Dave Allen

Dave Allen (born David Tynan O'Mahony, 6 July 1936 - 10 March 2005) was an Irish comedian, satirist, and actor, best known for his observational comedy. Allen regularly provoked indignation by highlighting political hypocrisy and showing disdain for religious authority, and his technique and style have influenced young British comedians. He was born in the Firhouse suburb of Dublin, the son of an Irish father and English mother, and was educated at Newbridge College, Terenure College, and the Catholic University School.

Allen initially followed his father into journalism, joining the Drogheda Argus as a copy boy before going to Fleet Street in London at age 19. He drifted through a series of jobs, became a Butlins Redcoat at Skegness, and performed stand-up at night clubs and working men's clubs. He changed his stage surname to "Allen" at the behest of his agent, who believed few people in the UK could pronounce "O'Mahony" correctly. He famously lost the top of his left index finger in a machine cog and invented various comic stories to explain it.

Initially becoming known in Australia in 1963 and 1964, where he headlined the Channel 9 talk show Tonight with Dave Allen, he made regular television appearances in the United Kingdom from the late 1960s until the mid-1980s. The BBC aired his Dave Allen Show from 1971 to 1986, which was also exported to several European countries and broadcast in the United States, Canada, and beyond. He had a major resurgence during the late 1980s and early to mid-1990s before retiring in 1998, and won a British Comedy Award in 1996.