Dayton Allen 1919-2004

(UPDATE: The Associated Press has now moved Dayton Allen's obit.)

Dayton Allen (nee Bolke) died on Thursday at the age of 85; he was a veteran television and cartoon personality. You will find his name in a few places if you google it against my site, as he was voice actor on some of Hal Seeger's shows, as well as in Paramount cartoons of the 1960's. At Terrytoons, he voiced the Talking Magpies, Heckle and Jeckle, as well as Deputy Dawg. He was one of the resident lunatics on Steve Allen's TV show in the 1950's, along with Louis Nye, Bill Dana and others. His forte was appearing as one of the Man On The Street guys invariably interviewed by Allen. "Why Not?" was his big catch line.

He was a voice provider and puppeteer on "Howdy Doody" (including a stint where he did Howdy's voice while Buffalo Bob Smith was sidelined after a heart attack), and he did have a bit of a mischievous streak about him. "Never get into an elevator with Dayton Allen," warned a fellow "HD" cast member.

In addition to his showbiz career, Allen also operated a successful real estate concern in Dobbs Ferry, NY for a number of years. His brother, Bradley Bolke, was a cast member on "Tennessee Tuxedo" (he played Chumley) and also was heard on "The First Family" (which featured the also-recently-departed Vaughn Meader as JFK).