Allen rarely found good luck performing in LV showrooms

Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2000 | 9:58 a.m.

Steve Allen was a giant in many forms of entertainment -- he created the "Tonight Show," was a star on the stage and screen and wrote more than 40 books and 4,000 songs. Performing in Las Vegas was not among his strong suits.

The comedian-writer-composer, who died Monday night of an apparent heart attack at the California home of his son, Bill Allen, discovered many of show business' brightest stars, but he struggled during Las Vegas performances in the 1960s and '70s. He was 78.

Late Las Vegas entertainment columnist Bill Willard, in a 1993 Sun story on acts that bombed, said: "Steve Allen used to have little cards on the tables (that asked) people what they would like him to do. I wrote that he should get off (the stage)."

In October 1994, despite Allen's Las Vegas track record, then-Sahara hotel-casino entertainment director Ron Andrews brought the comedian back with a new formula -- "The Original Tonight Show."

The show featured Allen and cast members of his 1956-61 NBC show, "The Steve Allen Comedy Hour," which he had done in addition to the "Tonight Show." The 70-minute show, featuring Bill ("Jose Jiminez") Dana and Louis ("Hi-ho, Steverino") Nye, was a hit in its two-week run.

"It was what Steve did best," said Andrews, who recently retired as entertainment director of the Santa Fe hotel-casino. "He walked on stage and people liked him right away."

In what would be his last appearance on the Strip, Allen went out a winner.

Services are pending for Allen, who also starred as the King of Swing in the 1956 movie "The Benny Goodman Story" and produced and hosted the Emmy Award-winning 1970s PBS series "Meeting of the Minds."

Allen also was a humanitarian, giving money and time to numerous charities. Las Vegas musician and comedian Peter Barbutti, who was discovered by Allen, recalled performing at a California ceremony honoring him as Man of the Year and presenting Allen with a plaque.

After Barbutti left the stage to give Allen the spotlight he deserved, Allen perhaps best summed up why he was not a hit in Las Vegas: "I have no right following Pete Barbutti, because I don't have an act."

Barbutti said Tuesday after learning of Allen's death: "He is one of those certain type of people who, when they go, leave a space that can never be filled."

Besides his versatility, Allen was known for his work ethic.

"I work seven days a week -- I can't think of any reason not to," Allen told the Sun in an October 1994 interview. "I take a tape recorder wherever I go. I certainly go on vacations and lie on beaches, but I am always at work. In any single 24-hour time, my schedule constantly ranges over a long list of projects. I am always pushing forward."

Longtime Sun entertainment columnist Joe Delaney said it was Allen's "gentle personality" that made it difficult for him to win over Las Vegas audiences.

"Steve was not bombastic enough for Las Vegas," Delaney said. "He was very brilliant and he was a giant in the entertainment industry who was never fully appreciated, especially in Las Vegas."

Delaney and Barbutti said perhaps no other man in show business discovered more talent than Allen, who was credited with finding Steve Lawrence & Eydie Gorme, Andy Williams, Don Knotts, Tom Poston and Pat Harrington Jr., among many others.

Contrary to popular belief, the legendary king of rock 'n' roll, Elvis Presley, did not make his first national TV appearance on the "Ed Sullivan Show," but rather on Allen's NBC show that in 1956 aired opposite Sullivan's CBS program.

Allen was most proud of his 1976-79 public television series "Meeting of the Minds," where he served as moderator for a panel of character actors who impersonated historic figures like Cleopatra -- played by his wife of 46 years, Jayne Meadows -- and shared diverse philosophies, often with comical results.

Allen's other major accomplishments included:

Allen was born Dec. 26, 1921, in New York. His parents were vaudeville comedians Billy Allen and Belle Montrose. Steve started his show business career as a disc jockey at radio station KOY in Phoenix. He was released from military service during World War II because of asthma.

Allen married Dorothy Goodman and they had three sons: Steve Jr., David and Brian. They divorced in 1952. That year, Allen met Meadows at a dinner party. They married in 1954, a year after Allen began "The Tonight Show" on WNBT in New York.

On Sept. 27, 1954, during the first network airing of "The Tonight Show," Allen opened with a joke that turned out to be prophetic: "This show is going on forever."

He was poking fun at the post-late news time slot, when most viewers would be asleep. The show is still going strong. Allen left the show in 1957, succeeded by Jack Parr, Johnny Carson in 1962 and Jay Leno in 1992.

Allen's prime time show lasted until 1961 and was noted for its "man on the street" interview. Allen's other TV routines included making fun of rock 'n' roll lyrics and "The Question Man," which inspired Carson's "Karnac" routine.

In his early years with NBC, Allen took much of his salary in the form of stock from one of his show's sponsors, the upstart Polaroid instant camera and film company. When the product took off, Allen became a multimillionaire.

Over the years, Allen made numerous appearances in movies and TV series, including an episode of "Homicide: Life on the Street" with his wife.

A Democrat, Allen once considered running for Congress and was not afraid to speak out on political issues, including how today's television programming is leading children into a "moral sewer." One of his full-page "moral sewer" ads ran in the Los Angeles Times Tuesday.

In addition to his wife and children, Allen is survived by 11 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.