Dave Allen at Large

Nice review from Rosabel - but it does seem that people from north America have a distorted view of Dave Allen. Yes, he started out telling traditional jokes, but his material evolved over the years and became increasingly observational, drawing on his own life. He was probably the first comedian to say on British television "Have you ever noticed that...?" Much as you may dislike modern comedians, he was a major influence on them - whether they realise it or not. He was certainly unique in that he straddled that gap between old and new. As for Benny Hill - it's an insult to Dave to even mention him in the same sentence. Dave was gentle - but he could be savage too, and his targets were usually people who deserved it. Much missed for his integrity and compassion. And for being funny!

It was amazing, when I first started watching this show, how funny it was. This was the mid to late 80's, and even then I remarked on the show's vintage. Most comedy shows of that age would barely have raised a smile: times had changed. But somehow Allen's humour seemed as fresh as it had been when it was made. Lord knows how it must've gone down in the 70's, I certainly couldn't see it ever having been broadcast any earlier than 10pm....

Allen lived near here at some stage, in a sort of retirement. It didn't seem to matter what age he was, though, he always bore an odd resemblance to my old man (and they were about the same age)....

R.I.P. Dave Allen. You left many fond memories for this viewer.

"Because they missed the boat." Sayeth Dave Allen in one of his many riffs on religion and fables thereof. I watched Dave Allen imports from the UK throughout the 70s and 80s, and loved every minute of them.

I don't have too much to say about Dave Allen or his show, other than he was a comic genius. His vignettes, his stand up material where he usually sat in his chair on a stage before an audience as he delivered zingers and funny stories, it was all entertaining.

Unlike Benny Hill who did largely burlesque, Dave Allen's material was a little more high brow. His sketches and jokes didn't rely on sex nor body functions, and usually were just poking innocent fun at history and society as a whole.

There's nothing much more to add, other than don't think about his humor too much. Take it for what it is. Just love and laugh the legacy he's left us.

Enjoy.

Dave Allen was one of the best storytellers I have ever heard. He would draw an audience into a tale, then zap them with a witty ending. I miss seeing this show on public TV. Someone needs to put this out on video! Today's comedians could take excellent notes from Mr. Allen.

I used to watch this show back when I was a kid, and to this day I still think of it from time-to-time. (Hence the fact that I'm here today.) He would mix sitting on stage and telling jokes to showing skits that were Python-like in their humor. While on stage, he'd always have a drink in his hand. One time he had the camera do a close-up and you could see that he had part of one finger missing. He'd say, "I used to hold my glass with that finger... strong drink!" I know darn well that if I were to see this today it wouldn't be nearly as funny as my childhood memory, but then again, maybe it would.

One of my favorite skits had him dressed as a bishop with a robe, miter and staff. (Religeon was one of his comedy foils, but he'd always emphasize he was just having fun.) He was in a litter being carried by two men. Across the field, they spotted a rival bishop, also in a litter. The two men glared at each other, lowered their staffs, and had their litter-bearers run at each other like they were in a joust. I liked it.