Born and raised in Raytown, Missouri, Allen earned a Bachelor and master's degrees from the Boston University College of Fine Arts.[6] After completing his education, he moved to New York and began his career performing in an Off-Broadway music revue of material by Julius Monk in the Plaza 9 club at the Plaza Hotel.[6] He spent next four years performing sketch comedy in New York clubs, and working as an actor in radio and television commercials.[6]
In 1968, Allen was cast as Calvin Coolidge in William F. Brown and composer-lyricist Oscar Brand's musical How To Steal An Election. Earning rave reviews for his performance; he drew the attention of the producers of Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In and was invited to join the cast. From 1970 through 1973, he was a main cast member of Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In; there he was reunited with former ClownAround co-star Ruth Buzzi.[6]
After the show ended, he returned to Missouri and resided in Kansas City. During this time he struggled with substance abuse. After receiving treatment, he recovered and worked for a time with a program that assisted boys who were emotionally disturbed.[6]
Allen resumed his career as an actor in regional theatre in Kansas City and the surrounding region, often portraying comedic roles.[6]
dennis, allen, comedian, dennis, allen, june, 1940, december, 1995, actor, comedian, regular, cast, member, rowan, martin, laugh, appeared, love, american, style, starred, opposite, ruth, buzzi, gene, kelly, production, clownaround, unreliable, source, died, l. Dennis Roy Allen June 10 1940 December 1 1995 was an actor and comedian He was a regular cast member on Rowan and Martin s Laugh In 1 2 and appeared on Love American Style He starred opposite Ruth Buzzi in Gene Kelly s production of ClownAround 3 4 5 unreliable source He died of lung cancer at the age of 55 1 Rowan amp Martin s Laugh In front L R John Wayne Tiny Tim Dick Martin In background L R Ruth Buzzi Joanne Worley Alan Sues Dennis Allen and Henry GibsonLife and career editBorn and raised in Raytown Missouri Allen earned a Bachelor and master s degrees from the Boston University College of Fine Arts 6 After completing his education he moved to New York and began his career performing in an Off Broadway music revue of material by Julius Monk in the Plaza 9 club at the Plaza Hotel 6 He spent next four years performing sketch comedy in New York clubs and working as an actor in radio and television commercials 6 In 1968 Allen was cast as Calvin Coolidge in William F Brown and composer lyricist Oscar Brand s musical How To Steal An Election Earning rave reviews for his performance he drew the attention of the producers of Rowan and Martin s Laugh In and was invited to join the cast From 1970 through 1973 he was a main cast member of Rowan and Martin s Laugh In there he was reunited with former ClownAround co star Ruth Buzzi 6 After the show ended he returned to Missouri and resided in Kansas City During this time he struggled with substance abuse After receiving treatment he recovered and worked for a time with a program that assisted boys who were emotionally disturbed 6 Allen resumed his career as an actor in regional theatre in Kansas City and the surrounding region often portraying comedic roles 6 He died in Kansas City Missouri of lung cancer at the age of 55 1 References edit a b c Dennis Allen cast member of Laugh In dies at 55 The Buffalo News December 4 1995 Dennis Allen Biography Fandango Retrieved 2020 08 26 Clownaround Original Broadway Cast 1972 Broadway BroadwayWorld ClownAround The Original Show Album 1972 Masterworks Broadway Retrieved 2023 09 10 I m Learning To Share Ruth Buzzi featured in Gene Kelly s ClownAround 1972 theater program Learning2share blogspot com 2009 04 19 Retrieved 2020 08 26 a b c d e f Obituaries Dennis Allen Variety Vol 361 no 11 January 22 1996 pp 111 112 External links editDennis Allen at IMDb nbsp Dennis Allen at TV Guide Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Dennis Allen TV comedian amp oldid 1186319567, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
