Allen, Stephen Valentine Patrick William

American entertainer, composer, and author (b. Dec. 26, 1921, New York, N.Y.—d. Oct. 30, 2000, Encino, Calif.), was a prolific, versatile, creative, and influential modern-day renaissance man. Although he could be considered to have made his greatest impact when he created and hosted what became The Tonight Show—the mold for television talk shows—he also composed thousands of songs (his best known: