Cast & creator
Steve Allen
Best known for The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
Stephen Valentine Patrick William Allen was an American television personality, radio personality, musician, composer, actor, comedian, writer, and advocate of scientific skepticism. In 1954, he achieved national fame as the co-creator and first host of The Tonight Show, which was the first late night television talk show. Though he got his start in radio, Allen is best known for his extensive network television career. He gained national attention as a guest host on Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts. After he hosted The Tonight Show, he went on to host numerous game and variety shows, including his own The Steve Allen Show, I've Got a Secret, and The New Steve Allen Show. He was a regular panel member on CBS's What's My Line?, and from 1977 until 1981 wrote, produced, and hosted the award-winning public broadcasting show Meeting of Minds, a series of historical dramas presented in a talk format. Allen was a pianist and a prolific composer. By his own estimate, he wrote more than 8,500 songs, some of which were recorded by numerous leading singers. Working as a lyricist, Allen won the 1964 Grammy Award for Best Original Jazz Composition. He also wrote more than 50 books, including novels, children's books, and books of opinions, including his final book, Vulgarians at the Gate: Trash TV and Raunch Radio. In 1996 Allen was presented with the Martin Gardner Lifetime Achievement Award from the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSICOP). He has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and a Hollywood theater named in his honor.
Also known as: Stephen Valentine Patrick William Allen, Steven Allen, Steve Allen Jr.
75
film credits
62
television credits
129
1948–2022 · acting roles
7.0
average across scored titles
Signature credits
Known for
Across film & television
Filmography (137)
Showing 137 of 137 credits
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
Self - Guest Host
1962The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
Self
1962The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
Creator
1962
The Simpsons
Steve Allen (voice)
1989The Simpsons
Bart's Altered Voice (voice)
1989
The Mike Douglas Show
Self - Guest
1961
Diagnosis: Murder
Ray Masters
1993
Late Night with Conan O'Brien
Self - Guest
1993
The Merv Griffin Show
Self
1962
The Love Boat
Durwood Moss
1977
What's My Line?
Self
1950
WWF Wrestling Challenge
Self
1986
Sabrina, the Teenage Witch
Fear
1996
Love, American Style
Johny
1969
Get Smart
Prime Minister's Aide (uncredited)
1965
St. Elsewhere
Lech Oseransky
1982
Batman
Allen Stevens
1966
Homicide: Life on the Street
Mr. Cochran
1993
Hotel
1982
Hart to Hart
Himself
1979
The Ed Sullivan Show
Self
1948
The Steve Allen Show
Self - Host
1956
American Masters
Self
1986
Medical Center
1969
McCloud
Doug King
1970
Behind the Music
Self
1997
Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In
Self
1968
The Dinah Shore Chevy Show
Self
1956
The Oscars
Self
1953
Space Ghost Coast to Coast
1994
I've Got a Secret
Self - Host
1952
Kraft Music Hall
Self
1958Kraft Music Hall
Self - Host
1958
The DuPont Show with June Allyson
Dr. Ben Ellison
1959
Pinky and the Brain
Steve Allen (voice)
1995
The Critic
Steve Allen (voice)
1994
Casino
Steve Allen
1995
Hollywood Squares
Self
1966
Solid Gold
Self
1980
The Thin Man
1957
Rich Man, Poor Man
1976
The David Susskind Show
Self
1959
Nurse
Barney Ambler
1981
The Judy Garland Show
Self
1963
The Player
Steve Allen
1992
Alice in Wonderland
Gentleman in Paper Suit
1985Alice in Wonderland
Songs
1985Alice in Wonderland
Lyricist
1985
What Really Happened to the Class of '65?
1977
The Emmy Awards
Self
1949
Hallmark Hall of Fame
Martin Kaplan
1951
The Snoop Sisters
Steve Allen
1973
Amazon Women on the Moon
Steve Allen (segment "Roast Your Loved One")
1987
General Electric Theater
Andy Fletcher
1953
Louis Armstrong's Black & Blues
Self (voice) (archive sound)
2022
Meeting of Minds
Self - Host
1977Meeting of Minds
Writer
1977Meeting of Minds
Creator
1977
Great Balls of Fire!
Steve Allen
1989
The New Steve Allen Show
Self - Host
1961
Night of 100 Stars
Self
1982
Where Were You When the Lights Went Out?
Radio Announcer
1968
The People Next Door
Self
1989
Tonight Starring Steve Allen
Self - Host
1954Tonight Starring Steve Allen
Creator
1954
The Movie Orgy
Self (archive footage)
1968
The Benny Goodman Story
Benny Goodman
1956Bob Hope's World of Comedy
(archive footage)
1976
Life's Most Embarrassing Moments
Self - Host
1983
Laurel and Hardy: A Tribute to the Boys
Self
1992
Warning Shot
Steve Allen
1967
The Sunshine Boys
Self
1975The Sunshine Boys
Narrator of Fictional TV Program (uncredited)
1975
2Everything2Terrible2: Tokyo Drift
Self (archive footage)
2010
The Muppets Go Hollywood
Self (uncredited)
1979
50 Years of NBC Late Night
Self (archive footage)
2001
The Ratings Game
Steve Allen
1984
Now You See It, Now You Don't
Herschel Lucas
1968
The Adventures of Errol Flynn
Self (archive footage)
2005
Boulevard! A Hollywood Story
Self (archive footage)
2021
Tasmanian Devil: The Fast and Furious Life of Errol Flynn
Self (archive footage)
2007
Lucy Calls the President
Steve Allen
1977
Eat That Question: Frank Zappa in His Own Words
Self (archive footage)
2016
James Dean and Me
Self (uncredited)
1995
The Big Circus
Self
1959
Erroll Garner: No One Can Hear You Read
Self (archive footage)
2013
I'll Get By
Peter Pepper
1950
Happy Birthday, Bob: 50 Stars Salute Your 50 Years with NBC
Self
1988
Have I Got a Christmas for You
Martin Kaplan
1977
Heart Beat
Steve Allen
1980
Don't Worry, We'll Think of a Title
Bookstore Customer with Little Boy (uncredited)
1966The Wil Shriner Show
Self
1987
Tab Hunter Confidential
Self (archive)
2015
Rodney Dangerfield's 75th Birthday Toast
Self
1997
TV's Funniest Comedians - 14 Stars Do Classic Routines
Self
1986
Don't Ask Me, Ask God
Self
1984
Elvis: The King of Rock 'n' Roll
Self (archive footage)
2007
Elvis: #1 Hit Performances
Self (archive footage)
2007
Lenny Bruce: Without Tears
Self / DJ (archive footage)
1972
Too Hip for the Room: The Righteous Reign of Lord Buckley
Self
2016
James Dean: A Portrait
Self
1995
Down Memory Lane
Steve Allen
1949Down Memory Lane
Writer
1949
Abbott & Costello Meet Biography
Self
1996
Joys
Self
1976
The Definitive Elvis: The Television Years
Self (archive footage)
2002
Nobody's Perfect: The Making of Some Like It Hot
Self (archive footage)
2001
Mitzi & 100 Guys
Self
1975
The Comic
Steve Allen
1969
Elvis: Rare Moments with the King
Self (archive footage)
2003
The Making of the Stooges
Self - Host
1984The Steve Allen Comedy Hour
Self - Host
1980
The Gossip Columnist
Steve Allen
1980
James Dean Remembered
Self
1974
Rodney Dangerfield's The Really Big Show
Self
1991
Richard Lewis: I'm Exhausted
Self
1988
Ernie Kovacs: Television's Original Genius
Self
1982
On and Off the Res' with Charlie Hill
Himself
2000
Nichols and May: Take Two
Self
1996On the Road to Desolation
Self
1997
Starfest: The Stars Salute Public Television 1983
1983
Let Me In, I Hear Laughter: A Salute to the Friars Club
Self
1999
Lenny Bruce: Swear to Tell the Truth
Self
1998
WWE WrestleMania VI
Self
1990
Computability: How to Make the Most of Your Home Computer
1984
College Confidential
Steve MacInter
1960College Confidential
Songs
1960
The Funny Farm
Self
1983
The Power of the Market
1980
Allen in Movieland
Self
1955
The Universal Mind of Bill Evans
1966On Location: Myron Cohen
Self - Host
1976
Classic Comedy Teams
Host
1986
No More to Say & Nothing to Weep For: An Elegy for Allen Ginsberg
Self (archive footage)
1997
Stone
Steve Allen
1979The Vent Event
1978I've Got a Secret
Self - Host
1972