Richard J. Allen (born November 13, 1959 in New York, New York, USA) is an American television soap opera writer. He is professor and former chair of the department of Film, Television and Digital Media at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth. Allen is also a playwright whose produced plays include "The Man Who Killed Rock Monnenoff," "Seducing Sally" and "Starbright & Vine." Allen is Jewish. He also published "Parashah Plays"—a collection of children's plays covering every portion of the torah.