Dave Allen at Large

If Benny Hill is the King of British Comedy, then Dave Allen is the Duke. He has a marvelous talent for combining mimmickry and mannerisms into telling stories, as well as a mind for creating the funniest sketches. Even without the scale of a Benny Hill size extravaganza, he creates the same level of humor. While Benny was always, can he do that, Dave was always, he did that ! His humor, though, of sex, drinking and religion might be too contoversial for today, but there's a lot less funny comics getting way with a lot more.

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.

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.

Gosh, I loved this show! It came on Canadian TV when I was a kid, and it was one of the highlights of my week. Dave Allen was an extremely skilled raconteur, and his show mixed comedy skits with standup (or, in his case, sitdown) comedy monologues. Unlike most present-day comedians like Jerry Seinfeld, Allen mostly did not do self-referential humour. He told regular *stories* and typical jokes, but he did it so well, he leaves many modern, trendy comedians looking thin and cramped. His were stories about little old ladies going to mass, boozy men down at the pub, village priests and country gossips, all delivered in a captivating Irish brogue that could just keep you enchanted for hours. He's the sort of fellow you wish you had for a favourite uncle, who you could imagine holding forth after family dinners, leaving everyone in stitches with his mimicry and crazy tales. His stories and skits making fun of Catholicism and the Church were some of the best things he did, and remind me of a more innocent time, when the laughter wasn't as bitter as it is today.

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.