LAWRENCE - Comedian and actor Steve Allen comes to Lawrence for a special engagement at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 28, at the University of Kansas Lied Center, sponsored by KU's Hall Center for the Humanities.
The show, titled "Steve Allen Tonight!," will feature film clips from Allen's 50 years of television, an onstage interview of Allen by Chuck Berg, KU professor of theatre and film, and a live performance by Allen, the original "Tonight Show" host.
Allen, whose credits include a scholarly treatise on migratory farm labor and a book on white collar crime, "Ripoff: The Corruption That Plagues America," has starred in The Benny Goodman Story, has published two volumes of poetry, has hosted the Emmy Awards and has written several musical comedies.
He is listed in the 1985 Guinness Book of World Records as the world's most prolific songwriter with more than 4,000 songs, including "Picnic" and the Grammy Award-winning "Gravy Waltz." At last count, his television shows had won two Peabody Awards, the Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Comedy Awards, and induction into the Television Academy's Hall of Fame in 1986.
Allen's friend Andy Williams says, "He does so many things, he's the only man I know who's listed on every one of the Yellow Pages."
Allen says of himself: "I'm always busy, but always doing things I enjoy. I rarely occupy myself with things that bug me. I'm very fortunate in that not many of us are allowed to live for kicks and get paid for it."
Allen capitalizes on his boundless energy with small tape recorders strategically placed in pants pockets, night stands, the bathroom and his car to capture the raw material that informs his numerous activities.
He also works on behalf of the promotion of science, skepticism and humanism. Allen was named as a Humanist Laureate by the International Academy of Humanism and was a co-signer of the most recent humanist document, "Humanist Manifesto 2000." His book "Dumbth" was a national best-selling social commentary on the state of U.S. education.
Tickets for Allen's performance are $10 and $20, with student tickets available at half price. Tickets may be purchased from the KU box offices: Lied Center, (785) 864-ARTS; Murphy Hall, (785) 864-3982; SUA, (785) 864-3477; and Ticketmaster.
