Biography: 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.
Place of Birth: Not available
Birthday: December 26, 1921
Deathday: October 30, 2000
Popularity:
1975-03-24
Overview: Mitzi Gaynor in a song and dance hour with an all-male, star-studded ensemble featuring her main guests Michael Landon (Little House on the Prairie) and Jack Albertson (Chico and the Man), plus 28 celebrities as her "Million Dollar Chorus." Songs performed include: "I Got the Music in Me," "The Most Beautiful Guy in the World," and "You Are the Sunshine of My Life."
Genres: Music Comedy TV Movie
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1975-03-24
Popularity:
1968-01-01
Overview: Clips from assorted television programs, B-movies, commercials, music performances, newsreels, bloopers, satirical short films and promotional and government films of the 1950s and 1960s are intercut together to tell a single story of various creatures and societal ills attacking American cities.
Genres: Comedy Documentary History
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1968-01-01
Popularity:
1992-04-03
Overview: A Hollywood studio executive is being sent death threats by a writer whose script he rejected - but which one?
Genres: Mystery Drama Thriller Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1992-04-03
Popularity:
1955-07-02
Overview: TV goes Hollywood when Steve Allen visits Universal-International to prepare for his upcoming title role in "The Benny Goodman Story."
Genres: Comedy Music TV Movie
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1955-07-02
Popularity:
1968-06-19
Overview: When the Great Northeast Blackout of 1965 hit, millions of people were left in the dark, including Waldo Zane, a New York executive in the process of stealing a fortune from his company, and two people whose paths he's destined to cross, Broadway actress Margaret Garrison and her husband, Peter.
Genres: Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1968-06-19
Popularity:
1956-02-02
Overview: Young Benny Goodman is taught clarinet by a music professor. He is advised to play whichever kind of music he likes best, but to make a living, Benny begins by joining the Ben Pollack traveling band.
Genres: Drama Music
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1956-02-02
Popularity:
1992-04-05
Overview: Modern comedians share their thoughts about Laurel and Hardy. Also includes archival footage of contemporary comedians. Hosted by Dom DeLuise.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1992-04-05
Popularity:
1966-05-01
Overview: A man is mistaken by foreign agents for a defecting cosmonaut and must prove his identity while evading capture.
Genres: Thriller Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1966-05-01
Popularity:
1991-08-03
Overview: Rodney Dangerfield wants the hottest up-and-coming comedians for his new HBO special, but as always, he gets no respect.
Genres: Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1991-08-03
Popularity:
1972-01-01
Overview: The outrageous, groundbreaking comic Lenny Bruce, whose iconoclastic material in a conservative era got him into tragic trouble, is profiled by a close friend, Fred Baker, who prefers to remember the laughs Lenny Bruce's memory evokes instead of the tears. By presenting Bruce's landmark skits on the Steve Allen Show, his failed TV pilot episode and a candid interview with Nat Hentoff, Bruce's genius and anguish show through the dramatic and tragic trajectory of his career from aspiring artist to hunted "lawbreaker".
Genres: Comedy Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1972-01-01
Popularity:
1960-08-26
Overview: Sociology professor Steve MacInter is conducting a survey at Collins College about the mores and lifestyles of the young people. Some of the good citizens begin to find exception to his sociological survey when they find out it includes questions about sex. Reporter Betty Ducayne receives an anonymous tip that the good professor is engaging in corruption of youth and when Steve's past comes up to haunt him, all heck breaks loose.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1960-08-26
Popularity:
1967-01-18
Overview: Hounded by the press for shooting a doctor, an ousted Los Angeles policeman works his own case.
Genres: Crime Mystery Thriller
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1967-01-18
Popularity:
1998-10-21
Overview: In 1948, Lenny Bruce was just another comic who couldn't get arrested. By 1961, all that would change.
Genres: Comedy Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1998-10-21
Popularity:
2005-04-05
Overview: A documentary about the life of Errol Flynn, with recollections from friends and family.
Genres: Documentary TV Movie
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2005-04-05
Popularity:
1988-05-16
Overview: Stars celebrate Bob Hope's 50 years with NBC.
Genres: Comedy TV Movie Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1988-05-16
Popularity:
1959-07-05
Overview: A circus owner tries to keep his financially troubled circus on the road, despite the efforts of a murderous saboteur who has decided that the show must not go on.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1959-07-05
Popularity:
1995-11-22
Overview: In early-1970s Las Vegas, Sam "Ace" Rothstein gets tapped by his bosses to head the Tangiers Casino. At first, he's a great success in the job, but over the years, problems with his loose-cannon enforcer Nicky Santoro, his ex-hustler wife Ginger, her con-artist ex Lester Diamond and a handful of corrupt politicians put Sam in ever-increasing danger.
Genres: Crime Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1995-11-22
Popularity:
1997-11-21
Overview: Witness the last days of the Beat poet whose works would capture the very essence of the 1960 counter-cultural movement in an informative documentary featuring Allan Ginsburg's final television interview as well as remarkable deathbed footage shot by underground cinema icon Jonas Mekas.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1997-11-21
Popularity:
1950-10-02
Overview: I'll Get By is an updated remake of the 1940 20th Century-Fox musical Tin Pan Alley. William Lundigan and Dennis Day play William Spencer and Freddie Lee respectively, successful song publishers who make hits out of such numbers as "I Got a Gal in Kalamazoo", "Deep in the Heart of Texas", "You Make Me Feel So Young", "There Will Never Be Another You", and other favorites (the rights to all of these songs were conveniently held by 20th Century-Fox). The partnership has some hard times, especially during the feud between ASCAP and the radio networks, when only public-domain songs like "I Dream of Jeannie" were permitted to be broadcast.
Genres: Romance Comedy Music
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1950-10-02
Popularity:
1990-01-01
Overview: Dr. Friedman states, "There is not a single person in the world who can make this pencil." He explains that the creation of even a simple object - like the "lead" pencil - requires the knowledge of many people, lumberjacks, steel manufacturers, miners, etc. These people may not speak the same language, they may not know or like one another, yet the market enables them to combine knowledge and effort to produce wealth.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1990-01-01
Popularity:
1975-11-06
Overview: Lewis and Clark, aka The Sunshine Boys, were famous comedians during the vaudeville era, but off-stage they couldn't stand each other and haven't spoken in over 20 years of retirement. Willy Clark's nephew is the producer of a TV variety show that wants to feature a reunion of this classic duo. It is up to him to try to get the Sunshine Boys back together again.
Genres: Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1975-11-06
Popularity:
2002-03-31
Overview: "The Television Years" examines the events that took place in the years between 1956 and 1960, in which Elvis Presley excited a whole nation as the "King of Rock and Roll" in the big television shows of the time. One highlight of this time periode was Elvis' 1960 combeback hosted by Frank Sinatra, which marked his first appearance on televison after his two-year stay in the army.
Genres: Documentary Music
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2002-03-31
Popularity:
1979-08-26
Overview: Dennis Weaver is a Joseph Wambaugh-type novelist cop and Pat Hingle is his hard-nosed superior who wants him to stick to police work or get off the force in this pilot to the short-lived series.
Genres: Crime Drama TV Movie
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1979-08-26
Popularity:
1997-01-01
Overview: Roast of Rodney Dangerfield recorded in Aspen on his 75th birthday.
Genres: Comedy Documentary TV Movie
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1997-01-01
Popularity:
1976-10-16
Overview: With an uncanny ability to mimic just about any dialect he heard and accompany it with a hilariously appropriate facial expression, classic nightclub comedian Myron Cohen built his career on the art of effective storytelling. Filmed in Warwick, R.I., and hosted by fellow comedian Steve Allen, this installment of HBO's "On Location" series captures Cohen in his element, spinning yarns that are sure to make you laugh.
Genres: Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1976-10-16
Popularity:
1999-10-26
Overview: Nostalgic history of the Friars Club. Aired on Cinemax Reel Life
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1999-10-26
Popularity:
2007-11-12
Overview: Elvis fans, thank your lucky stars. This jam-packed collection of pulse-raising performances from TV, movies, concerts and special events showcases the King delivering blistering renditions of 15 No. 1 hits. Highlights include Elvis singing "Don't Be Cruel" for his first appearance on "The Ed Sullivan Show" and his performance of "Stuck on You" for "Welcome Home, Elvis," a TV variety special hosted by Frank Sinatra.
Genres: Music
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2007-11-12
Popularity:
1984-01-01
Overview: A documentary recounting the personal and professional lives of the Three Stooges, including rare footage and interviews with family members.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1984-01-01
Popularity:
1977-11-21
Overview: Homemaker Lucy Whittaker calls up President Carter to complain about a local political issue—and to her astonishment, he agrees to come dine at her house. Now Lucy has her hands full as family, friends and Secret Service agents invade her home in preparation for the big dinner summit.
Genres: Comedy TV Movie
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1977-11-21
Popularity:
1989-06-30
Overview: The story of Jerry Lee Lewis, arguably the greatest and certainly one of the wildest musicians of the 1950s. His arrogance, remarkable talent, and unconventional lifestyle often brought him into conflict with others in the industry, and even earned him the scorn and condemnation of the public.
Genres: Drama History Music
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1989-06-30
Popularity:
1984-01-01
Overview: Don't Ask Me, Ask God is a TV Special starring Michael J. Fox.
Genres: No genres available
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1984-01-01
Popularity:
2022-10-27
Overview: An intimate and revealing look at the world-changing musician, presented through a lens of archival footage and never-before-heard home recordings and personal conversations. This definitive documentary honors Armstrong's legacy as a founding father of jazz, one of the first internationally known and beloved stars, and a cultural ambassador of the United States.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2022-10-27
Popularity:
1986-04-16
Overview: A compilation film of stand up performances and comedy routines featuring some of the biggest stars in the early years of television. This film was directed by Sandy Olivieri. Here is a partial list of the performers who appeared in the film Bob Newhart, Mort Sahl, Jack Benny, Lenny Bruce, Johnny Carson, George Carlin, et al.
Genres: Comedy TV Movie Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1986-04-16
Popularity:
1969-11-19
Overview: An account of the rise and fall of a silent film comic, Billy Bright. The movie begins with his funeral, as he speaks from beyond the grave in a bitter tone about his fate, and takes us through his fame, as he ruins it with womanizing and drink, and his fall, as a lonely, bitter old man unable to reconcile his life's disappointments. The movie is based loosely on the life of Buster Keaton.
Genres: Comedy Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1969-11-19
Popularity:
1975-11-06
Overview: Lewis and Clark, aka The Sunshine Boys, were famous comedians during the vaudeville era, but off-stage they couldn't stand each other and haven't spoken in over 20 years of retirement. Willy Clark's nephew is the producer of a TV variety show that wants to feature a reunion of this classic duo. It is up to him to try to get the Sunshine Boys back together again.
Genres: Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1975-11-06
Popularity:
1996-04-29
Overview: A biography of comedian duo Bud Abbott & Lou Costello
Genres: Documentary TV Movie
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1996-04-29
Popularity:
2010-08-03
Overview: The team of smart-talkin' toddlers known as Everything Is Terrible! have once again emerged from their VHS cocoons to conjure a jam on culture so culture-jamtastic that we're sorry we can't be there to hold your hand as you watch in dazed amazement. Thousands of hours of brain-boiling footage have been concentrated into an impenetrable jewel of an experience, teach us once and for all that loving well is the best revenge.
Genres: Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2010-08-03
Popularity:
2016-05-03
Overview: Utilizing potent TV interviews and many forgotten performances from his 30-year career, we are immersed into Frank Zappa’s world while experiencing two distinct facets of his complex character. At once Zappa was both a charismatic composer who reveled in the joy of performing and, in the next moment, a fiercely intelligent and brutally honest interviewee whose convictions only got stronger as his career ascended.
Genres: Music Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2016-05-03
Popularity:
2020-03-06
Overview: An illuminating portrait of Jay Sebring — the long-forgotten artist, designer, and entrepreneur who created a billion-dollar hair & beauty industry and defined iconic Hollywood styles for men.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2020-03-06
Popularity:
1966-01-01
Overview: Jazz Pianist on the Creative Process & Self-Teaching. Here is the late, brilliantly original jazz pianist in intense conversation with his composer brother, Harry, on the nature of creativity in jazz. Occasionally, they stroll to the piano for a musical illustration (Evans play splendidly).
Genres: Music Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1966-01-01
Popularity:
1980-04-25
Overview: An exploration of the relationship between Beat Generation writers Jack Kerouac and Neal Cassady, and Cassady's wife, Carolyn.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1980-04-25
Popularity:
1995-01-01
Overview: A documentary about James Dean. People who knew him or had worked with him reminisce.
Genres: Documentary TV Movie
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1995-01-01
Popularity:
1976-03-05
Overview: Over fifty of the greatest living comedians are called to a party at Bob Hope's house, where each of them is systematically killed (and their bodies thrown in Hope's pool!). Hope and the rapidly shrinking cast try to discover who is the mysterious killer known only as "Joys."
Genres: Comedy TV Movie
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1976-03-05
Popularity:
1980-03-21
Overview: New Tinseltown gossip columnist Dina Moran helps faded movie star Georgia O'Hanlon dig up dirt on amoral characters.
Genres: Comedy Drama TV Movie
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1980-03-21
Popularity:
2007-10-17
Overview: The story of Tasmanian-born actor Errol Flynn whose short & flamboyant life, full of scandals, adventures, loves and excess was largely played out in front of the camera - either making movies or filling the newsreels and gossip magazines. Tragically he was dead from the effects of drugs and alcohol by the time he was only 50 & the myths live on. But there is another side of Flynn that is less well known - his ambitions to be a serious writer and newspaper correspondent, his documentary films and his interest in the Spanish Civil War and Castro's Cuba
Genres: Documentary History TV Movie Crime
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2007-10-17
Popularity:
1984-12-15
Overview: A New Jersey trucker creates a hit TV show with help from his girlfriend in the ratings business.
Genres: Comedy Romance TV Movie
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1984-12-15
Popularity:
2007-11-12
Overview: Elvis fans, thank your lucky stars. This jam-packed collection of pulse-raising performances from TV, movies, concerts and special events showcases the King delivering blistering renditions of 30 No. 1 hits. An outstanding introduction to the magic of Elvis Presley! This collection of 30 wonderful performances by the King of Rock 'n' Roll showcasing 21 of his #1 US and UK hits and 9 other classics. Culled from his TV guest appearances, movies, and concert films and television specials -- from 1956, the year his star ascended, to the 1970s when he reached the pinnacle of his career -- this is Elvis at his best. Highlights include Elvis singing "Don't Be Cruel" for his first appearance on "The Ed Sullivan Show" and his performance of "Stuck on You" for "Welcome Home, Elvis," a TV variety special hosted by Frank Sinatra.
Genres: Music Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2007-11-12
Popularity:
1974-01-01
Overview: Peter Lawford hosts this documentary taking a look at the life and films of James Dean.
Genres: Documentary TV Movie
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1974-01-01
Popularity:
1983-02-18
Overview: The laughs are nonstop as a gang of ambitious young comics strives to make it in the exciting world of stand-up comedy at the famous comedy club in L.A., The Funny Farm. These budding comedy stars are as crazy offstage as they are on: Miguel, America s funniest illegal alien ; Miles, who can t decide if he s a black comic or a comic who happens to be black; Bruce, whose manic act borders on insanity; and Peter, the intense political satirist. The Funny Farm is a hilarious and insightful look into those who live the lives of comedians.
Genres: Drama Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1983-02-18
Popularity:
2013-04-09
Overview: In a triumphant career that lasted forty years Erroll Garner pushed the playability of the piano to its limits, developed an international reputation, and made an indelible mark on the jazz world. And yet, his story has never been told. Until now. The film explores Erroll's childhood in Pittsburgh; his meteoric rise in popularity while playing on 52nd street, New York's famed jazz epicenter; the origins of his most famous album (Concert By The Sea) and his most famous composition (Misty); his singular, virtuosic piano style; and his dynamic personality, both on and off the stage.
Genres: Documentary Music
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2013-04-09
Popularity:
2001-12-31
Overview: Documentary discussing the casting and making of "Some Like It Hot", the film voted as the Best Comedy ever made by the American Film Institute.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2001-12-31
Popularity:
1984-06-05
Overview: Steve Allen and Jayne Meadows teach viewers computer terminology, basic functionality and the many common uses of home computers.
Genres: No genres available
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1984-06-05
Popularity:
1968-11-11
Overview: A bumbling art expert, hired by an insurance company to protect a Rembrandt on loan from the Louvre, schemes to steal it.
Genres: Comedy Crime TV Movie
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1968-11-11
Popularity:
1977-12-16
Overview: Members of a town's Jewish community decide to substitute for their Christian friends and neighbors so they can enjoy Christmas. The good folk humorously attempt jobs they have never done before.
Genres: TV Movie Drama Family
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1977-12-16
Popularity:
1979-05-16
Overview: Kermit the Frog throws a glamorous party at the Cocoanut Grove nightclub to celebrate the premiere of the Muppets' first feature film, The Muppet Movie. Hosts Dick van Dyke and Rita Moreno interview the wide array of celebrities and Muppets who attend the event. Gary Owens serves as off-camera announcer, and appears on-screen to introduce Miss Piggy.
Genres: TV Movie Family Comedy Music
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1979-05-16
Popularity:
1988-06-18
Overview: The sun's too bright, the traffic's going to be bad, there's too many people out there... It's just easier to sit back on the couch and laugh with Richard Lewis.
Genres: Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1988-06-18
Popularity:
1990-04-01
Overview: More than 65,000 fans pack the Toronto SkyDome to witness The Ultimate Challenge as The Ultimate Warrior faces Hulk Hogan with both the WWE Championship and WWE Intercontinental Championship on the line. "The Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase defends the Million Dollar Championship against Jake "The Snake" Roberts. Dusty Rhodes and more in action!
Genres: Action Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1990-04-01
Popularity:
2018-01-19
Overview: A funny, intimate and heartbreaking portrait of one of the world’s most beloved and inventive comedians, Robin Williams, told largely through his own words. Celebrates what he brought to comedy and to the culture at large, from the wild days of late-1970s L.A. to his death in 2014.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2018-01-19
Popularity:
1996-05-22
Overview: A documentary made for the PBS program American Masters about the comedy team Nichols and May.
Genres: Documentary TV Movie
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1996-05-22
Popularity:
2021-08-16
Overview: Dickson Hughes and Richard Stapley, two young composers and romantic partners, are caught in the web of silent film star Gloria Swanson when she hires them to write a musical version of Sunset Boulevard, her 1950 film directed by Billy Wilder.
Genres: Documentary History
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2021-08-16
Popularity:
1949-08-01
Overview: This film is a compilation, with narration by Steve Allen, of comedies from the old Mack Sennett silent studio. Sennett, himself, appears in a cameo at the end of the film.
Genres: Comedy History Music
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1949-08-01
Popularity:
1982-03-08
Overview: The most glittering, expensive, and exhausting videotaping session in television history took place Friday February 19, 1982 at New York's Radio City Music Hall. The event, for which ticket-buyers paid up to $1,000 a seat (tax-deductible as a contribution to the Actors' Fund) was billed as "The Night of 100 Stars" but, actually, around 230 stars took part. And most of the audience of 5,800 had no idea in advance that they were paying to see a TV taping, complete with long waits for set and costume changes, tape rewinding, and the like. Executive producer Alexander Cohen estimated that the 5,800 Radio City Music Hall seats sold out at prices ranging from $25 to $1,000. The show itself cost about $4 million to produce and was expected to yield around $2 million for the new addition to the Actors Fund retirement home in Englewood, N. J. ABC is reputed to have paid more than $5 million for the television rights.
Genres: Comedy Music TV Movie Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1982-03-08
Popularity:
1962-01-01
Overview: Remake of "My Favorite Wife," unfinished because of star Marilyn Monroe's firing, rehiring, and sudden August 1962 death.
Genres: Comedy Romance
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1962-01-01
Popularity:
1987-09-18
Overview: Centered around a television station which features a 1950s-style sci-fi movie interspersed with a series of wild commercials, wacky shorts and weird specials, this lampoon of contemporary life and pop culture skewers some of the silliest spectacles ever created in the name of entertainment.
Genres: Comedy Science Fiction
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1987-09-18
Popularity:
2003-08-05
Overview: Featuring a host of archival appearances, interviews and performances, this comprehensive documentary celebrates the never-ending love affair America has with the King, considered by many to be rock 'n' roll's greatest entertainer. Highlights include a newsreel of Elvis's experiences in the military, a nationwide satellite broadcast from Hawaii and TV sketches with Hollywood luminaries such as Milton Berle and Andy Griffith.
Genres: Music Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2003-08-05
Popularity:
1997-10-11
Overview: Andrew O'Hagan looks at a critical point in the life of Beat Generation writer Jack Kerouac. In 1956 he spent spent 63 soul-searching days as a fire-watcher on Washington state's Desolation Peak. After this stint he was never the same creative force again.
Genres: Documentary History
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1997-10-11
Popularity: