Religious believers of the world, you are free to continue to debate the simple, narrow question that divides you from atheists, but you have no right, in so doing, to treat the Humanists of the world with contempt. You owe them a deep debt of gratitude, for not only have they shed much light on a naturally dark world but they have very probably helped civilize your own specific religion. -- Steve Allen -- December 26th (1921): Steve Allen was born in New York City. An American television personality and talk-show pioneer, musician, composer, actor, comedian, and writer, Allen was called the dean of intelligent comedy. He also was a leading alternative public voice for humanistic thought and faith. Though he got his start in radio, Allen is best known for his television career. He first gained national attention as a guest host on Arthur Godfreys Talent Scouts. He graduated to become the first host of The Tonight Show, where he was instrumental in creating and growing the concept of the television talk show. Thereafter, he hosted numerous game and variety shows, including The Steve Allen Show, Ive Got a Secret, The New Steve Allen Show, and was a regular panel member on CBS Whats My Line? Allen also was a credible pianist and a prolific composer, and won a Grammy Award in 1963. He penned over 14,000 songs, recorded by Perry Como, Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme, Les Brown, and Gloria Lynne. His vast number of songs has never been equaled. Allen wrote more than 50 books, has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and a Hollywood theater named in his honor. [Wiki] Allen received a traditional Irish Catholic upbringing, and later became a secular humanist, He was Humanist Laureate for the Academy of Humanism, a member of CSICOP and the Council for Secular Humanism, and a powerful advocate for free-thinking and critical inquiry. His award-winning television series Meeting of the Minds, which he wrote and produced (with wife Jayne Meadows, pitted Socrates, Marie Antoinette, Sir Thomas More, Tom Paine, Karl Marx, Emily Dickinson, Galileo, Charles Darwin, and other historical figures together in dialogue and disputation. Two of his most courageous books were critiques of the Bible (Steve Allen on the Bible, Religion and Morality [1989] and a sequel), published as a response to the rise of the Religious Right. While he criticized most religious beliefs as stupid, he raised money for the Unitarian church, the Salvation Army and other religious groups. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Allen
Posted on: Thu, 25 Dec 2014 20:38:27 +0000
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