36 Facts About Steve Allen

1. Steve Allen once considered running for a seat in Congress from California, calling his politics "middle-of-the-road radicalism.

2. Steve Allen made a last appearance on The Tonight Show on September 27, 1994, for the show's 40th anniversary broadcast.

3. Steve Allen was a student and supporter of general semantics, recommending it in Dumbth and giving the Alfred Korzybski Memorial Lecture in 1992.

4. Steve Allen was a Democrat; his wife was a Republican.

5. Steve Allen narrated The Unreal Story of Professional Wrestling, a documentary of professional wrestling from its origins to 1998.

6. Steve Allen appeared in a PSA advocating for New Eyes for the Needy in the 1990s.

7. Steve Allen was on the advisory board of the Los Angeles Student Film Institute.

8. In 1986, Steve Allen was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame.

9. Steve Allen appeared on the shows of other entertainers, even the mildly rock 'n' roll program The Pat Boone Chevy Showroom on ABC.

10. Steve Allen assured viewers that he would not allow Presley 'to do anything that will offend anyone.

11. In 2011 Steve Allen was selected for inclusion in the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry's Pantheon of Skeptics.

12. Steve Allen wrote many pieces for their publication, Skeptic, on such topics as the Church of Scientology, genius, and the passing of science fiction giant Isaac Asimov.

13. Steve Allen appeared on a 1976 episode of Witness to Yesterday as composer-pianist George Gershwin.

14. In 1985, Steve Allen wrote 19 songs for Irwin Steve Allen's television mini-series Alice in Wonderland that starred his wife Jayne Meadows as the Queen of Hearts, among countless other celebrities.

15. Steve Allen composed the score to Paul Mantee's James Bond-wannabee film A Man Called Dagger, with the score orchestrated by Ronald Stein.

16. Steve Allen wrote the music, and was one of three credited lyricists.

17. Steve Allen wrote the lyrics for the standard "Theme From Picnic", which was a No 13 US hit in a vocal version for The McGuire Sisters in 1956.

18. Steve Allen had begun his recording career in 1953 by signing with the Decca Records' subsidiary Brunswick Records.

19. Steve Allen initially produced a version in 1971 that aired locally in Los Angeles and earned three Local Emmy Awards.

20. Steve Allen described the show as "drama disguised as a talk show.

21. Steve Allen was a "philosophy fanatic" and avid reader of classic literature and history.

22. Steve Allen hosted a number of television programs up until the 1980s, including The New Steve Allen Show in 1961 and the game show I've Got a Secret in 1964.

23. Steve Allen presented Southern California eccentrics, including health food advocate Gypsy Boots, quirky physics professor Dr Julius Sumner Miller, wacko comic Professor Irwin Corey, and an early musical performance by Frank Zappa.

24. In September 1959, Steve Allen relocated to Los Angeles and left Sunday night television.

25. Steve Allen helped the then-new Polaroid camera become popular by demonstrating its instant-picture capabilities during live commercials and amassed a huge financial windfall for his work because he had opted to be paid for it in Polaroid Corporation stock.

26. Steve Allen told his nationwide audience that first evening: "This is Tonight, and I can't think of too much to tell you about it except I want to give you the bad news first: this program is going to go on forever.

27. Steve Allen was sometimes jokingly referred to as the son of fellow panelist Fred Allen, but the two men were unrelated.

28. Steve Allen turned one of Godfrey's live Lipton tea and soup commercials upside down, preparing tea and instant soup on camera, then pouring both into Godfrey's iconic ukulele.

29. Steve Allen achieved national attention when he was pressed into last-minute service to guest host the hugely popular Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts when Godfrey was unable to appear.

30. Steve Allen became an announcer for KFAC in Los Angeles, then moved to the Mutual Broadcasting System in 1946, talking the station into airing his five-nights-a-week comedy show Smile Time, co-starring Wendell Noble.

31. Steve Allen enlisted in the US Army during World War II and was trained as an infantryman.

32. Steve Allen was raised on the South Side of Chicago largely by his mother's Irish Catholic family.

33. Steve Allen was born in New York City, son of Billy and Isabelle Allen (nee Donohue), a husband and wife vaudeville comedy team.

34. Steve Allen has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and a Hollywood theater named in his honor.

35. Steve Allen 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.

36. Steve Allen gained national attention as a guest host on Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts.