
Steve Allen
Actor · 1921 – 2000 · New York City, New York, USA
Stephen Valentine Patrick William Allen was an American television personality, radio personality, musician, composer, actor, comedian, writer, and advocate of scientific skepticism. In 1954, he achieved national fame as the co-creator and first host of The Tonight Show, which was the first late night television talk show. Though he got his start in radio, Allen is best known for his extensive network television career. He gained national attention as a guest host on Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts. After he hosted The Tonight Show, he went on to host numerous game and variety shows, including his own The Steve Allen Show, I've Got a Secret, and The New Steve Allen Show. He was a regular panel member on CBS's What's My Line?, and from 1977 until 1981 wrote, produced, and hosted the award-winning public broadcasting show Meeting of Minds, a series of historical dramas presented in a talk format. Allen was a pianist and a prolific composer. By his own estimate, he wrote more than 8,500 songs, some of which were recorded by numerous leading singers. Working as a lyricist, Allen won the 1964 Grammy Award for Best Original Jazz Composition. He also wrote more than 50 books, including novels, children's books, and books of opinions, including his final book, Vulgarians at the Gate: Trash TV and Raunch Radio. In 1996 Allen was presented with the Martin Gardner Lifetime Achievement Award from the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSICOP). He has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and a Hollywood theater named in his honor.
Movies24
Movie8.0CrimeDramaIn Las Vegas, two best friends--a casino executive and a Mafia enforcer--compete for a gambling empire and a fast-living, fast-loving socialite.
Casino
1995 · 6.7K votes
Movie7.2MysteryDramaA Hollywood studio executive is being sent death threats by a writer whose script he rejected - but which one?
The Player
1992 · 987 votes
Movie6.7DocumentaryMusicNever-before-heard personal recordings and archival footage tell the story of Louis Armstrong's life from his perspective. From musical phenom to civil rights activist to world-renowned artist, this illuminating film shows sides of Armstrong few have seen.
Louis Armstrong's Black & Blues
2022 · 31 votes
Movie5.9ComedyScience FictionCentered on a television station which features a 1950s-style sci-fi movie interspersed with a series of wild commercials, wacky shorts and weird specials, this lampoon of contemporary life and pop culture skewers some of the silliest spectacles ever created in the name of entertainment.
Amazon Women on the Moon
1987 · 197 votes
Movie6.3DramaHistoryThe story of Jerry Lee Lewis, arguably the greatest and certainly one of the wildest musicians of the 1950s. His arrogance, remarkable talent, and unconventional lifestyle often brought him into conflict with others in the industry, and even earned him the scorn and condemnation of the public.
Great Balls of Fire!
1989 · 351 votes
Movie5.8ComedyMusicThe most glittering, expensive, and exhausting videotaping session in television history took place Friday February 19, 1982 at New York's Radio City Music Hall. The event, for which ticket-buyers paid up to $1,000 a seat (tax-deductible as a contribution to the Actors' Fund) was billed as "The Night of 100 Stars" but, actually, around 230 stars took part. And most of the audience of 5,800 had no idea in advance that they were paying to see a TV taping, complete with long waits for set and costume changes, tape rewinding, and the like. Executive producer Alexander Cohen estimated that the 5,800 Radio City Music Hall seats sold out at prices ranging from $25 to $1,000. The show itself cost about $4 million to produce and was expected to yield around $2 million for the new addition to the Actors Fund retirement home in Englewood, N. J. ABC is reputed to have paid more than $5 million for the television rights.
Night of 100 Stars
1982 · 5 votes
Movie6.2TV MovieFamilyKermit the Frog throws a glamorous party at the Cocoanut Grove nightclub to celebrate the premiere of the Muppets' first feature film, The Muppet Movie. Hosts Dick van Dyke and Rita Moreno interview the wide array of celebrities and Muppets who attend the event. Gary Owens serves as off-camera announcer, and appears on-screen to introduce Miss Piggy.
The Muppets Go Hollywood
1979 · 26 votes
Movie6.8ComedyDocumentaryClips from assorted television programs, B-movies, commercials, music performances, newsreels, bloopers, satirical short films and promotional and government films of the 1950s and 1960s are intercut together to tell a single story of various creatures and societal ills attacking American cities.
The Movie Orgy
1968 · 19 votes
Movie5.3ComedyWhen the Great Northeast Blackout of 1965 hit, millions of people were left in the dark, including Waldo Zane, a New York executive in the process of stealing a fortune from his company, and two people whose paths he's destined to cross, Broadway actress Margaret Garrison and her husband, Peter.
Where Were You When the Lights Went Out?
1968 · 13 votes
Movie6.9ComedyLewis and Clark, aka The Sunshine Boys, were famous comedians during the vaudeville era, but off-stage they couldn't stand each other and haven't spoken in over 20 years of retirement. Willy Clark's nephew is the producer of a TV variety show that wants to feature a reunion of this classic duo. It is up to him to try to get the Sunshine Boys back together again.
The Sunshine Boys
1975 · 111 votes
Movie7.4MusicDocumentaryUtilizing potent TV interviews and many forgotten performances from his 30-year career, we are immersed into Frank Zappa’s world while experiencing two distinct facets of his complex character. At once Zappa was both a charismatic composer who reveled in the joy of performing and, in the next moment, a fiercely intelligent and brutally honest interviewee whose convictions only got stronger as his career ascended.
Eat That Question: Frank Zappa in His Own Words
2016 · 27 votes
Movie6.0ComedyTV MovieStars celebrate Bob Hope's 50 years with NBC.
Movie7.3DocumentaryThroughout the 1950s, Tab Hunter reigned as Hollywood’s ultimate male heartthrob. But throughout his years of stardom, Tab had a secret. Tab Hunter was gay, and spent his Hollywood years in a precarious closet that repeatedly threatened to implode and destroy him. Tab Hunter himself shares first hand, for the first time, what it was like to be a studio manufactured movie star during the Golden Age of Hollywood and the consequences of being someone totally different from his studio manufactured image.
Tab Hunter Confidential
2015 · 60 votes
Movie6.2DocumentaryHistoryIn the mid-1950s, Dickson Hughes and Richard Stapley, young composers and romantic partners, are hired by legendary silent film star Gloria Swanson to write a musical based on her film Sunset Boulevard, directed by Billy Wilder in 1950.
Boulevard! A Hollywood Story
2021 · 6 votes
Movie2.0MusicComedyMitzi Gaynor in a song and dance hour with an all-male, star-studded ensemble featuring her main guests Michael Landon (Little House on the Prairie) and Jack Albertson (Chico and the Man), plus 28 celebrities as her "Million Dollar Chorus." Songs performed include: "I Got the Music in Me," "The Most Beautiful Guy in the World," and "You Are the Sunshine of My Life."
Mitzi & 100 Guys
1975 · 1 votes
Movie6.4DramaMusicYoung Benny Goodman is taught clarinet by a music professor. He is advised to play whichever kind of music he likes best, but to make a living, Benny begins by joining the Ben Pollack traveling band.
The Benny Goodman Story
1956 · 15 votes
Movie5.7ComedyRomanceA New Jersey trucker creates a hit TV show with help from his girlfriend in the ratings business.
The Ratings Game
1984 · 26 votes
- MovieComedyTV Movie
Bob's favorite memories and funniest moments on TV The biggest Stars! ... The biggest laughs! On DVD for the first time, this special 90 minute collection proves that laughter is the universal language with a sidesplitting salute to slapstick, satire, sketch comedy and zingers. Featuring Bob's funniest moments on television, this tribute includes a virtual who's who of legendary entertainers like Bing Crosby, Jackie Gleason, Roy Rogers, Ingrid Bergman, Bob Newhart, Lucille Ball, Ann-Margret, Jack Benny, Angie Dickinson, Steve Allen, Johnny Carson, Danny Thomas, Don Rickles, Milton Berle, Redd Foxx, Dorothy Lamour, Frank Sinatra, John Wayne, Dyan Cannon, Debbie Reynolds, Lassie and more.
Movie5.6DramaAn exploration of the relationship between Beat Generation writers Jack Kerouac and Neal Cassady, and Cassady's wife, Carolyn.
Heart Beat
1980 · 22 votes
Movie6.4CrimeMysteryHounded by the press for shooting a doctor, an ousted Los Angeles policeman works his own case.
Warning Shot
1967 · 27 votes
Movie6.1ComedyDocumentaryThe team of smart-talkin' toddlers known as Everything Is Terrible! have once again emerged from their VHS cocoons to conjure a jam on culture so culture-jamtastic that we're sorry we can't be there to hold your hand as you watch in dazed amazement. Thousands of hours of brain-boiling footage have been concentrated into an impenetrable jewel of an experience, teach us once and for all that loving well is the best revenge.
2Everything2Terrible2: Tokyo Drift
2010 · 17 votes
MovieDon't Ask Me, Ask God is a TV Special starring Michael J. Fox.
Movie5.0DocumentaryComedyConan O'Brien hosts a special celebrating 50 Years of Late Night television on NBC.
50 Years of NBC Late Night
2001 · 1 votes
Movie7.7DocumentaryTV MovieA documentary about the life of Errol Flynn, with recollections from friends and family.
The Adventures of Errol Flynn
2005 · 6 votes
Series24
TV7.5Talk ShowThe Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson is a talk show hosted by Johnny Carson under The Tonight Show franchise from 1962 to 1992. It originally aired during late-night. For its first ten years, Carson's Tonight Show was based in New York City with occasional trips to Burbank, California; in May 1972, the show moved permanently to Burbank, California. In 2002, The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson was ranked #12 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time.
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
1962 · 96 votes
TV8.0AnimationComedySet in Springfield, the average American town, the show focuses on the antics and everyday adventures of the Simpson family; Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie, as well as a virtual cast of thousands. Since the beginning, the series has been a pop culture icon, attracting hundreds of celebrities to guest star. The show has also made name for itself in its fearless satirical take on politics, media and American life in general.
The Simpsons
1989 · 11K votes
TV7.0FamilyComedyFour panelists must determine guests' occupations - and, in the case of famous guests, while blindfolded, their identity - by asking only "yes" or "no" questions.
What's My Line?
1950 · 29 votes
TV5.8ComedyTalk ShowThe Mike Douglas Show is an American daytime television talk show hosted by Mike Douglas that originally aired only in the Cleveland area during much of its first two years on the air. It then went into syndication in 1963 and remained on television until 1982. It was distributed by Westinghouse Broadcasting and for much of its run, originated from studios of two of the company's TV stations in Cleveland and Philadelphia.
The Mike Douglas Show
1961 · 11 votes
TV7.3ComedyTalk ShowStepping into the late-late slot vacated by David Letterman, Conan O'Brien stars in a show that far outdoes its competition in sheer strangeness. Along with the celebrity interviews and musical numbers typical of late-night talk shows, this program make frequent use of odd walk-on characters and frequent "visits" from celebrity guests.
Late Night with Conan O'Brien
1993 · 166 votes
TV6.3DramaComedyPassengers who search for romantic nights aboard a beautiful ship travelling to tropical or mysterious countries, decide to pass their vacation aboard the "Love Boat", where Gopher, Dr. Bricker, Isaac, Julie, and Captain Stubing try their best to please them, and sometimes help them fall in love. Things are not always so easy, but in the end, love wins.
The Love Boat
1977 · 199 votes
TV7.1DramaFamilyDr. Mark Sloan is a good-natured, offbeat physician who is called upon to solve murders.
Diagnosis: Murder
1993 · 128 votes
TV6.8Talk ShowThe Merv Griffin Show
1962 · 12 votes
TV7.8ComedyFamilyOn her sixteenth birthday, Sabrina Spellman discovers she has magical powers. She lives with her 600-year-old aunts Hilda and Zelda as well as talking cat Salem in the fictional town of Westbridge, Massachusetts.
Sabrina, the Teenage Witch
1996 · 1.3K votes
TV6.2ComedyAn anthology comedy series featuring a line up of different celebrity guest stars appearing in anywhere from one, two, three, and four short stories or vignettes within an hour about versions of love and romance.
Love, American Style
1969 · 21 votes
TV8.1MysteryDramaAn American police procedural chronicling the work of a fictional version of the Baltimore Police Department's Homicide Unit.
Homicide: Life on the Street
1993 · 150 votes
TV8.0ComedySci-Fi & FantasyMaxwell Smart, a hilariously inept and maladroit secret agent for CONTROL, battles the nefarious—though equally incompetent—KAOS.
Get Smart
1965 · 448 votes
TV5.7DramaSt. Elsewhere is an American medical drama television series that originally ran on NBC from October 26, 1982 to May 25, 1988. The series starred Ed Flanders, Norman Lloyd and William Daniels as teaching doctors at a lightly-regarded Boston hospital who gave interns a promising future in making critical medical and life decisions.
St. Elsewhere
1982 · 93 votes
TV7.3Sci-Fi & FantasyComedyWealthy entrepreneur Bruce Wayne and his ward Dick Grayson lead a double life: they are actually crime fighting duo Batman and Robin. A secret Batpole in the Wayne mansion leads to the Batcave, where Police Commissioner Gordon often calls with the latest emergency threatening Gotham City. Racing to the scene of the crime in the Batmobile, Batman and Robin must (with the help of their trusty Bat-utility-belt) thwart the efforts of a variety of master criminals, including The Riddler, The Joker, Catwoman, and The Penguin.
Batman
1966 · 617 votes
TV6.8DramaSoapHotel is an American prime time drama series which aired on ABC from September 21, 1983 to May 5, 1988 in the timeslot following Dynasty. Based on Arthur Hailey's 1965 novel of the same name, the series was produced by Aaron Spelling and set in the elegant and fictitious St. Gregory Hotel in San Francisco. Establishing shots of the hotel were filmed in front of The Fairmont San Francisco atop the Nob Hill neighborhood. Episodes followed the activities of passing guests, as well as the personal and professional lives of the hotel staff.
Hotel
1982 · 26 votes
TV6.9Action & AdventureCrimeWealthy couple Jonathan and Jennifer Hart, a self-made millionaire and his journalist wife, moonlight as amateur detectives.
Hart to Hart
1979 · 133 votes
TV7.0An annual American awards ceremony honoring cinematic achievements in the film industry. The various category winners are awarded a copy of a statuette, officially the Academy Award of Merit, that is better known by its nickname Oscar.
The Oscars
1953 · 84 votes
TV6.8DramaAction & AdventureThe biggest WWE Superstars of the late 1980s and early '90s settle their differences in the ring on "Wrestling Challenge"; featuring exciting matches and memorable interviews, this weekly television series captures an important era of WWE history.
WWF Wrestling Challenge
1986 · 4 votes
TV6.8ComedyTalk ShowThe Ed Sullivan Show is an American TV variety show that originally ran on CBS from Sunday June 20, 1948 to Sunday June 6, 1971, and was hosted by New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in September 1971 by the CBS Sunday Night Movie, which ran only one season and was eventually replaced by other shows. In 2002, The Ed Sullivan Show was ranked #15 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time.
The Ed Sullivan Show
1948 · 23 votes
TV6.4DramaMedical Center is a medical drama series which aired on CBS from 1969 to 1976. It was produced by MGM Television.
Medical Center
1969 · 14 votes
TV7.3DocumentaryAn intimate look into the personal lives of pop music's greatest and most influential artists.
Behind the Music
1997 · 17 votes
TV7.8AnimationComedyA cartoon superhero interacts with live guests via his television set in this parody talk show based on 1960s Hanna-Barbera cartoon character Space Ghost.
Space Ghost Coast to Coast
1994 · 120 votes
TV6.2ComedyThe Steve Allen Show
1956 · 6 votes
TV6.4RealityThe Dinah Shore Chevy Show is an American variety series hosted by Dinah Shore, and broadcast on NBC from October 1956 to June 1963. The series was sponsored by the Chevrolet Motor Division of General Motors and its theme song, sung by Shore, was "See the U.S.A. in Your Chevrolet", which continued to be used in Chevrolet advertising for several more years after the cancellation of the show.
The Dinah Shore Chevy Show
1956 · 5 votes