Allison Argo

Allison Argo, born December 23, 1953, in Richmond, Virginia, is an American actress, film producer, director, writer, editor, and narrator whose career has spanned stage, television, and documentary filmmaking. Raised on Cape Cod, she was one of two daughters of Gordon Harold Argo and Elizabeth "Betsy" Argo, both actors, who owned and operated the Orleans Arena Theater in Orleans, Massachusetts — identified as America's first summer stock theater-in-the-round. Growing up in that environment gave Argo an early foundation in theater and performance.

Argo began her professional career as a stage actress in New York. In 1976, she appeared on Broadway as an original cast member in the revival of Henrik Ibsen's The Lady from the Sea and Tennessee Williams' The Night of the Iguana, the latter running into 1977. She also appeared in the musical Grease. Her television work included a leading role on the CBS series Ladies Man, appearances on WKRP in Cincinnati, recurring roles on the soap operas Search for Tomorrow and The Bold and the Beautiful, and credits across ten television movies and pilots. She additionally voiced the character Andrea in the Cathy animated television specials.

In 1989, while on location in the state of Washington, Argo encountered a gorilla named Ivan, who was housed in an enclosure of two concrete rooms inside a shopping mall. That experience prompted her to form her production company, ArgoFilms, LTD, and to produce and direct her first film, The Urban Gorilla, released by National Geographic in 1992. The film examined the lives of captive gorillas, received two Emmy nominations, and earned Argo the duPont-Columbia Award for journalism.

Through ArgoFilms, Argo has produced eighteen documentaries for National Geographic, PBS, and the PBS NATURE series, having served as producer, director, or writer on each. Glenn Close narrated the company's first two films, after which Argo took on narrating duties herself. Among the notable titles produced are Keepers of the Wild (National Geographic and PBS, 1992), The Last Frog (National Geographic, 1996), The Secret Life of Cats (National Geographic, 1999), The Urban Elephant (National Geographic and PBS NATURE, 2000), Chimpanzees: An Unnatural History (PBS NATURE, 2006), Crash: A Tale of Two Species (PBS NATURE, 2008), Parrot Confidential (PBS NATURE, 2013), and The Last Pig (2017).

The body of work produced by ArgoFilms has accumulated twelve Emmy nominations, resulting in six Emmy wins across multiple categories, including two awards for directing. The company has also received four Genesis Awards, most recently in 2014 for Parrot Confidential, and has been recognized by the Missoula, Jackson Hole, and Japan Wildlife Film Festivals. The stated mission of ArgoFilms is to foster compassion for animals and to advocate for wildlife through documentary film.