Biography of steve allen
Steve Allen
American comedian, actor, and musician (1921–2000)
For other people named Steve Allen, see Steve Allen (disambiguation).
Steve Allen | |
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Allen in 1977 | |
| Born | Stephen Valentine Patrick William Allen (1921-12-26)December 26, 1921 New York City, U.S. |
| Died | October 30, 2000(2000-10-30) (aged 78) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Resting place | Forest Lawn Memorial Park |
| Alma mater | Arizona State Teachers College |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1940–2000 |
| Known for | Co-creator and first host of The Tonight Show |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouses |
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| Children | 4 |
| Website | steveallen.com |
Stephen Valentine Patrick William Allen (December 26, 1921 – October 30, 2000) was an American television and radio personality, comedian, musician, composer, writer, and actor. In 1954, he achieved national fame as the co-creator and first host of The Tonight Show, which was the first late-night television talk show.
Though he got his start in radio, Allen is best known for his extensive network television career. He gained national attention as a guest host on Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts. After he hosted The Tonight Show, he went on to host numerous game and variety shows, including his own The Steve Allen Show, I've Got a Secret, and The New Steve Allen Show. He was a regular panel member on CBS's What's My Line? and, from 1977 until 1981, he wrote, produced, and hosted the award-winning public broadcasting show Meeting of Minds, a series of historical dramas presented in a talk format.
Allen was a pianist and a prolific composer. By his own estimate, he wrote more than 8,500 songs, some of which were recorded by numerous leading singers. Al
Steve Allen (radio presenter)
English radio presenter
For other people named Steve Allen, see Steve Allen (disambiguation).
Stephen Allen (born 17 March 1954) is an English radio presenter. He joined LBC in 1979, initially as a newsreader. He later became the long-serving host of the station's early morning breakfast show until his departure in 2023.
Radio career
Allen first worked as a nightclub disc jockey where he met long-time friend Dale Winton and subsequently joined the United Biscuits Network, a radio station broadcasting to workers in the United Biscuits factories. His voice was heard in Scotland, Liverpool, Manchester and London.
UBN closed in 1979, and Allen joined LBC as presenter of the Night Extra programme. He then moved on to present The Night is Young on the station. When LBC was separated into two stations- 1152 AM and 97.3 FM, Allen presented the afternoon show for 'London Talkback Radio' (later known as LBC London News 1152) and Saturday Night Out. Allen has also worked for Blue Danube Radio in Vienna, a station sponsored by the United Nations.
Allen presented the early breakfast show on LBC between 4am and 7am from Monday to Friday. On 24 February 2023, he announced that he had stepped down from LBC, after presenting his last show on 17 February.
In addition to these shows, Allen pre-recorded another programme for LBC – Steve Allen in Conversation. The final episode of this show was broadcast in spring 2020.
Allen won the Gold Award at the 2016 Arqiva Commercial Radio Awards. In a Radio Times poll that year, he was voted readers' tenth favourite male radio voice.
In 2006 and 2007, he embarked on a live tour visiting theatres around the London area. In 2009 and 2010, Allen continued his sell out 'audience with' stage shows at the Queen's Theatre in Hornchurch and at the Mermaid Theatre in
| The 1980s and '90s were the busiest in the more than 50-year career of Steve Allen, who in 1986 was inducted into the TV Academy's Hall of Fame. In the '50s and '60s, when involved with weekly or nightly TV series, his extraneous activities were necessarily limited. In recent years, as he continued to appear as a guest on network and syndication programs, Allen had more time to write books, star in occasional dramatic shows, play major concerts, legitimate theatres, and nightclubs around the country, compose more songs and record more albums. During the 1980's, Allen starred in two limited prime-time series for NBC -- The Big Show and The Steve Allen Comedy Hour -- produced the fourth season of his Emmy and Peabody award-winning Meeting of Minds for PBS, and garnered critical acclaim for his hosting of the 32nd annual Emmy Awards Show, stepping in at the last minute during an ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike (and contributing his fee to the unions' strike fund). |
In New York, his comedy musical Seymour Glick is Alive But Sick was greeted with critical raves during its run at the St. Regis Hotel. Steve Allen, the affable and articulate comedian and actor best known as the first host of the "Tonight" show, but also the author of over 4,000 songs, died in Los Angeles. According to Reuters, he was visiting his son's house when he suffered an apparent heart attack. He was 78. Noel Coward, visiting the U.S. in the early '50s, and apparently knowing a fellow phenomenon when he saw him, called Mr. Allen "the most talented man in America." He was certainly one of the busiest. He starred in a handful of films, authored over 50 books, and released just as many albums. The multi-talented Mr. Allen penned such songs as "Picnic," "Impossible," "South Rampart Street Parade," "On the Beach" and "Houseboat." His most famous tune, a staple for decades in the cabaret circuit, is "This Could Be the Start of Something Big." Mr. Allen's theatre work included a turn as an actor in The Pink Elephant, a New York City production of 1953. Reviewing his performance, the New York Times said, "Mr. Allen is a young man who has made a reputation for himself as one of television's ad-lib artists. A tall fellow, wearing dark-rimmed glasses, he delivers lines in dead-pan fashion, but he probably would be happier if he could make them up as he went along." As composer, he wrote the music and lyrics to Sophie, a musical based on the life of Sophie Tucker, which opened at the Winter Garden Theatre on April 15, 1963. He also wrote Seymour Glick Is Alive But Sick, a 1982 revue, and a 1985 CBS musical of "Alice in Wonderland." But it was his pioneering television work that made Mr. Allen a household name. He hosted the "Tonight" show on NBC from 1953 to 1955, going on to star in "The Steve Allen Show" (1955-59), also on NBC. As host of the "Tonight" show, he was known to read the daily theatre reviews on the air. Stephen Valentine Allen was born Dec. 26, 1921, in New York City. His parents, Carroll Allen and Isabelle Donohue Allen, were both vaudevillians. Dad went under the stage n
Throughout '80s and '90s, Allen turned out 28 new books bringing his total to 54 published works. Click here for new titles during this period.
The multi-talented comedian, writer, composer, lyricist, actor, concert artist, lecturer (ad infinitum) was a tall (6'3"), 200-pound man, married for more than 46 years to the beautiful and versatile actress Jayne Meadows. They lived for more than 40 years in a comfortable hillside home overlooking the San Fernando Valley. Frequent visitors were their son, Bill, President of Meadowlane Music and Meadowlane Enterprises and former president of MTM Television in Hollywood, and Steve's three sons by his first marriage: Steve Jr., a do