Steve Allen

American actor in film and TV, comedian, singer, master of ceremonies, host and writer of fiction (49 books), poetry, humor, mystery and scripts. He also put out 40 record albums, wrote 7,000 songs and did at least eight TV series, several movies, countless lectures and many concerts. A prestigious and prolific talent, Allen was a creative commentator and espouser of charitable and humanitarian causes. A television legend, he began his career on radio in Phoenix, AZ. He created, and was the first host of, "The Tonight Show," which first aired in 1954. He stayed with it until 1957. "The Steve Allen Show" began the prior year, putting him on TV with two shows for a time. He was the son of entertainers, growing up in Chicago with his mother's family after he was one, when his dad died. The whole family thought he was funny by the time he was four, and all were endowed with great wit that was bitter and sadistic. Alcohol had a good foothold in the family script, and his wife later remarked that his childhood had been "horrendous." Periodically, his mom would pick him up and leave him somewhere else, a series of abandonment's. He grew up emotionally deprived in an environment of alcohol, poverty and deprivation while suffering from asthma. After 18 different schools, he went to Drake University for a year on a journalism scholarship, then moved to Phoenix and enrolled in Arizona State University. During his second year, he heard of auditions at the local radio station, where he got his first job, quitting school to be on radio. He served a full apprenticeship, writing commercial copy and the news, doing comedy and playing the piano, making seven salaries. In 1943, he married Dorothy Goodman after serving five months in the army, being discharged due to his asthma. His versatility and talent was noticed and he moved to Los Angeles, then New York on radio. During this time, Allen and his wife had three sons. In 1950, he took his "Tonight" show to New York, separating from his wife. He met Jayne Meadows in 1953 and they married two years later; they had four sons. They are on record for having one of the happiest marriages in Hollywood, still together after all these years, living happily in Encino. In November 1985, Allen had a cancer surgery, the removal of a tumor and 14 inches of his intestine followed by radiation. The experience brought him to a re-evaluation of his life and a renewal of the value of his marriage. By April 1986, he was 30 pounds lighter, had a clean bill of health and felt great. Being a 15-year survivor of colon cancer, Allen speaks to cancer support groups several times a year and still goes to his office two to three days a week to "dictate his brains out." Allen died unexpectedly at the Encino home of his son, Bill, 10/30/2000. A minor car accident in which another vehicle had collided with Allen's Lexus damaged the wall of his heart, allowing blood to leak out. Allen, who was 78, died one hour and 15 minutes later at the home of his son. Link to Wikipedia biography