Director
• Magnum, P.I. — Director
• Stone — Director
• 1980The Return of Frank Cannon — Director
• 1979Stone — Director
• 1979The Man in the Santa Claus Suit — Director
• The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo — Director
• Trapper John, M.D. — Director
• 1978Avalanche — Director, Screenplay
• Dallas — Director
• The Paper Chase — Director
• Lou Grant — Director
• Lucan — Director
• 1977Thunder and Lightning — Director
• 1977Yesterday's Child — Director
• Quincy, M.E. — Director
• Bronk — Director
• Kate McShane — Director
• Movin' On — Director
• Police Woman — Director
• The Rockford Files — Director
• Barnaby Jones — Director
• 1973Cry Rape — Director
• Police Story — Director
• 1973See the Man Run — Director
• The Streets of San Francisco — Director
• Cannon — Director
• 1971Pinocchio — Screenplay, Director
• Matt Lincoln — Director
• Hawaii Five-O — Director
• My Friend Tony
• The New People — Director
• Then Came Bronson — Director
• Ironside — Director
• Mannix — Director
• The High Chaparral — Director
• The Loner
• The Dakotas
• Combat! — Pvt. Garrett
• 1962Sweet Bird of Youth — Scotty
• 1962The Chapman Report — Walsh Dillon
• 87th Precinct
• Dr. Kildare — Jerome Pine, Dr. Harris
• 1960Key Witness — Magician
• 1960Private Property — Duke
• Hawaiian Eye
• Lock-Up
• Men Into Space
• The Rebel — Yancey Daggett
• Behind Closed Doors
• Bronco — Judd Gander
• 1958Darby's Rangers — Tony Sutherland
• 1958Juvenile Jungle — Hal McQueen
• Lawman — RobertLord
• 1958Party Girl — Cookie La Motte
• Sea Hunt
• Have Gun, Will Travel
• Perry Mason — Rennie Foster, Lester Menke
• 1957The Big Caper — Roy
• 1957The Shadow on the Window — Gil Ramsey
• Trackdown
• State Trooper
• Telephone Time — Phil Samenian
• West Point
• Alfred Hitchcock Presents — Gil Dalliford
• Gunsmoke — Ben Tennis
• 1955Rebel Without a Cause — Buzz Gunderson
• The Millionaire — Dan Marshall
• 1954A Time Out of War — Connor
• 1954The Bridges at Toko-Ri — Enlisted Man
• 1954The Mad Magician — Gus a Stagehand (uncredited)
• Letter to Loretta — Calvin
• Dragnet
• Studio One — Eddie Gilmer, Frankie

Appearances as themselves (7)

• 2006The Real James Dean — Self
• 2005James Dean: Forever Young — Self (archive footage)
• 2005James Dean: Sense Memories — Self
• 1996Rediscovering a Rebel — Self - 'Buzz' (archive footage)
• 1995James Dean: A Portrait — Self
• 1988Forever James Dean — Self
• 1975James Dean: The First American Teenager — Self