Steve Allen appreciation thread.

[benburch]

It is my contention that Steve Allen was one of the most brilliant talents of the 20th century.

Not only was he smart, witty, and leaned, but he was creative and innovative.

His "Meeting of minds" series introduced many to the concepts of great thinkers from history.

His comedy was always fresh.

His defense of free speech was second to none.

Who else feels this way about him?

Article about him at; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Allen

[Jim Sagle]

1. I sure do.

[NYCGirl]

2. I love Steve Allen. He had both Lenny Bruce and Jack Kerouac on his TV

show. A remarkable man, Allen was one of the first people to undergo experiments with LSD — UCLA chose him because his IQ was among the top 5% in the US.

[eleny]

3. I love his humor

He was the kind of guy that didn't react to humor by saying "that's funny". He laughed his ass off with us.

I liked his show Meeting of Minds. But his tonight show hung the moon. Shmock! Shmock!

[NYCGirl]

7. OMG! Someone who remembers Shmock! Shmock!

I loved his Westinghouse show (the one he did in the theater across from the Hollywood Ranch Market). I still remember when his crew acted out "The Longest Day" in the market using vegetables as hand grenades, or when they made Allen "the world's largest tea bag" and dumped him into a vat of water and lemon slices.

[eleny]

15. And then the goofing on the people in the street - One of my faves

Steverino invented a lot of shticks.

Edit: Remember how he always talked about the little black dots that always appeared in his orange juice? So he had four little black dots tattooed on the heel of one of is feet. Talk about Steve Allen trivia!

[NYCGirl]

17. No one else could just point a camera out on the street for 20 minutes and

make it so entertaining!

I had no idea about the tattoo — but I do remember him talking about "little black things."

I used to love when he'd invite someone up from the audience to pick three notes on the piano, then he'd ask what musical style they liked, and he'd write a song.

[eleny]

19. Thanks for jogging my memory about the three notes thing!

[peacetalksforall]

4. I agree. I would love to see his Meeting of the Minds shows again. n/t.

[vireo]

21. I was just thinking of that the other day

Having the founding fathers and other past greats respond to our current state of affairs might be a real eye opener to some.

I also remember him reading letters to the editor. He would deliver them with the appropriate passion and then have an ironic signature.

He brought a level of wit and culture which is sadly lacking in television today.

[BrklynLiberal]

5. He was also a great musician.

I put him in that same comedic genius category as Ernie Kovacs.

EDIT:
Ernie Kovacs, I just found out after reading the Wikipedia site about Steve Allen, was one of his protoges.

[NYCGirl]

8. Steve Allen, Ernie Kovacs and Lenny Bruce were my earliest influences.

Now you know exactly how weird I am.
:evilgrin:

[BrklynLiberal]

9. Sounds good to me.

B-)

[eleny]

16. And find some Lord Buckley audio if you haven't already

He was a big influence on Lenny Bruce . But you probably already know about him.
http://www.lordbuckley.com/

[NYCGirl]

22. Indeed I do know him.

:thumbsup:

[Southsideirish]

6. Very creative and brilliant. He was from the south side of Chicago, too.

Just sayin'.

[American Tragedy]

10. I'm afraid I'm far, far too young to remember the TV show personally

but I do recall his appearance on Space Ghost quite fondly. :)

[Contrary1]

11. I miss him.

Was, and is still, my all-time favorite comedian. I loved it when
Steve would pull a name out of the phone book, and punk
them on live TV.

And, yes, brilliant is the correct word to use. There will never
be another Steve Allen. What a shame.

[kskiska]

12. His son was in a religious cult for 11 years

He wrote a book about it – Beloved Son: A Story of the Jesus Cults.

I remember Steve from way back in the 50s. He was hilarious. He would show live shots of people in the street and would comment on their demeanor or whatever. He was also the first, I believe, to telephone people on the air.

He was a brilliant guy, but in later years it seems he was overly cognizant of that fact.

[Hubert Flottz]

13. I remember never missing the Steve Allen show.

It was the Saturday Night Live of the 50s. Even to a very young lad like myself, back then, it was about the greatest show on Earth. I'd love to see the reruns. The skits were GREAT and the music was pretty fine too!

[Mikimouse]

14. Heh! FROGMAN...n/t

[smomfr]

18. A class act all the way. SHMOCK SCHOCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[cmkramer]

20. Joe Lieberman

Oddly enough, he was a big Joe Lieberman supporter. He always described himself as a "Joe Lieberman Democrat" in later years. I know he was also very critical of the amount of gratuitous sex and violence in the media but he was equally as critical of what he considered the "dumbing down" of the culture too.

I still remember that great show he did which was kind of a "McLaughlin Group" featuring various actors -- most notably his wife Jayne Meadows -- playing historical characters discussing the issues of the day.

[no_hypocrisy]

23. I saw him live in 1999 in Nyack, New York in a small theater.

He was still lively and witty. He asked anyone in the audience before the show to write down a question for him if they wanted to. I was very honored that my card was one of the few chosen (I asked what was his definition of "tact" was). He came with a small jazz band and performed some songs he had composed. All in all, it was a very memorable evening.

[vireo]

24. Anyone else remember this show?

The Unofficial Miss Las Vegas Showgirl Beauty Queen Pageant (1974-79): A hilarious annual ABC-TV spoof of the beauty extravaganzas that almost defy spoofing. The first show, aired in 1974, was hailed by Johnny Carson as "the funniest show of the year."

I have to agree with Carson on that! :rofl:

http://www.steveallen.com/television_pioneer/steve_allen_shows.htm

[AnnInLa]

25. Hubby and I saw him and wife on a cruise

I couldn't help but think he had "come down" a bit to be playing a cruise, but enjoyed him anyway. He and wife ate dinner at next table one night, and I thought his rug was the worst I had seen, but Jayne was absolutely beautiful. Was it his show that gave Don Knotts his start? The nervous guy?

[vireo]

26. Yes

Also Louis Nye and other comic character actors.

[graywarrior]

27. I used to love it when he'd take the outline of a skyline of a city

place it on a musical scale and write a song to it.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

28. He sat down and got hammered on his show.

Classic.

[niyad]

29. thank you for reminding us of one truly superb and brilliant person. I do

not remember much about his television shows (was a bit young then) but saw clips in later years --he was amazing.