Steve Allen

Stephen Valentine Patrick William Allen (December 26, 1921 - October 30, 2000) was a musician, comedian and writer, who was instrumental in innovating the concept of the television talk show.

After years in radio, Allen became the original host of The Tonight Show, from its first New York broadcast in 1953, up until 1957, when he was replaced by Jack Paar. It was as host of the Tonight Show that Allen pioneered the "man on the street" and audience-participation comedy bits that have become commonplace in late-night TV.

Allen went on to host a slew of television programs up until the 1980s, including the game show I've Got a Secret and The New Steve Allen Show in 1961. He was a regular on the extremely popular panel game show What's My Line?

Allen was also a composer who supposedly wrote over 7000 songs. In one famous stunt, Allen wrote 400 simple tunes in a single day. Allen's best known songs are "This Could Be The Start of Something Big" and "The Gravy Waltz", which won a Grammy Award in 1963 for best jazz composition. Allen was also an actor, appearing in such films as 1955's The Benny Goodman Story.

Allen was also an accomplished comedy writer, and author of over 50 books, including Dumbth, a commentary on the American educational system, and Steve Allen on the Bible, Religion, and Morality. Allen was a secular humanist and Humanist Laureate for the Academy of Humanism, a member of CSICOP and the Council for Secular Humanism. Allen was also the producer of the award-winning PBS series Meeting of Minds, a "talk show" with notable historical figures, with Steve Allen serving as host. This series pitted Socrates, Marie Antoinette, Thomas Paine, Sir Thomas More, Attila the Hun, Karl Marx, Emily Dickinson, Charles Darwin, Galileo Galilei, and other historical figures in dialogue and argument. A proposed revival of this show was rejected as "too cerebral".

In spite of his liberal position on free speech, his later concerns about the smuttiness he observed on television caused him to make proposals restricting the content of programs.

Allen died of heart failure. He is interred in the Forest Lawn, Hollywood Hills Cemetery in Los Angeles, California.

Steve Allen has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame: a TV star at 1720 Vine St. and a radio star at 1537 Vine St.

Shows

  • Songs for Sale (1950- 1952)
  • The Steve Allen Show (1950)
  • The Tonight Show (1954 - 1956, NBC)
  • The Steve Allen Show
  • Talent Patrol (1953 - 1955)
  • What's My Line (1953 - 1954)
  • I've Got a Secret (1964 -1967)
  • Meeting of Minds (1977 - 1981, PBS)
  • Steve Allen Comedy Hour (1980 - 1981)
  • The Start of Something Big (1985 - 1986)

Songs include:

  • "This Could Be the Start of Something Big"
  • "The Gravy Waltz"

Books

  • Bop Fables (1955)
  • Fourteen for Tonight (1955)
    • Short story collection
  • The Funny Men (1956)
  • Wry on the Rocks (1956)
    • Poetry
  • The Girls on the Tenth Floor and Other Stories (1958)
    • 1970 printing: ISBN 0836936086
  • The Question Man... (1959)
  • Mark It and Strike It: An Autobiography (1960)
  • Not All of Your Laughter, Not All of Your Tears (1962)
  • Dialogues in Americanism (1964)
    • with L. Brent Bozell, William F. Buckley, Jr., Robert M. Hutchins, James MacGregor Burns, and Willmoore Kendall
  • Letter to a Conservative (1965)
  • The Ground is Our Table (1966)
  • Bigger Than A Breadbox (1967)
  • The Flash of Swallows (1969)
  • The Wake (1972)
    • ISBN 0385076088
  • Princess Snip-Snip and the Puppy-Kittens (1973)
  • Curses! or...How Never to Be Foiled Again (1973)
    • ISBN 0874770084
  • What To Say When It Rains (1974)
    • ISBN 0843103574
  • Schmock-Schmock! (1975)
    • ISBN 038509664X
  • Meeting of Minds (1978)
    • ISBN 0517533839
    • 1989 printing: ISBN 0879755504
  • Chopped-Up Chinese (1978)
  • Ripoff: A Look at Corruption in America (1979)
    • With Roslyn Bernstein and Donald H. Dunn
    • ISBN 0818402490
  • Meeting of Minds, Second Series (1979)
    • ISBN 0517538946
    • 1989 printing: ISBN 0879755652
  • Explaining China (1980)
    • ISBN 0517540622
  • Funny People (1981)
    • ISBN 0812827643
  • Beloved Son: A Story of the Jesus Cults (1982)
    • ISBN 0672526786
  • More Funny People (1982)
    • ISBN 0812828844
  • How to Make a Speech (1986)
    • ISBN 0070011648
  • How to Be Funny: Discovering the Comic You (1987)
    • With Jane Wollman
    • ISBN 0070011990
    • 1992 printing: ISBN 0879757922
    • 1998 revised edition: ISBN 1573922064
  • The Passionate Nonsmoker's Bill of Rights: The First Guide to Enacting Nonsmoking Legislation (1989)
    • With Bill Adler, Jr.
    • ISBN 0688062954
  • "Dumbth": And 81 Ways to Make Americans Smarter (1989)
    • ISBN 0879755393
    • 1998 revised edition: ISBN 1573922374
  • Meeting of Minds, Vol. III (1989)
    • ISBN 0879755660
  • Meeting of Minds, Vol. IV (1989)
    • ISBN 0879755679
  • The Public Hating: A Collection of Short Stories (1990)
    • ISBN 0942637224
  • Steve Allen on the Bible, Religion & Morality (1990)
    • ISBN 0879756381
  • Hi-Ho, Steverino: The Story of My Adventures in the Wonderful Wacky World of Television (1992)
    • ISBN 0942637550
    • large-print edition: ISBN 1560545216
  • More Steve Allen on the Bible, Religion & Morality (1993)
    • ISBN 0879757361
  • Make 'em Laugh (1993)
    • ISBN 0879758376
  • Reflections (1994)
    • ISBN 0879759046
  • The Man Who Turned Back the Clock, and Other Short Stories (1995)
    • ISBN 1573920029
  • The Bug and the Slug in the Rug (1995)
    • ISBN 1880851172
  • But Seriously...: Steve Allen Speaks His Mind (1996)
    • ISBN 1573920908
  • Steve Allen's Songs: 100 Lyrics with Commentary (1999)
    • ISBN 0786407360
  • Steve Allen's Private Joke File (2000)
    • ISBN 0609806726
  • Vulgarians at the Gate: Trash TV and Raunch Radio--Raising the Standards of Popular Culture (2001)
    • ISBN 1573928747

Allen's series of mystery novels "starring" himself and wife Jayne Meadows was actually ghostwritten by Walter J. Sheldon, and later Robert Westbrook)

  • Murder in Manhattan (1990)
    • ISBN 0821730339
  • Murder in Vegas (1991)
    • ISBN 0821734628
  • The Murder Game (1993)
    • ISBN 0821741152
  • Murder on the Atlantic (1995)
    • ISBN 0821746472
  • Murder on the Glitter Box (1989)
    • ISBN 0821727524
  • The Talk Show Murders (1982)
    • ISBN 0440084717
  • Wake Up to Murder (1996)
    • ISBN 1575660903
  • Die Laughing (1998)
    • ISBN 1575662418
  • Murder in Hawaii (1999)
    • ISBN 1575663759

Quote

"How many humanists does it take to screw in a lightbulb? Ten: one to screw in the lightbulb and nine to fight for the right to do so!"



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. and the live theatre star is located on 7000 Hollywood Blvd. "How many humanists does it take to screw in a lightbulb? Ten: one to screw in the lightbulb and nine to fight for the right to do so!". He is also the only person to date to receive stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for contributions in all five possible categories: the motion picture star is located on 6644 Hollywood Blvd., the radio star is located on 6520 Hollywood Blvd., the recording star is located on 6384 Hollywood Blvd., the TV star is located on 6667 Hollywood Blvd. Sheldon, and later Robert Westbrook). He was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 2003. Allen's series of mystery novels "starring" himself and wife Jayne Meadows was actually ghostwritten by Walter J. Gene Autry died of lymphoma at age 91 at his home in Los Angeles, and is interred in the Forest Lawn, Hollywood Hills Cemetery in Los Angeles, California.

and a radio star at 1537 Vine St. Included for many years on Forbes magazine's list of the 400 richest Americans, he slipped to their "near miss" category in 1995 with an estimated net worth of $320 million. Steve Allen has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame: a TV star at 1720 Vine St. In 1988 he opened the Gene Autry Western Heritage Museum (now called the Museum of the American West) in Griffith Park, Los Angeles, featuring much of his collection of Western art and memorabilia. He is interred in the Forest Lawn, Hollywood Hills Cemetery in Los Angeles, California. His autobiography was published in 1976, co-written by Mickey Herskowitz; it was titled Back in the Saddle Again after his 1939 hit and signature tune. Allen died of heart failure. He married Jacqueline Ellam in 1981.

In spite of his liberal position on free speech, his later concerns about the smuttiness he observed on television caused him to make proposals restricting the content of programs. 1980), who was the niece of Jimmy Long. A proposed revival of this show was rejected as "too cerebral". In 1932 he married Ina May Spivey (d. This series pitted Socrates, Marie Antoinette, Thomas Paine, Sir Thomas More, Attila the Hun, Karl Marx, Emily Dickinson, Charles Darwin, Galileo Galilei, and other historical figures in dialogue and argument. In 1995 he sold a quarter share of the team to The Walt Disney Company, and a controlling interest the following year, with the remaining share to be transferred after his death. Allen was also the producer of the award-winning PBS series Meeting of Minds, a "talk show" with notable historical figures, with Steve Allen serving as host. The team, initially called the Los Angeles Angels upon its 1961 debut, moved to suburban Anaheim in 1966 and became known as the California Angels, then the Anaheim Angels from 1997.

Allen was a secular humanist and Humanist Laureate for the Academy of Humanism, a member of CSICOP and the Council for Secular Humanism. In 1960, when Major League Baseball announced plans to add an expansion team in Los Angeles, Autry – who had once declined an opportunity to play in the minor leagues – expressed an interest in acquiring the radio broadcast rights to the team's games; baseball executives were so impressed by his approach that he was persuaded to become the owner of the franchise rather than simply its broadcast partner. Allen was also an accomplished comedy writer, and author of over 50 books, including Dumbth, a commentary on the American educational system, and Steve Allen on the Bible, Religion, and Morality. Post-retirement he invested widely in real estate, radio and television; in 1982 he sold television station KTLA (Los Angeles) for $245 million. Allen was also an actor, appearing in such films as 1955's The Benny Goodman Story. He was elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1969. Allen's best known songs are "This Could Be The Start of Something Big" and "The Gravy Waltz", which won a Grammy Award in 1963 for best jazz composition. He retired from show business in 1964, having made almost a hundred films up to 1955 and over 600 records.

In one famous stunt, Allen wrote 400 simple tunes in a single day. He also starred and produced his own television show on CBS from 1950. Allen was also a composer who supposedly wrote over 7000 songs. He briefly returned to Republic after the war before moving to Columbia in 1947. He was a regular on the extremely popular panel game show What's My Line?. From 1940 to 1956, Autry also had a weekly radio show on CBS, Gene Autry's Melody Ranch. Another money-spinner was his Gene Autry Flying "A" Ranch Rodeo show which first aired in 1940. Allen went on to host a slew of television programs up until the 1980s, including the game show I've Got a Secret and The New Steve Allen Show in 1961. He was the first of the singing cowboys, succeeded as the top star by Roy Rogers when Autry served as a flier with the Air Transport command during World War II.

It was as host of the Tonight Show that Allen pioneered the "man on the street" and audience-participation comedy bits that have become commonplace in late-night TV. He became the top Western star at the box-office by 1937, reaching his national peak of popularity from 1940 to 1942. After years in radio, Allen became the original host of The Tonight Show, from its first New York broadcast in 1953, up until 1957, when he was replaced by Jack Paar. He went on to make a further 44 films up to 1940, all B westerns in which he played under his own name, rode his horse Champion and had many opportunities to sing. Stephen Valentine Patrick William Allen (December 26, 1921 - October 30, 2000) was a musician, comedian and writer, who was instrumental in innovating the concept of the television talk show. In 1934 he made his film debut for Republic Pictures in In Old Santa Fe; his first name role came in 1935 in the 13-part The Phantom Empire. ISBN 1575663759. His first hit was in 1932 with "That Silver-Haired Daddy of Mine", a duet with fellow railroad man Jimmy Long.

Murder in Hawaii (1999)

    . He signed a recording deal with Columbia Records in 1931, and worked at NBC's WLS National Barn Dance in Chicago for four years with his own show. ISBN 1575662418. After an encouraging chance encounter with Will Rogers, he began performing on local radio in 1928 as Oklahoma's Yodeling Cowboy. Die Laughing (1998)
      . An amateur talent with the guitar and voice led to his performing at local dances. ISBN 1575660903. Louis and San Francisco Railroad.

      Wake Up to Murder (1996)

        . After leaving high school in 1925, Autry worked as a telegrapher for the St. ISBN 0440084717. Born as Orvon Gene Autry in Tioga, Texas, his family moved to Ravia, Oklahoma in the 1920s. The Talk Show Murders (1982)
          . Gene Autry (September 29, 1907 - October 2, 1998) was an American performer who gained fame as The Singing Cowboy on the radio, in movies and on television. ISBN 0821727524. "Frosty the Snow Man" (1950).

          Murder on the Glitter Box (1989)

            . "Peter Cottontail" (1950). ISBN 0821746472. "Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer" (1949). Murder on the Atlantic (1995)
              . "Here Comes Santa Claus" (1947). ISBN 0821741152. "Be Honest With Me".

              The Murder Game (1993)

                . "Back in the Saddle Again" (1939). ISBN 0821734628. "South of the Border (Down Mexico Way)". Murder in Vegas (1991)
                  . "Gold Mine in the Sky". ISBN 0821730339. "Take Me Back to My Boots and Saddle".

                  Murder in Manhattan (1990)

                    . "Mexicali Rose". ISBN 1573928747. "Tumbling Tumbleweeds". Vulgarians at the Gate: Trash TV and Raunch Radio--Raising the Standards of Popular Culture (2001)
                      . "Cowboy’s Heaven". ISBN 0609806726. "The Last Roundup".

                      Steve Allen's Private Joke File (2000)

                        . "That Silver-Haired Daddy of Mine". ISBN 0786407360. Steve Allen's Songs: 100 Lyrics with Commentary (1999)
                          . ISBN 1573920908.

                          But Seriously...: Steve Allen Speaks His Mind (1996)

                            . ISBN 1880851172. The Bug and the Slug in the Rug (1995)
                              . ISBN 1573920029.

                              The Man Who Turned Back the Clock, and Other Short Stories (1995)

                                . ISBN 0879759046. Reflections (1994)
                                  . ISBN 0879758376.

                                  Make 'em Laugh (1993)

                                    . ISBN 0879757361. More Steve Allen on the Bible, Religion & Morality (1993)
                                      . large-print edition: ISBN 1560545216.

                                      ISBN 0942637550. Hi-Ho, Steverino: The Story of My Adventures in the Wonderful Wacky World of Television (1992)

                                        . ISBN 0879756381. Steve Allen on the Bible, Religion & Morality (1990)
                                          .

                                          ISBN 0942637224. The Public Hating: A Collection of Short Stories (1990)

                                            . ISBN 0879755679. IV (1989)
                                              .

                                              Meeting of Minds, Vol. ISBN 0879755660. III (1989)

                                                . Meeting of Minds, Vol.

                                                1998 revised edition: ISBN 1573922374. ISBN 0879755393. "Dumbth": And 81 Ways to Make Americans Smarter (1989)

                                                  . ISBN 0688062954.

                                                  With Bill Adler, Jr. The Passionate Nonsmoker's Bill of Rights: The First Guide to Enacting Nonsmoking Legislation (1989)

                                                    . 1998 revised edition: ISBN 1573922064. 1992 printing: ISBN 0879757922.

                                                    ISBN 0070011990. With Jane Wollman. How to Be Funny: Discovering the Comic You (1987)

                                                      . ISBN 0070011648.

                                                      How to Make a Speech (1986)

                                                        . ISBN 0812828844. More Funny People (1982)
                                                          . ISBN 0672526786.

                                                          Beloved Son: A Story of the Jesus Cults (1982)

                                                            . ISBN 0812827643. Funny People (1981)
                                                              . ISBN 0517540622.

                                                              Explaining China (1980)

                                                                . 1989 printing: ISBN 0879755652. ISBN 0517538946. Meeting of Minds, Second Series (1979)
                                                                  .

                                                                  ISBN 0818402490. Dunn. With Roslyn Bernstein and Donald H. Ripoff: A Look at Corruption in America (1979)

                                                                    .

                                                                    Chopped-Up Chinese (1978). 1989 printing: ISBN 0879755504. ISBN 0517533839. Meeting of Minds (1978)

                                                                      .

                                                                      ISBN 038509664X. Schmock-Schmock! (1975)

                                                                        . ISBN 0843103574. What To Say When It Rains (1974)
                                                                          .

                                                                          ISBN 0874770084. Curses! or...How Never to Be Foiled Again (1973)

                                                                            . Princess Snip-Snip and the Puppy-Kittens (1973). ISBN 0385076088.

                                                                            The Wake (1972)

                                                                              . The Flash of Swallows (1969). Bigger Than A Breadbox (1967). The Ground is Our Table (1966).

                                                                              Letter to a Conservative (1965). Hutchins, James MacGregor Burns, and Willmoore Kendall. Buckley, Jr., Robert M. Brent Bozell, William F.

                                                                              with L. Dialogues in Americanism (1964)

                                                                                . Not All of Your Laughter, Not All of Your Tears (1962). Mark It and Strike It: An Autobiography (1960).

                                                                                The Question Man... (1959). 1970 printing: ISBN 0836936086. The Girls on the Tenth Floor and Other Stories (1958)

                                                                                  . Poetry.

                                                                                  Wry on the Rocks (1956)

                                                                                    . The Funny Men (1956). Short story collection. Fourteen for Tonight (1955)
                                                                                      .

                                                                                      Bop Fables (1955). "The Gravy Waltz". "This Could Be the Start of Something Big". The Start of Something Big (1985 - 1986).

                                                                                      Steve Allen Comedy Hour (1980 - 1981). Meeting of Minds (1977 - 1981, PBS). I've Got a Secret (1964 -1967). What's My Line (1953 - 1954).

                                                                                      Talent Patrol (1953 - 1955). The Steve Allen Show. The Tonight Show (1954 - 1956, NBC). The Steve Allen Show (1950).

                                                                                      Songs for Sale (1950- 1952).