I can remember seeing the live broadcast in the fall of 1955. He would chat with the audience, participate in skits, and introduce guests. I wouldn't call it a Spectacular....you might say it's more a Monotonious . Hornsby fell between the two extremes but worked with tremendous energy. The network considered a number of budding comics and finally offered the assignment of hosting Broadway Open House (a forerunner of The Tonight Show) to Jerry Lester, a relatively unknown nightclub comedian possessed of an extroverted antic energy. Steve Allen hosts the Tonight Show from Miami during the second week of January in 1956. The show originated for local New York City television in its first year, but was picked up nationally by NBC in September 1954. When we employ the term we refer to acting, doing comedy, singing, dancing, or playing a musical instrument. After two years as the host of NBC’s late night talk show, Allen jumped into the network’s Sunday 8 p.m. prime … His run on the show set the bar for nearly every talk show to come. Also included are 3 bonus skits by The Three Stooges on Steve's show. Print Cite verified Cite While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Conan O'Brien, a Harvard Lampoon alumnus, hosts this late-night comedy/talk-show, which is often silly and whimsical. Witty comic legend Steve Allen fills his variety show with comedy and music. Most of us remember Steve Allen as a multi-talented performer. (1953–1957). The show originated as a local New York City late night program in June 1953 and went onto the network in September 1954. Steve Allen was the first host of "Tonight." Tonight Starring Steve Allen is an American talk show hosted by Steve Allen.It was the first version of what eventually became known as The Tonight Show. How so? His run on the show set the bar for nearly every talk show to come. S teve Allen created the grand daddy of all Late Night talk shows, the Tonight show, and was its first host. In fact, if we apply the old would-you-want-your-daughter-to-marry-one test, it could easily be argued that a good, sensible announcer is preferable to the average stand-up comedian. The title of the CD is Thelonious Monk in Philadelphia 1960 with Steve Lacy. Notable guests include Johnny Carson, Henny Youngman, and Don Knotts. Fortunately, this rare clip of Steve opening one night's show captures so many of his talents -- in just seven-and-a-half minutes. 17May1955 Host Steve Allen Guests 1.165 [165] Tonight! He was a pioneer and his impact is still felt today. There have been cases where highly gifted entertainers proved to be poorly suited as talk-show hosts. It was talk, it was skits. One was likely to see, on most stations, long forgotten b- and c-grade films for which television had provided a fresh market. No one is safe from this man's tongue - Steve Allen takes to the airwaves on LBC every weekday morning from 4am until 7am and on weekends from 5am until 7am. Film is a remarkably effective medium in conveying drama…. Allen also supposedly wrote more than 7,000 songs and composed a few scores for film and television. Actually, NBC’s first choice as host of the show had been a young, clever unknown Los Angeles comic named Don “Creesh” Hornsby. A slightly naive quality seems to help a talk-show host succeed. When Allen's prime-time series debuted in the summer of 1956, he limited his appearances on this show to Wednesday through Friday and a series of guest hosts filled in until 1 October 1956 when Ernie Kovacs took over as permanent host for the Monday and Tuesday broadcast. The great Jackie Gleason, too, briefly attempted a talk-show formula, with no success. Before it was The Tonight Show, it was Tonight with Steve Allen.As the creator of the show, Today developer Sylvester "Pat" Weaver recruited Allen personally, based on his experience in local Los Angeles radio and his time as a regular on the variety game show, What's My Line? The result is useful, a source of enormous profits, and the world is somewhat better off for it. Indeed, were it not for this popular, if bizarre appetite for celebrity, massive publishing empires would go out of business overnight. TV talk-show hosts are like radio disc jockeys in this connection. But for hosting talk shows such abilities have no necessary connection at all. The host, in a sense, represents the audience, and, like the audience, he must actually be—or pretend to be—entranced with his guests. He was perhaps best known for creating and hosting what became The Tonight Show, which set the standard for TV talk shows. 18May1955 NYT When the world was filled with Wrestling or early Evenings after the news, Steve Allen gathered a bunch of comics (most of whom went on to great careers in their own right) and created the original Tonight Show. Military service: US Army (1943, medical discharge) Father: Carroll Allen (d. 1923) Mother: Belle Montrose Wife: Dorothy Goodman (m. 1943, div. Get a sneak peek of the new version of this page. Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. you will thank yourself that you did. An oversophisticated, jaded, bored talk-show host would not last long. Steve Allen, Actor: Casino. In so doing he led the way for other American icons: Johnny Carson, Jack Paar, David Letterman, and Jay Leno. THE STEVE ALLEN SHOW (Dec. 30, 1953, 39:26) A TV history milestone of an archival broadcast, sponsored by "Father Knickerbocker" of Knickerbocker Beer, documenting the infancy of an entire TV genre in a first season episode of what evolved into the venerable late night institution "The Tonight Show". The formula we all now take for granted did not exist before Steve Allen. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. A late night satirical talk show hosted by Larry Wilmore. Jayne Meadows with her husband, Steve Allen, at their ranch house in Encino. Sept. 27, 1954 The first network episode of “Tonight Starring Steve Allen” airs. He captivates the country every weekday morning with his legendary chat and quick wit. Witty comic legend Steve Allen fills his variety show with comedy and music. Steve Allen and the Original Tonight Show Finally there is a book that tells the true story of how Late Night television got its start. -- Recorded 49 albums and wrote pop songs, including "This Could Be the Start of Something Big." Steve Allen, pioneer American television entertainer, versatile author, songwriter, and comedian who performed in radio, motion pictures, and theater as well as television. Talent, as the word has traditionally been understood in the arts, refers to the ability to perform a creative task with excellence. During that primitive period, two kinds of comedians were often referred to as “natural for television.” Oddly enough, they were two contradictory types: the low-key, ultra-natural nonperformers (such as Dave Garroway, Arthur Godfrey, and Robert Q. Lewis), and the high-pressure, extroverted comics (such as Milton Berle, Jack Carter, and Jerry Lester). Copy Citation. At least moderately articulate, though mostly on a small-time, local basis host.! 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