Dave Allen (comedian) - Revision history

Kurt at 13:07, 11 September 2024

2024-09-11T13:07:50Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 08:07, 11 September 2024
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	~~{{short description\|Irish comedian and satirist (1936–2005)}}~~
	{{Infobox person		{{Infobox person
	\| name = Dave Allen		\| name = Dave Allen
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	'''David Tynan O'Mahony''' (6 July 1936{{spaced ndash}}10 March 2005), known professionally as '''Dave Allen''', was an Irish comedian,<ref>{{cite book\|last1=Double\|first1=Oliver\|title=Stand-Up! on being a comedian\|date=1997\|contribution=Dave Allen\|publisher=Methuen Publishing\|location=London\|isbn=978-0413703200\|page=[https://archive.org/details/standuponbeingco0000doub/page/140 140]\|quote=This was quite an innovation, because up to this point there had been no tradition of observational comedy in British stand-up.\|url=https://archive.org/details/standuponbeingco0000doub/page/140}}</ref> satirist,<ref>{{cite book\|last1=Gaither\|first1=Carl C. & Alma E.\|title=Gaither's Dictionary of Scientific Quotations\|date=2012\|publisher=Springer\|location=New York\|isbn=978-1-4614-1114-7\|page=906\|edition=Second}}</ref> and actor. He was best known for his [[observational comedy]]. Allen regularly provoked indignation by highlighting political hypocrisy and showing disdain for religious authority. His technique and style have influenced young British comedians.<ref name=":0">{{cite news\|last=Otchet\|first=Amy\|date=May 1999\|title=Mark Thomas: method and madness of a TV comic\|work=[[UNESCO Courier]]\|url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1310/is_1999_May/ai_54738758/ \|url-status=dead \|access-date=21 March 2011 \|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120126160232/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1310/is_1999_May/ai_54738758/ \|archive-date=26 January 2012}}</ref>		'''David Tynan O'Mahony''' (6 July 1936{{spaced ndash}}10 March 2005), known professionally as '''Dave Allen''', was an Irish comedian,<ref>{{cite book\|last1=Double\|first1=Oliver\|title=Stand-Up! on being a comedian\|date=1997\|contribution=Dave Allen\|publisher=Methuen Publishing\|location=London\|isbn=978-0413703200\|page=[https://archive.org/details/standuponbeingco0000doub/page/140 140]\|quote=This was quite an innovation, because up to this point there had been no tradition of observational comedy in British stand-up.\|url=https://archive.org/details/standuponbeingco0000doub/page/140}}</ref> satirist,<ref>{{cite book\|last1=Gaither\|first1=Carl C. & Alma E.\|title=Gaither's Dictionary of Scientific Quotations\|date=2012\|publisher=Springer\|location=New York\|isbn=978-1-4614-1114-7\|page=906\|edition=Second}}</ref> and actor. He was best known for his [[observational comedy]]. Allen regularly provoked indignation by highlighting political hypocrisy and showing disdain for religious authority. His technique and style have influenced young British comedians.<ref name=":0">{{cite news\|last=Otchet\|first=Amy\|date=May 1999\|title=Mark Thomas: method and madness of a TV comic\|work=[[UNESCO Courier]]\|url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1310/is_1999_May/ai_54738758/ \|url-status=dead \|access-date=21 March 2011 \|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120126160232/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1310/is_1999_May/ai_54738758/ \|archive-date=26 January 2012}}</ref>

	Initially becoming known in Australia in 1963 and 1964, Allen made regular television appearances in the United Kingdom from the late 1960s until the mid-1980s. The [[BBC]] aired his ''Dave Allen Show'' from 1971 to 1986,<ref>BBC's released DVD (this copy for Sweden and Finland), back side of its cover states (translated from Swedish; "The best sketches 1971–1986 with Dave Allen" (a combination of him sitting in his famous chair, drinking, smoking and telling jokes – and his sketches)</ref> which was also exported to several other European countries.<ref>The mentioned DVD clearly supports at least Sweden and Finland</ref> He had a major resurgence during the late 1980s and early 1990s. His television shows were also broadcast in the United States, Canada, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Yugoslavia, Australia, and New Zealand.~~{{citation needed\|date=January 2022}}~~		Initially becoming known in Australia in 1963 and 1964, Allen made regular television appearances in the United Kingdom from the late 1960s until the mid-1980s. The [[BBC]] aired his ''Dave Allen Show'' from 1971 to 1986,<ref>BBC's released DVD (this copy for Sweden and Finland), back side of its cover states (translated from Swedish; "The best sketches 1971–1986 with Dave Allen" (a combination of him sitting in his famous chair, drinking, smoking and telling jokes – and his sketches)</ref> which was also exported to several other European countries.<ref>The mentioned DVD clearly supports at least Sweden and Finland</ref> He had a major resurgence during the late 1980s and early 1990s. His television shows were also broadcast in the United States, Canada, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Yugoslavia, Australia, and New Zealand.

	==Early life==		==Early life==
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	Highly regarded in Britain, Allen's comic technique and style had a lasting influence on many young British comedians.<ref name=":0" /> His targets were often figures of authority, his style was observational rather than gag-driven, and his language frequently ripe; as such he was a progenitor for the "alternative" comedians of the 1980s. [[Stewart Lee]] has cited Allen as an influence.<ref>{{Cite book\|last=Lee\|first=Stewart\|title=How I escaped my certain fate : the life and deaths of a stand-up comedian\|publisher=Faber\|year=2011\|isbn=9780571254811\|edition=Pbk.\|location=London\|oclc=765526121 \|orig-year=2010}}</ref>		Highly regarded in Britain, Allen's comic technique and style had a lasting influence on many young British comedians.<ref name=":0" /> His targets were often figures of authority, his style was observational rather than gag-driven, and his language frequently ripe; as such he was a progenitor for the "alternative" comedians of the 1980s. [[Stewart Lee]] has cited Allen as an influence.<ref>{{Cite book\|last=Lee\|first=Stewart\|title=How I escaped my certain fate : the life and deaths of a stand-up comedian\|publisher=Faber\|year=2011\|isbn=9780571254811\|edition=Pbk.\|location=London\|oclc=765526121 \|orig-year=2010}}</ref>

	In his native Ireland, he always remained somewhat controversial. His mocking of the Catholic Church made him unpopular amongst some Irish Catholics, while his mocking of the [[Ulster]] Protestant leader [[Ian Paisley, Baron Bannside\|Ian Paisley]] made him unpopular amongst many [[Protestantism in Ireland\|Protestants]] in [[Northern Ireland]].~~{{citation needed\|date=October 2021}}~~		In his native Ireland, he always remained somewhat controversial. His mocking of the Catholic Church made him unpopular amongst some Irish Catholics, while his mocking of the [[Ulster]] Protestant leader [[Ian Paisley, Baron Bannside\|Ian Paisley]] made him unpopular amongst many [[Protestantism in Ireland\|Protestants]] in [[Northern Ireland]].

	In a 2017 interview with [[Howard Stern]], [[Adam Sandler]] cited Allen as one of his first comedic influences when he saw his act at the [[Nevele Grand Hotel\|Nevele hotel]] at the age of 10.<ref>{{cite AV media\|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-O3VjdmbzA\|title=Howard Stern Show April 12 2017\|date=13 April 2017\|publisher=Howard Stern\|via=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}{{Dead Youtube links\|date=February 2022}}</ref>		In a 2017 interview with [[Howard Stern]], [[Adam Sandler]] cited Allen as one of his first comedic influences when he saw his act at the [[Nevele Grand Hotel\|Nevele hotel]] at the age of 10.<ref>{{cite AV media\|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-O3VjdmbzA\|title=Howard Stern Show April 12 2017\|date=13 April 2017\|publisher=Howard Stern\|via=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}{{Dead Youtube links\|date=February 2022}}</ref>

Kurt at 14:02, 18 January 2023

2023-01-18T14:02:53Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 09:02, 18 January 2023
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	{{short description\|Irish comedian and satirist (1936–2005)~~}}{{Missing information\|article\|Dave Allen's full filmography\|date=May 2022}}~~		{{short description\|Irish comedian and satirist (1936–2005)}}

	~~{{Use dmy dates\|date=March 2020~~}}
	{{Infobox person		{{Infobox person
	\| name = Dave Allen		\| name = Dave Allen
	\| image = Dave Allen 1968 (cropped).JPG		\| image = Dave Allen 1968 (cropped).JPG
	~~\| image_size = 220px~~
	\| caption = Allen in 1968		\| caption = Allen in 1968
	\| birth_name = David Tynan O'Mahony		\| birth_name = David Tynan O'Mahony
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	Allen's final series for the BBC in 1990 caused controversy with this joke:<ref name="Plunkett">{{cite news\|url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2005/mar/11/broadcasting.uknews\|title=Dave Allen dies aged 68\|last=Plunkett\|first=John\|date=11 March 2005\|work=[[The Guardian]]\|access-date=20 August 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web\|url=http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/written_answers/1990/jan/16/offensive-language\|title=Offensive Language\|date=16 January 1990\|work=Hansard HC Deb\|pages=vol 165 c173W\|access-date=20 August 2013}}</ref>		Allen's final series for the BBC in 1990 caused controversy with this joke:<ref name="Plunkett">{{cite news\|url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2005/mar/11/broadcasting.uknews\|title=Dave Allen dies aged 68\|last=Plunkett\|first=John\|date=11 March 2005\|work=[[The Guardian]]\|access-date=20 August 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web\|url=http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/written_answers/1990/jan/16/offensive-language\|title=Offensive Language\|date=16 January 1990\|work=Hansard HC Deb\|pages=vol 165 c173W\|access-date=20 August 2013}}</ref>

	{{cquote\|You wake to the clock, you go to work to the clock, you clock-in to the clock, you clock out to the clock, you come home to the clock, you eat to the clock, you drink to the clock, you go to bed to the clock, you get up to the clock, you go back to work to the clock... You do that for forty years of your life and you retire — what do they fucking give you? A clock!<ref>{{cite web\|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vxNz_9FlxNw \|archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/vxNz_9FlxNw \|archive-date=2021-12-21 \|url-status=live\|title=Video of Show\|date=11 January 1990\|work=offensive language\|access-date=16 June 2018}}{{cbignore}}</ref>~~{{Better source needed \|reason=Transcript is correct but YouTube video is likely a BBC copyvio \|date=April 2021}}~~}}This prompted MP [[Robert Hayward, Baron Hayward\|Robert Hayward]] to ask a [[question time\|parliamentary question]] about "offensive language" in broadcasting.<ref name="Plunkett" /> In 1993, Allen returned to ITV, where he starred in the ''Dave Allen Show'', which was his final regular television series.		{{cquote\|You wake to the clock, you go to work to the clock, you clock-in to the clock, you clock out to the clock, you come home to the clock, you eat to the clock, you drink to the clock, you go to bed to the clock, you get up to the clock, you go back to work to the clock... You do that for forty years of your life and you retire — what do they fucking give you? A clock!<ref>{{cite web\|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vxNz_9FlxNw \|archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/vxNz_9FlxNw \|archive-date=2021-12-21 \|url-status=live\|title=Video of Show\|date=11 January 1990\|work=offensive language\|access-date=16 June 2018}}{{cbignore}}</ref>}}This prompted MP [[Robert Hayward, Baron Hayward\|Robert Hayward]] to ask a [[question time\|parliamentary question]] about "offensive language" in broadcasting.<ref name="Plunkett" /> In 1993, Allen returned to ITV, where he starred in the ''Dave Allen Show'', which was his final regular television series.

	By the late 1990s, Allen was living quietly in semi-retirement at his family home in [[Holland Park]], west London. He had given up cigarettes in the 1980s, having smoked regularly during earlier television appearances. A comedy skit in 1994 talked not only about quitting smoking but hating the smell of smoke. The 1990s saw him make occasional chat show appearances and discuss his career in the six-part ''The Unique Dave Allen'' (BBC, 1998), in between clips from his past BBC series.		By the late 1990s, Allen was living quietly in semi-retirement at his family home in [[Holland Park]], west London. He had given up cigarettes in the 1980s, having smoked regularly during earlier television appearances. A comedy skit in 1994 talked not only about quitting smoking but hating the smell of smoke. The 1990s saw him make occasional chat show appearances and discuss his career in the six-part ''The Unique Dave Allen'' (BBC, 1998), in between clips from his past BBC series.
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	==External links==		==External links==
	~~{{Wikiquote\|Dave Allen}}~~
	* {{IMDb name \| id=0020411 \| name=Dave Allen}}		* {{IMDb name \| id=0020411 \| name=Dave Allen}}
	* {{find a Grave\|10597801}}		* {{find a Grave\|10597801}}
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	* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080129185504/http://www.televisionheaven.co.uk/daveallen.htm Dave Allen] at TV Greats		* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080129185504/http://www.televisionheaven.co.uk/daveallen.htm Dave Allen] at TV Greats
	* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nznZL6i9_co Dave Allen being funny]		* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nznZL6i9_co Dave Allen being funny]

	~~{{Authority control}}~~

	{{DEFAULTSORT:Allen, Dave (comedian)}}		{{DEFAULTSORT:Allen, Dave (comedian)}}

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{{short description|Irish comedian and satirist (1936–2005)}}{{Missing information|article|Dave Allen's full filmography|date=May 2022}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2020}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Dave Allen
| image = Dave Allen 1968 (cropped).JPG
| image_size = 220px
| caption = Allen in 1968
| birth_name = David Tynan O'Mahony
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1936|7|6|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[Dublin]], Ireland
| death_date = {{death date and age|2005|3|10|1936|7|6|df=y}}
| death_place = [[London]], England
| death_cause =
| resting_place =
| occupation = {{hlist|Comedian|satirist|actor}}
| years active = 1959–1998
| children = 3
| spouse = {{marriage|Judith Stott<br />|1964|1983|end=divorced}}<br />{{marriage|Karin Stark<br />|2003}}
}}
'''David Tynan O'Mahony''' (6 July 1936{{spaced ndash}}10 March 2005), known professionally as '''Dave Allen''', was an Irish comedian,<ref>{{cite book|last1=Double|first1=Oliver|title=Stand-Up! on being a comedian|date=1997|contribution=Dave Allen|publisher=Methuen Publishing|location=London|isbn=978-0413703200|page=[https://archive.org/details/standuponbeingco0000doub/page/140 140]|quote=This was quite an innovation, because up to this point there had been no tradition of observational comedy in British stand-up.|url=https://archive.org/details/standuponbeingco0000doub/page/140}}</ref> satirist,<ref>{{cite book|last1=Gaither|first1=Carl C. & Alma E.|title=Gaither's Dictionary of Scientific Quotations|date=2012|publisher=Springer|location=New York|isbn=978-1-4614-1114-7|page=906|edition=Second}}</ref> and actor. He was best known for his [[observational comedy]]. Allen regularly provoked indignation by highlighting political hypocrisy and showing disdain for religious authority. His technique and style have influenced young British comedians.<ref name=":0">{{cite news|last=Otchet|first=Amy|date=May 1999|title=Mark Thomas: method and madness of a TV comic|work=[[UNESCO Courier]]|url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1310/is_1999_May/ai_54738758/ |url-status=dead |access-date=21 March 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120126160232/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1310/is_1999_May/ai_54738758/ |archive-date=26 January 2012}}</ref>

Initially becoming known in Australia in 1963 and 1964, Allen made regular television appearances in the United Kingdom from the late 1960s until the mid-1980s. The [[BBC]] aired his ''Dave Allen Show'' from 1971 to 1986,<ref>BBC's released DVD (this copy for Sweden and Finland), back side of its cover states (translated from Swedish; "The best sketches 1971–1986 with Dave Allen" (a combination of him sitting in his famous chair, drinking, smoking and telling jokes – and his sketches)</ref> which was also exported to several other European countries.<ref>The mentioned DVD clearly supports at least Sweden and Finland</ref> He had a major resurgence during the late 1980s and early 1990s. His television shows were also broadcast in the United States, Canada, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Yugoslavia, Australia, and New Zealand.{{citation needed|date=January 2022}}

==Early life==
David Tynan O'Mahony was born in the [[Firhouse]] suburb of [[Dublin]] on 6 July 1936, the son of an Irish father and English mother.<ref name="GOC">{{cite AV media|people=Robin Brown (Director)|date=19 April 2013|title=Dave Allen: God's Own Comedian|medium=Television documentary|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01s94tc |access-date =12 November 2014|location=London|publisher=[[BBC Two]]}}</ref> His father, Gerard "Cully" Tynan O'Mahony, was the managing editor of ''[[The Irish Times]]'' and a nephew of writer [[Katharine Tynan]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/2005/mar/12/guardianobituaries.artsobituaries|title=Dave Allen: Irreverent comedian whose reflective monologues provoked outrage and delight|first=Stephen|last=Dixon|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|date=12 March 2005 | access-date=4 January 2014|location=London}}</ref> His mother, Jean Archer, was a housewife.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&ti=0&r=an&db=ONSmarriage1984&F2=O%27Mahony&F4=1a&F5=1402&F0=Archer&rank=0&gss=angs-d&pcat=BMD_MARRIAGE&fh=0&h=50606886&recoff=|title=Ancestry.com|publisher=Search.ancestry.com |access-date=6 January 2014|url-access=subscription}}</ref> He, his brothers, and their mother spent around 18 months living in [[Keenagh]] after leaving Dublin in the wake of the [[Bombing of Dublin in World War II#North Strand|1941 North Strand bombings]]: following this, they moved back to Dublin and lived at Cherryfield, a house located between Firhouse and [[Templeogue|Templeogue Bridge]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/comedian-with-a-rare-style-of-voicing-outrage-at-society-s-ills-1.422796|title=Comedian with a rare style of voicing outrage at society's ills|author=|date=12 March 2005|website=[[irishtimes.com]]|access-date=24 October 2019}}</ref><ref name=caden /> He was educated at [[Newbridge College]], [[Terenure College]], and the [[Catholic University School]]. His father died when Allen was 12 years old, and his mother subsequently moved the family to England when he was 14.

==Career==
Allen initially followed his father into [[journalism]], firstly joining the ''Drogheda Argus'' as a [[copy boy]], but at the age of 19 went to [[Fleet Street]], [[London]]. He drifted through a series of jobs before becoming a [[Redcoats (Butlins)|Butlins Redcoat]] at [[Skegness]] in a troupe that also included British jazz trumpeter and writer [[John Chilton]]. At the end of each summer season, he did stand-up at [[Striptease|strip]] clubs; for the next four years, he appeared in various night clubs, theatres, and working men's clubs. When entertainment work was slow, he worked at a toy shop in [[Sheffield]] and as a door-to-door salesman of [[draught excluder]]s. He changed his [[Stage name|stage surname]] to "Allen" at the behest of his agent, who believed that few people in the UK could pronounce "O'Mahony" correctly. Allen agreed to the change because he hoped that a surname beginning with "A" would put him at the top of agents' lists.

Allen lost the top of his left [[index finger]] above the middle knuckle after catching it in a machine cog.<ref name=caden>{{cite news|first=Sarah|last=Caden|date=20 February 2005|url=http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/fingered-at-last-the-truth-behind-the-comedians-missing-digit-26205189.html|title=Fingered at last: the truth behind the comedian's missing digit|newspaper=[[Irish Independent]] |access-date=6 January 2014}}</ref> However, he enjoyed inventing stories to explain the loss, which became a minor part of his act. One version was that his brother John had surprised him by snapping his jaw shut when they were children. A further explanation he gave on his programme, ''Dave Allen at Large'', was that he often stuck his finger in his whiskey glass and it had been eaten away by strong drink. He also said it was worn away from repeatedly brushing the dust from his suit. One of his stand-up jokes was that, as a boy, he and his friends would go to see a cowboy movie at the local cinema, then come out ready to play [[Tag (game)#Cops and robbers|Cowboys and Indians]]. Staring down at his truncated finger, he would mutter, "I had a sawn-off shotgun." On his show he told a long, elaborate ghost story, ending with "something evil" attacking him in a dark and haunted house. Allen grabbed and bit the attacker, the studio lights came back up, and it was his own left hand.<ref>Story related in "Dave Allen at Peace", Telemovie, partially fictionalised), BBC, 2018</ref>

Allen's first television appearance was on the BBC talent show ''New Faces'' in 1959.<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/collections/p00btrgb/video/p00fprzc/spike_milligans_q_the_cash_machine/ "Great Irish Comedians"], BBC Comedy {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110321163125/http://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/collections/p00btrgb/video/p00fprzc/spike_milligans_q_the_cash_machine/ |date=21 March 2011 }}</ref> He hosted pop music shows in the early 1960s, including tours by [[Adam Faith]] and [[Helen Shapiro]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/bradford_timeline/5548903853/in/set-72157626323725628/|title=Helen Shapiro tour programme, 1961|author=Bradford Timeline|work=Flickr|year=2011 |access-date=12 November 2014}}</ref> and in early 1963 was the compere of a [[The Beatles Winter 1963 Helen Shapiro Tour|tour of Britain]], headlined by Shapiro that also included [[The Beatles]]. In 1962 he toured [[South Africa]] with American vaudeville star [[Sophie Tucker]], whom he described as "one of the most charming and delightful performers with whom I have ever worked". Tucker was impressed with him and suggested that he try his luck in Australia. Moving there, he worked with [[Digby Wolfe]] on Australian television, becoming Wolfe's resident comedian.

While on tour in Australia in 1963, he accepted an offer to headline a television talk show for [[Nine Network|Channel 9]], ''Tonight with Dave Allen'', which was successful. However, only six months after his television début he was banned from the Australian airwaves when, during a live broadcast, he told his show's producer—who had been pressing him to go to a commercial break—to "go away and masturbate", so that he could continue an entertaining interview with [[Peter Cook]] and [[Dudley Moore]]. The ban was quietly dropped as Allen's popularity continued unabated.

Allen returned to the United Kingdom in 1964 and made a number of appearances on [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]], including ''The Blackpool Show'' and ''[[Val Parnell]]'s [[Sunday Night at the London Palladium]]'', and on the BBC on ''[[Val Doonican|The Val Doonican Show]]''. In 1967, he hosted his own comedy/chat series, ''Tonight with Dave Allen'', made by [[Associated Television|ATV]], for which he received the [[Variety, the Children's Charity|Variety Club's]] ITV Personality of the Year Award.

He signed with the BBC in 1968 and appeared on ''The Dave Allen Show'', a variety/comedy sketch series. This was followed from 1971 to 1979 by ''Dave Allen at Large''. The theme tune for ''The Dave Allen Show'' and ''Dave Allen at Large'', written by [[Alan Hawkshaw]], was titled "Blarney's Stoned" (originally recorded for [[KPM Musichouse|KPM]] in 1969 under the title "Studio 69").<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.offthetelly.co.uk/features/tvthemes2.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090228123122/http://www.offthetelly.co.uk/features/tvthemes2.htm|url-status=dead|title='Off the telly' website|archive-date=28 February 2009|access-date=1 January 2020}}</ref>

The shows introduced his solo joke-telling-while-sitting-on-a-stool-and-drinking routine. This stand-up routine by Allen led to sketches that continued the themes touched on in the preceding monologues. Meanwhile, he sought theatre roles. In 1972, he acted as a doctor in the [[Royal Court Theatre|Royal Court]]'s production of [[Edna O'Brien]]'s play ''A Pagan Place''. With family friend [[Maggie Smith]]<ref name="GOC"/> in the lead, he appeared in ''[[Peter Pan]]'' in a run during 1973<ref name="telegraph" /> and 1974. Allen played the roles of [[George Darling (Peter Pan)|Mr Darling]] and [[Captain Hook]] in the production at the [[London Coliseum]].<ref>{{cite book|first=Bruce K.|last=Hanson|title=Peter Pan on Stage and Screen: 1904–2010|location=Jefferson, North Carolina|publisher=McFarland|year=2011|page=354}}</ref> Allen made ''The Dave Allen Show in Australia'' (1975–1977) for his old employers, Channel 9.

Allen was also a social commentator, appearing in several television documentaries for ITV, beginning with ''Dave Allen in the Melting Pot'' (1969), looking at life in [[New York City]] and dealing with issues such as racism and drugs. Later programmes included ''Dave Allen in Search of the Great English Eccentric'' (1974) and ''Eccentrics at Play'' (1974), in which he looked at [[Eccentricity (behavior)|colourful characters]] with idiosyncratic passions.<ref>{{cite news|last=Hayward|first=Anthony|title=Dave Allen (obituary)|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/dave-allen-5838.html |access-date=6 January 2014|newspaper=[[The Independent]]|date=12 March 2005|location=London}}</ref>

Allen's satirising of religious ritual, especially Catholic ones, throughout each episode of ''Dave Allen at Large'' caused minor controversy, which – coupled with sometimes comparatively frank material – earned the show a risqué reputation. In 1977, the Irish state broadcaster [[RTÉ]] placed a ''[[de facto]]'' ban on Allen, however he did make appearances on ''[[The Late Late Show (Irish talk show)|The Late Late Show]]'' being interviewed by [[Gay Byrne]].<ref>{{cite web|last1=Maume|first1=Patrick|title=Allen, Dave|url=https://www.dib.ie/biography/allen-dave-a9382|website=Dictionary of Irish Biography|publisher=Royal Irish Academy |access-date=6 January 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite interview|interviewer=[[Gay Byrne]]|title=Black Humour Of The Irish|url=https://www.rte.ie/archives/2018/0322/949300-dave-allen-comedian/}}</ref> Routines included sketches showing the pope (played by Allen) and his cardinals doing a striptease to music ("[[The Stripper]]") on the steps of [[St. Peter's Basilica|St Peter's]], aggressive priests beating their parishioners and each other, priests who spoke like [[Dalek]]s through electronic confessionals, and an extremely excitable pope who spoke in a [[Chico Marx]] style accent as he ordered Allen to "getta your bum outta Roma!"<ref>{{cite book|title=The Essential Dave Allen|year=2005 |editor-first=Graham |editor-last=McCann|publisher=Hodder and Stoughton|location=London}}</ref> In 1979, he played a troubled property man suffering a mid-life crisis in [[Alan Bennett]]'s television play ''One Fine Day''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0137997/|title=One Fine Day (TV Movie 1979)|work=IMDb|year=2014 |access-date=12 November 2014}}</ref> New seasons of the comedy series, now titled ''Dave Allen'', were broadcast from 1981 until 1990.

===Later career===
Allen's final series for the BBC in 1990 caused controversy with this joke:<ref name="Plunkett">{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2005/mar/11/broadcasting.uknews|title=Dave Allen dies aged 68|last=Plunkett|first=John|date=11 March 2005|work=[[The Guardian]]|access-date=20 August 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/written_answers/1990/jan/16/offensive-language|title=Offensive Language|date=16 January 1990|work=Hansard HC Deb|pages=vol 165 c173W|access-date=20 August 2013}}</ref>

{{cquote|You wake to the clock, you go to work to the clock, you clock-in to the clock, you clock out to the clock, you come home to the clock, you eat to the clock, you drink to the clock, you go to bed to the clock, you get up to the clock, you go back to work to the clock... You do that for forty years of your life and you retire — what do they fucking give you? A clock!<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vxNz_9FlxNw |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/vxNz_9FlxNw |archive-date=2021-12-21 |url-status=live|title=Video of Show|date=11 January 1990|work=offensive language|access-date=16 June 2018}}{{cbignore}}</ref>{{Better source needed |reason=Transcript is correct but YouTube video is likely a BBC copyvio |date=April 2021}}}}This prompted MP [[Robert Hayward, Baron Hayward|Robert Hayward]] to ask a [[question time|parliamentary question]] about "offensive language" in broadcasting.<ref name="Plunkett" /> In 1993, Allen returned to ITV, where he starred in the ''Dave Allen Show'', which was his final regular television series.

By the late 1990s, Allen was living quietly in semi-retirement at his family home in [[Holland Park]], west London. He had given up cigarettes in the 1980s, having smoked regularly during earlier television appearances. A comedy skit in 1994 talked not only about quitting smoking but hating the smell of smoke. The 1990s saw him make occasional chat show appearances and discuss his career in the six-part ''The Unique Dave Allen'' (BBC, 1998), in between clips from his past BBC series.

As he grew older, Allen brought a rueful awareness of aging to his material, with reflections on the antics of teenagers and the sagging skin and sprouting facial hair of age. He was presented with a lifetime achievement award at the [[British Comedy Awards]] in 1996.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.britishcomedyawards.com/past-winners/1996.aspx|title=The British Comedy Awards - Winners 1996|website=www.britishcomedyawards.com |access-date=14 April 2021}}</ref>

==Material==
===Act===
Allen's act was typified by a relaxed, rueful, and intimate style. He sat on a high bar stool facing his audience, smoking and occasionally sipping from a glass of what he always allowed people to assume was whiskey but in fact was merely ginger ale with ice. He was a sober-minded man, and although he sometimes appeared crotchety and irritable on stage he always gave off an air of charm and serene melancholy, both in his act and in real life. Each day he pored over newspapers, scribbling notes and ideas for his routines. Along with his seated stand-up routines, his television shows were interspersed with filmed sketch comedy.

===Religion===
Allen was a religious sceptic.<ref name="telegraph">{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1485435/Dave-Allen.html|title=Dave Allen|work=[[The Daily Telegraph|The Telegraph]]|date=12 March 2005|location=London|issn=0307-1235|oclc=49632006 |access-date=12 November 2014}}</ref> He once said he was "what you might call a practising [[Atheism|atheist]]" and often joked, "I'm an atheist, thank God." His scepticism came as a result of his deeply held objections to the rigidity of his strict Catholic schooling. Consequently, religion became an important subject for his humour, especially the Catholic Church and the [[Church of England]], generally mocking church customs and rituals rather than beliefs. In 1998 he explained:

{{cquote|The hierarchy of everything in my life has always bothered me. I'm bothered by power. People, whoever they might be, whether it's the government, or the policeman in the uniform, or the man on the door—they still irk me a bit. From school, from the first nun that belted me—people used to think of the nice sweet little ladies—they used to knock the fuck out of you, in the most cruel way that they could. They'd find bits of your body that were vulnerable to intense pain—grabbing you by the ear, or by the nose, and lift you, and say 'Don't cry!' It's very hard not to cry. I mean, not from emotion, but pain. The priests were the same. And I sit and watch politicians with great cynicism, total cynicism.}}

At the end of his act, Allen always signed off with the words "Goodnight, thank you, and may your God go with you."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/tv-and-radio-reviews/10026098/Dave-Allen-Gods-Own-Comedian-BBC2-review.html|title=Dave Allen – God's Own Comedian, BBC2, review|first=Martin|last=Chilton|date=28 December 2014|newspaper=Telegraph}}</ref>

==Personal life==
Allen married English actress Judith Stott in 1964.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/irish-comedian-dave-allen-dies-at-age-of-68-1.1174746|title=Irish comedian Dave Allen dies at age of 68|work=The Irish Times|date=11 March 2005|access-date=6 January 2022}}</ref> The couple had a daughter, Jane (born 1965), and a son, Edward James Tynan O'Mahony (born 1968), who later became a comedian under the name Ed Allen. He was also the stepfather of Stott's son Jonathan.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.standard.co.uk/news/dave-allen-leaves-3m-in-his-will-but-nothing-to-his-adopted-daughter-7200328.html|title=Dave Allen leaves £3m in his will... but nothing to his adopted|date=13 January 2007|website=Evening Standard|access-date=1 January 2020}}</ref> The marriage ended in divorce in 1983.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/sit-down-comic-1.217415|title=Sit-down comic|work=The Irish Times|date=21 November 1998|access-date=6 January 2022}}</ref>

Allen began dating Karin Stark in 1986, and married her in 2003.<ref name="GOC" /> The couple had a son, Cullen, who was born three weeks after Allen's death.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/the-son-dave-allen-never-got-to-see-558937|title=The Son Dave Allen Never Got To See..|date=25 September 2005|newspaper=Mirror}}</ref>

Allen's hobbies included painting, about which he became increasingly enthusiastic in his later years. His first exhibition, ''Private Views'', was held in [[Edinburgh]] in 2001.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:ZvGmocvz_SYJ:https://www.scotsman.com/news/celebrity/final-bow-for-comic-who-put-the-alternative-into-comedy-1-739337+&cd=2&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=jp=|title=Final Bow for Comic who put the Alternative into Comedy|newspaper=[[The Scotsman]]|date=12 March 2005|access-date=8 January 2017|location=Edinburgh}} {{Dead link|date=June 2020}}</ref>

==Death==
On 10 March 2005, at the age of 68, Allen died peacefully in his sleep as a result of [[sudden arrhythmic death syndrome]] at his home in the [[Kensington]] district of [[London]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/2005/mar/12/guardianobituaries.artsobituaries|title=Dave Allen: Irreverent comedian whose reflective monologues provoked outrage and delight|first=Stephen|last=Dixon|newspaper=[[The Irish Times]]|date=12 March 2005 | access-date=4 January 2014|location=London}}</ref> He was survived by his wife and children.

==Influence on others==
Highly regarded in Britain, Allen's comic technique and style had a lasting influence on many young British comedians.<ref name=":0" /> His targets were often figures of authority, his style was observational rather than gag-driven, and his language frequently ripe; as such he was a progenitor for the "alternative" comedians of the 1980s. [[Stewart Lee]] has cited Allen as an influence.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Lee|first=Stewart|title=How I escaped my certain fate : the life and deaths of a stand-up comedian|publisher=Faber|year=2011|isbn=9780571254811|edition=Pbk.|location=London|oclc=765526121 |orig-year=2010}}</ref>

In his native Ireland, he always remained somewhat controversial. His mocking of the Catholic Church made him unpopular amongst some Irish Catholics, while his mocking of the [[Ulster]] Protestant leader [[Ian Paisley, Baron Bannside|Ian Paisley]] made him unpopular amongst many [[Protestantism in Ireland|Protestants]] in [[Northern Ireland]].{{citation needed|date=October 2021}}

In a 2017 interview with [[Howard Stern]], [[Adam Sandler]] cited Allen as one of his first comedic influences when he saw his act at the [[Nevele Grand Hotel|Nevele hotel]] at the age of 10.<ref>{{cite AV media|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-O3VjdmbzA|title=Howard Stern Show April 12 2017|date=13 April 2017|publisher=Howard Stern|via=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}{{Dead Youtube links|date=February 2022}}</ref>

A dramatisation of Allen's life and career, entitled ''Dave Allen At Peace'', was shown on [[RTÉ One]] and [[BBC Two]] in 2018, with [[Aidan Gillen]] portraying Allen.<ref>{{cite news|title=BBC programme information|publisher=BBC Media Centre|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/proginfo/2018/14/daveallen |access-date=25 March 2018}}</ref>

== Filmography ==
* The Dave Allen Show

==Bibliography==
* Graham McCann (ed.) ''The Essential Dave Allen'' London: [[Hodder & Stoughton]], 2005. {{ISBN|0-340-89945-X}}.
* Carolyn Soutar ''Dave Allen: The Biography'' London: [[Orion Publishing Group|Orion]], 2005. {{ISBN|0752873814}}.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Wikiquote|Dave Allen}}
* {{IMDb name | id=0020411 | name=Dave Allen}}
* {{find a Grave|10597801}}
* {{screenonline name|id=838629|name=Dave Allen}}
* {{British Comedy Guide|people|dave_allen}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080129185504/http://www.televisionheaven.co.uk/daveallen.htm Dave Allen] at TV Greats
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nznZL6i9_co Dave Allen being funny]

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