Shark Bytes

Here lies Dave Allen, that comedy fool,
Who drank and told gags as he sat on his stool,
The last words he uttered, that heathenous wretch;
"Time for Religion; here's a sketch!"

David Tynan O'Mahoney (July 6, 1936 – March 10, 2005), better known as Dave Allen

"Goodnight, thank you, and may your god go with you."

Never Jumped, I learned alot of Irish jokes that I have been able to use for other people groups.

he was a genius, and whilst his humour seems outdated now, it was cutting edge in the 70's and early 80's.

incidentially to all those asking where he is now, try heaven or hell ... depending on Gods sense of humour. He died in 2005.

by the way, does anyone know how he lost the half finger ?

I vaguely remember Dave Allen, the Irish raconteur and biting yet erudite satirist (on Catholicism especially), appearing briefly on TV- not WGBH, our famed PBS outlet- here in Boston. This would have been in the early '70s or so. Now, I read that Dave Allen just passed away in London, at 68. He was well-loved in the UK and other Commonwealth countries, where his style of humor is much more popular than in America. He was also regarded as the Anglo-Irish Lenny Bruce/ Richard Pryor (but less gritty and more likable), never afraid to skewer the Church, drinking and other touchy topics yet friendly and approachable in his style. The former David O'Mahoney, son of a famous Irish newspaper columnist, was also steeped in Dublin's great literary culture as well as its two religions: Catholic schools and corner pubs. In this St. Paddy's season, this hardly-Irish writer would like to see and hear more of Dave's work. As he loved to say: "I'm an atheist- thank God!" RIP, Dave Allen, who had the same loving irreverence as so many comedians of My Tribe (as in Benny, Brooks, Seinfeld et al.)

Never jumped, although it has its ups and downs. I liked it when he mentioned his index finger. "Are you the Irish comedian with half a finger?" "No, I'm the Irish comedian with nine and a half fingers!".

Dave Allen at Large was syndicated in America on many American TV stations during the late 1970's and early 1980's. As an American child back then, some of the uniquely British events Mr. Allen was commenting about probably went over my head, but my parents and I absolutely enjoyed the show. Just sitting there, making dry but spot-on observations about life, Mr. Allen was very much a favorite around our house.

Dave was a pretty good story and joke teller, but I think a pre-requisite for doing so is that the jokes actually be funny, which they weren't. Dave would go on and on and on for at least 2-4 minutes setting up a story, but the punchline almost always was a let down. The ale-laden audience yucked it up regardless, but I was really put-off by the lousy jokes and eventually stopped watching as a result. The skits were usually better.

A highly original comedian. I always preferred the storytelling to the sketches though.

I hate to be the only one who thinks this show jumped the shark, but it was way too repetitive and predictable. For example, they would show a bunch of priests carrying the Pope in a chair on their shoulders on poles. First skit, they carry him down a flight of stairs and he falls forward down the steps. Second skit, they carry him up a flight of steps and, low and behold, he slides backwards down the steps. Skit three, they carry him through a barrel shaped vault and you guessed it, he falls off. Damn, I wish I was clever enough to come up with this kind of stuff!!!!!!!!

Dave Allen never jumped; he's a rare example of the pure comedian. Unlike the Alan Alda types, he never felt the need to educate his audience, or felt that making them laugh was somehow beneath his dignity. Yet the topics he dealt with were every bit as "serious" as the Norman Lear/M*A*S*H* outrage-du-jour style of American comedy that had to batter the audience into submission. Religion, sex, drinking, sometimes all three at once, especially in a place like Ireland, were not especially "easy" subjects to be funny about, unless you had Allen's deft touch. Some of his best bits were almost plotless: the priest walking down the aisle of his deserted church, hearing a strange noise, then starting to run as he's chased into the pulpit by a moving baptismal font, which finally vapourizes him while squeaking "Exterminate! Exterminate!" Years later I realized it was a spoof on Doctor Who! I've always loved his biretta-wearing, cassocked Irish priests, drinking, smoking and bad-tempered. The funniest was the one where a man comes into a church in order to confess, and finds a large group of people sitting in the pews on one side, waiting their turn. When he asks if there's any other priest available, he's told, "Well, there's Father Murphy, but he's a bit..." and we suddenly hear Father Murphy (Allen) roaring, "You did WHAT????" Then he bursts out of the confessional, tears open the door on the other side, hauls out the cowering male sinner and beats the tar out of him. The conclusion is perfect, as he rounds on the staring crowd of waiting penitents and shouts, "NEXT!" while they all jump and pretend to be looking the other way.

To the above poster who asked if anyone else noticed that Dave was missing part of a finger: I noticed. I loved this show and saw so many episodes so many times it was kind of hard NOT to notice!!

NEVER JUMPED. I remember watching the shows with my friends family on PBS. The skits were so funny. The one thing I really remember was him sitting behind his desk smoking a cigarette. Did anyone else notice that Dave Allen was missing part of one of his fingers?

Never Jumped! Dave Allen At Large was terrific! Consistently funny at both stand-up (or in Dave's case: sit-down) and sketch comedy: especially his religion-oriented material. Makes me feel proud to be an agnostic!!

Without question Dave Allen never jumped. I saw him live at the Wilbur Theater in Boston and his erudite wit was even more evident in person. The evening was enhanced when I got to take a BLANK next to Gene Rayburn in the Wilber's men's room.

I remember this show as featuring a British guy with a missing index finger, sitting in high swivel chair, smoking a cigarette, making fun of the Irish. Years later I was in a freight elevator at the West Virginia University medical school and saw someone had scribbled "Dave Allen at Large" on the interior door. My response? What else? "Good Night and may your God so with you."