Dennis Allen on AllMovie

Supporting actor/comedian Dennis Allen may best be remembered for being a regular on Laugh-In from 1970 to 1973. Prior to landing on the show, Allen had been a regular on two short-lived television series, What's It All About World? and The Leslie Uggams Show (both 1969). He made his film debut in Me Natalie (1969), starring Patty Duke. Before launching his professional career, Allen earned a bachelor's and a master's of fine arts from the Boston School of Fine and Applied Arts. Upon graduation, he went to New York to work in live sketch comedy and then became a standup comic. Over the next four years, he broke into television and radio commercials until landing an off-Broadway role in How to Steal an Election. He was spotted during a performance by Laugh-In producer George Schlatter who hired him as a regular. Following his stint on Laugh-In, Allen's career fizzled, due in part to multiple substance abuse. He then went to Kansas City and successfully completed a rehabilitation program. For a time, Allen worked in a program to help emotionally disturbed boys, but then returned to acting, finding a comfortable niche in Kansas City repertory and dinner theater. He made his final film appearance in Knights and Emeralds (1985).