Editing Steve Allen (section)

=== Actor ===
Allen was an occasional actor. He wrote and starred in his first film, the [[Mack Sennett]] comedy compilation ''Down Memory Lane'', in 1949; Allen cast himself as a "TV disc jockey" showing Sennett's old comedy films on live television. His most famous film appearance was in 1956's ''[[The Benny Goodman Story]]'', in the title role. The film, while an average biopic of its day, was hailed for its music, featuring many alumni of the Goodman band. Allen later recalled his one contribution to the film's music, used in the early scenes. The accomplished Benny Goodman no longer could produce the sound of a clarinet beginner, and that was the only sound Allen ''could'' produce on a clarinet. 

In 1960, he appeared as the character "Dr. Ellison" in the episode "Play Acting" on [[CBS]]'s [[anthology series]] ''[[The DuPont Show with June Allyson]]'' though his ''The Steve Allen Show'' had been in competition with the program the preceding season. 

Allen sometimes appeared as himself (or as thinly disguised versions of himself) as a TV host in feature films (like ''[[The Comic]]'') and TV shows (''[[Batman (TV series)|Batman]]'' and ''[[The Snoop Sisters]]'').

During the late 1980s, Allen and [[Jayne Meadows]], his second wife, made three appearances on the television drama series ''[[St. Elsewhere]]''. They played the estranged birth parents of the character Dr. Victor Ehrlich, who had given him up for adoption. And, in 1998, Allen and Meadows guest-starred in an episode of ''[[Homicide: Life on the Street]]''.

Allen did voice work in two episodes of ''[[The Simpsons]]'' in the 1990s, appearing once as the electronically "altered" voice of [[Bart Simpson]] in [[The Simpsons (season 3)|season 3]]'s "[[Separate Vocations]]", and as himself in [[The Simpsons (season 6)|season 6]]'s {{"-}}[['Round Springfield]]". In 1997, Allen was a guest on the ''[[Space Ghost Coast to Coast]]'' episode "Boat Show."