Steve Allen (1 Viewer)

[darkrock17]

Why hasn't any of Steve Allen's show been on DVD yet. Who owns the multiple shows he did? Are there coypright issues holding back his shows?

 

[Kevin Segura]

Meadowlane, the Allen family's company, apparently controls the early (pre-national) "Steve Allen Show", which was later morphed into the Tonight Show by NBC... I think two kinnies are known to exist. NBC controls whatever national "Tonight Show" eps are still around. I believe that Meadowlane also controls the Sunday night "Steve Allen Show" variety eps, which originally aired on NBC, as well as the various subsequent syndicated series.

Since these are variety shows, it's not surprising that they haven't been released-- the musical, talent and Guild clearances necessary for releasing that type of program to home video is truly daunting... as well as expensive.

- Kevin

 

[Gary16]

Back in 1990 they put together a series of half hour repackagings of kinescopes of his primetime NBC series under the title "The Steve Allen Show" and aired on Comedy Central distributed by MTM. Each half hour was cut down from a single hourlong program (not just random segments from various shows).
Steve cut new openings explaining the date and content of the shows. As far as I can recall there were few if any musical segments -- almost all comedy sketches or Steve's monologues, etc., but there's no question the content is still funny today (at least to me and others). I don't believe these were ever put out in any other form.

 

[Jack P]

I have a number of those 90s repeats and on some rare occasions a musical number would be left in, like the time Steve and his guests started doing a number as they made their way down to Dinah Shore's studio to begin her program. But the focus was indeed comedy.

There was one great moment in a sketch where Steve and Tony Franciosa were construction workers on a high rise and Steve looks down and says, "Look how small those people are" and Tony pauses and then says, "Yeah....I was just going to tell you that." Meaning Steve had unwittingly read Tony's line in the sketch. The audience reaction and Steve's realization was priceless.

Steve once wrote in one of his memoirs that UCLA had all of his 1962-1964 Westinghouse talk shows except for a couple that had been censored. They all existed in pristine tape quality. I loved a clip once shown on "Later" when Johnny Carson came on and he and Steve did a "Funny Fone Call" to Jack Paar.....who promptly saw through the deception with Johnny but didn't recognize Steve.

 

[darkrock17]

I loved a clip once shown on "Later" when Johnny Carson came on and he and Steve did a "Funny Fone Call" to Jack Paar.....who promptly saw through the deception with Johnny but didn't recognize Steve.

That clip is on YouTube.

 

[Neil Brock]

Between UCLA and Research Video in North Hollywood, almost all of Allen's post-Tonight show material is stored. As to why Bill Allen, his son, has not tried to make anything commercially available, I have no idea. Or perhaps he has and there wasn't interest or else he was asking too much money.

 

[Will Krupp]

I have a number of those 90s repeats and on some rare occasions a musical number would be left in, like the time Steve and his guests started doing a number as they made their way down to Dinah Shore's studio to begin her program. But the focus was indeed comedy.

THAT is a seriously great clip that I just recently got the chance to see for the first time!