Eerie similarities: Keith and Steve Allen

[WhirlyGirl]

. . . There are probably better examples. If I could find one of Allen when he was closer to KO's age the similarities would be more striking. He was getting on at this point (note references to martial arts and mad cows). But I think you will still be surprised.

PS - I hope this runs for you Mac owners. I'm looking for some Allen clips that are just audio, so the format won't be such an issue.

http://www.laugh.com/main_pages/video_play.asp?miid=693

[Berry Cool]

1. Hoo whee, not only didn't this work on my Mac...

...it crashed Safari!

I'll try it on IE but I'm not expectin' nothin'...that way I won't be disappointed.

Even without having seen it yet, though, I have to say I already see significant parallels between our man and Steverino. He was one smart fella all around, after all. I also think about things he used to do on his show that really were kind of the predecessors of the Letterman style of humor...like "Man on the Street," just training a camera on a streetcorner and making gently snarky comments about the people who came and went.

He also once wrote a book called "Dumbth," in which he complained about the lowering of the average intelligence level, at least amongst Americans.

Yes, he had his biases...possibly based on his generation...as a musician and songwriter himself, he hated rock and roll, for example, and putting Elvis on his show in a tux and tails and having him sing "Hound Dog" to a bassett hound was probably one of the less inspiring ideas he ever had. But still, a smart guy, and a very intelligent talk-show host. (Today "intelligent talk-show host" is almost an oxymoron.)

On edit: Yeah, on IE it's comin' up! And it reminds me, I actually got to see Skitch Henderson conduct live once. He came for a guest appearance with the local symphony where I was living at the time.. Excellent, excellent arrangements and excellent concert.

[WhirlyGirl]

2. Allen was a heavy dude. Lenny Bruce called him "the hippest man in show-

. . . business" -- and Bruce himself was exceptionally bright and observant.

KO has some distinguished company. It's cool that you're familiar with Steve and you see it, too.

But I'm sorry you couldn't see the clip again. Drat! I'm really not trying to tease you, you know.

I'm more exasperated with all the different media players and video formats than words can say. And I think MSNBC is being real shortsighted in its exclusivity, if it's trying to build a broader customer base.

[Berry Cool]

3. Don't feel bad. Like I said, it came up all right on IE.

How else would I have known Skitch Henderson was involved in the clip? LOL!

Oh, yes, I definitely see parallels. In fact, one of my sisters used to be a big Allen fan and she appreciates KO too now that I've drawn her attention to him. Sometimes I really think we are fated to be attracted to the same things over and over again.

[WhirlyGirl]

4. This is so strange... First time I read it, it sounded like you said you--

. . . COULD see it; then on the second read-thru, I thought I'd misunderstood and you'd said you COULDN'T watch it -- so I changed my reply from "Great, good to hear it!" to "Oh crap, not again." :crazy:

Anyway, back to Allen. I think KO even resembles him somewhat, esp. in pics where they are both younger. I cite this one in particular: http://olbermann.org/ko/photo_detail.cfm?photos_id=27