Dave Allen
Also known as David Tynan O'Mahony
Who Dave Allen is
Dave Allen was an Irish comedian from Dublin, born David Tynan O'Mahony on 6 July 1936, whose laid-back, personal, storytelling style won the admiration of a later generation of stand-ups. He started out as a newspaper clerk and copy-boy, moved to London, and after a small part in Sophie Tucker's London show in the early 1960s took her advice to try Australia, where he first hit the television big time presenting Channel 9's Tonight show.
Back in Britain he starred in the hugely successful Dave Allen at Large, which mixed elaborate sketches with intimate, sit-down comedy, compered ITV's Sunday Night at the London Palladium and played the West End stage. He won a lifetime award at the British Comedy Awards in 1996 and died at his home in London on 10 March 2005, aged 68.
At a glance
- Born
- 1936
- Died
- 2005
- On screen
- Tonight, Tonight with Dave Allen, Dave Allen at Large and 9 more
Specials, shows and podcasts
On screen
- Tonight presenter, Channel 9, Australia
- Tonight with Dave Allen
- Dave Allen at Large BBC
- Sunday Night at the London Palladium compère, ITV
- New Faces BBC, 1959
- The Dave Allen Show BBC, 1968
- Dave Allen in the Melting Pot ITV documentary, 1969
- Dave Allen in Search of the Great English Eccentric ITV documentary, 1974
- The Dave Allen Show in Australia Channel 9, 1975–1977
- One Fine Day Alan Bennett television play, 1979
- Dave Allen BBC, 1981–1990
- The Unique Dave Allen BBC, 1998
Their stand-up
Dave Allen made his first television appearance on the BBC talent show New Faces in 1959, and in early 1963 he compèred a tour of Britain headlined by Helen Shapiro that also included The Beatles. His 1967 ATV chat series Tonight with Dave Allen won him the Variety Club's ITV Personality of the Year award, and his television shows were broadcast in countries from the United States and Canada to Denmark and New Zealand.
On stage he sat on a high bar stool facing the audience, sipping from a glass that people took for whiskey but was in fact ginger ale with ice. He also acted, as a doctor in Edna O'Brien's A Pagan Place at the Royal Court in 1972 and as Mr Darling and Captain Hook in Peter Pan at the London Coliseum in 1973 and 1974.
Career timeline
- 1936Born
- 1959New Faces (BBC, 1959) On screen
- 1968The Dave Allen Show (BBC, 1968) On screen
- 1969Dave Allen in the Melting Pot (ITV documentary, 1969) On screen
- 1974Dave Allen in Search of the Great English Eccentric (ITV documentary, 1974) On screen
- 1975The Dave Allen Show in Australia (Channel 9, 1975–1977) On screen
- 1979One Fine Day (Alan Bennett television play, 1979) On screen
- 1981Dave Allen (BBC, 1981–1990) On screen
- 1998The Unique Dave Allen (BBC, 1998) On screen
- 2005Died
Questions and answers
What TV shows and films is Dave Allen in?
Tonight, Tonight with Dave Allen, Dave Allen at Large, Sunday Night at the London Palladium, New Faces and The Dave Allen Show, among 12 credits.
The full SUCDb record
The full record — the career in order, the specials and credits, and the sources for each — is on SUCDb, with their place on the Legends ballots.
Sources
- The Guardian — Dave Allen obituary ↗ 12 March 2005: a laid-back, satirical, personal, storytelling style, first in Australia and later on British television shows such as Tonight With Dave Allen…
- The Irish Times — Irish comedian Dave Allen dies at age of 68 ↗ 11 March 2005: died at his west London home last night, aged 68; a TV favourite with Tonight With Dave Allen and Dave Allen At Large; a copy-boy at the…
- RTÉ Archives — Dave Allen, comedian ↗ Back for a performance in Dublin, the city where he was born; An Evening with Dave Allen at the Gaiety Theatre during the Dublin Theatre Festival, and The…
- Wikipedia (comedian) ↗ New Faces (1959); compère of the 1963 Helen Shapiro tour with The Beatles; Tonight with Dave Allen (ATV, 1967) and the Variety Club's ITV Personality of the…
Updated 9 October 2026 · the record checked 8 October 2026