Dave Allen (1936-2005), Comedian

Dave Allen (David Tynan O'Mahoney)

Sitter in 1 portrait
Dave Allen, born David Tynan O'Mahoney in Dublin, was one of the comedy mainstays of BBC schedules throughout the 1970s and 1980s. He was most famous for his television shows Tonight With Dave Allen and Dave Allen at Large, in which he perched on a stool, holding a drink and a cigarette, satirising religion and many other aspects of life. Allen spent his early twenties touring with several theatre companies, and performing in a variety of environments including theatres, nightclubs, vaudeville and workingmen's clubs. He made his television debut in 1959 on the BBC talent show New Faces; his first chat show, Tonight with Dave Allen, was aired in Australia in 1963-4.