Comic legend Dave Allen dies, aged 68

IRISH comedian Dave Allen has died at the age of 68, his agent said yesterday.

Mr Allen died in his sleep at his west London home last night. He was a TV favourite with his shows Tonight With Dave Allen and Dave Allen At Large.

He leaves a wife, Karin, and three children.

Mr Allen’s agent, Vivienne Clore, said the cause of death was unknown. The comic had not been suffering from any major illness.

Mr Allen famously delivered his comedy routines sitting on a stool with a cigarette and drink in hand.

He was considered one of the first alternative comedians, telling risqué jokes about sex and religion.

Born David Tynan O’Mahoney, the son of Irish Times managing editor Cully Tynan O’Mahoney, in Tallaght, Dublin, Dave Allen left school at 16. After a spell as copy-boy at the Drogheda Argus, he left for London aged 19.

He got his first television break on the BBC TV talent show New Faces in 1959 before heading to Australia where he was offered the chance to host a show, Tonight With Dave Allen, while on tour.

Several years on the stand-up circuit followed, including tours with the Beatles. After appearing in his own show in Australia, he landed his first British TV series, Tonight With Dave Allen, in 1967 followed by The Dave Allen Show in 1968.

Dave Allen At Large began on the BBC in 1971 and ran for eight years. The mix of monologues and sketches became one of the most popular comedy shows on TV.

His last TV show, simply titled Dave Allen, ended in 1994.

But offers of work continued to come in and he was considering a project scheduled for later this year when he died.

Although smoking was part of his stand-up routine, Allen quit his 60-a-day habit in the 1980s, explaining: “I was fed up with paying people to kill me.”

Comedian Eddie Izzard said: “He was an original. He carved his own path.

“I think he was the first alternative stand-up to have his own show on TV and he was a torchbearer for all the excellent Irish comics who have followed.”

Dylan Moran said: “He could dismiss several schools of philosophy by shifting slightly in his chair or toting his whiskey glass.”

Actor Frank Kelly, who played Father Jack in the hit TV series Father Ted, said Mr Allen’s death was a great loss.

“It’s the end of an era for a kind of comedy, a convention of comedy that seems to have moved on to an alternative form of comedy, and I would be much more of his generation.

“He was of the school who told jokes more than anecdotes,” Mr Kelly said.

Comedian Roy Walker said of Mr Allen: “He was the greatest comedian since the war.

“He was better than Jackie Mason and Bob Hope and all those guys.”

Former Late Late Show presenter Gay Byrne, who interviewed the comedian on several occasions, said he admired Allen’s enormous self-confidence to perform in the way he did.

“He was a tremendous observer of the idiocies of life and brought them brilliantly to the screen and the stage.

“He was born and raised a Catholic, so he knew it very well and was able to make fun of it.

“People at first were outraged and then got used to it and were able to enjoy it,” he said.

Television presenter Sean Moncrieff said he was very sad to hear that Allen had died.

“I remember I saw him about 12 to 15 years ago in London and he was absolute genius.

“He probably isn’t given enough credit by the current generation of Irish comedians for the influence he has on them.” Mr Moncrieff said.