Dayton Allen (born Dayton Allen Bolke; September 24, 1919 – November 11, 2004) was an American comedian and voice actor. He was one of the "men in the street" on The Steve Allen Show. His catchphrase was "Why not, Bubbe?" (pronounced "whooooyyy not!")
Early life Allen was born in New York City, the son of Helen and Sol Bolke, a dress manufacturer. His younger brother, Bradley Bolke, had some limited success as a voice actor, often appearing in supporting roles alongside Allen. He grew up in Mount Vernon, New York, where he graduated from A.B. Davis High School in June 1936. One of his school friends was Art Carney.
Career Allen, like Carney, began his career in radio. In 1937–1938 WINS (AM) hired him as a disc jockey.
He was the voice of various New York-based children's television show characters, appearing on Winky Dink and You as Mr. Bungle for five years, and playing Phineas T. Bluster, Flub-a-Dub, and various other puppet characters on Howdy Doody (as well as several "live" characters, including Ugly Sam and Pierre the Chef) for four years. Dayton was also the voice of Deputy Dawg, Heckle and Jeckle, Luno, and many early 1960s Terrytoons cartoon characters. Allen also provided the voice of the title character on Lancelot Link, Secret Chimp. He continued to be a voiceover performer through the 1990s.
He was best known as the "Why Not?" man when he joined the cast of the NBC Sunday night variety show that Allen began hosting to compete against Ed Sullivan on CBS. The catchphrase began as a stalling ad-lib to an interview question, then it caught on. Allen used it for television commercials and saw novelty toys, a book, and a record spin-off from the "Why not?" phenomenon. In its day, fans were shouting "Why not?" as often as Mad Magazine'''s famous "What? Me Worry?" A classic example of Allen's humor comes from an August 1968 appearance on The Steve Allen Show, syndicated nationally in the US by Filmways: "Did you know your mind alone can make you smart?" Why Not was also an album he recorded in 1960, that peaked at No. 35 on the Billboard Top LPs, in a week stay on the chart.
His brother, Bradley Bolke, was also a voice actor, best known as the voice of Chumley (Tennessee Tuxedo's walrus sidekick) on Tennessee Tuxedo and His Tales, and the syndicated version of The Underdog Show.
Allen's talents as a mimic were showcased in October 1963 when he appeared alongside Groucho Marx on the CBS-TV game show I've Got a Secret''. The show’s panelists had been blindfolded, and all their questions to Groucho were answered instead by Allen doing an accurate Groucho impersonation. Finally, with panelists Bess Myerson, Betsy Palmer, Henry Morgan, and Bill Cullen all stumped, the secret was revealed.
After his show business career ended, Allen was a real estate agent, operating out of an office in Dobbs Ferry, New York. Death Allen died on November 11, 2004, in Hendersonville, North Carolina, due to complications from a stroke.
Filmography Film & TV YearTitleCharacter1945Bad Bill BunionTV Announcer (voice)1945The ExterminatorRadio Announcer, Narrator (voice)1946The Tortoise Wins AgainPapa Hare, Papa Tortoise, Pig (voice)1946The Uninvited PestsHeckle, Jeckle, Dimwit (voice) (uncredited)1947Howdy DoodyPhineas T. Bluster (1 episode) 1948Felix the FoxDimwit, Felix the Fox (voice)1948Magpie MadnessHeckle, Jeckle, Dimwit, Doctor (voice)1948Goony GolfersHeckle, Jeckle, Bulldog Golfer (voice) (uncredited)1948The Racket BusterNarrator, Edward G. Robincat (voice)1949Mrs. Jones' Rest FarmMrs. Jones (voice)1951The Helpful GeniGeni (voice) (uncredited)1951The Cat's TaleCat (voice)1956The Steve Allen ShowSelf (4 episodes) 1958Grateful GusGrateful Gus (uncredited)1960Courageous Cat and Minute Mouse(124 episodes)1960Deputy DawgAll Voices1960Galaxia Matchmaker (uncredited) (voice)1961Tree SpreeStanley, Cleo the Giraffe1962Funderful SuburbiaHardy, Pay Toll Man (voice)1962Send Your Elephant to CampSidney the Elephant (voice)1962The Merv Griffin ShowSelf (2 episodes)1962The Old Man and the FlowerNarrator1963Sidney's White ElephantSidney (voice)1963Obnoxious ObieDeputy Dawg1963Split-Level TreehouseSidney (voice)1964Oscar's Moving DayAstronut (voice)1964Short Term SheriffDuckwood1964Oil Thru the DayDuckwood1964Search for MiseryRoland Stone1964The Red TractorDuckwood1964The Astronut ShowLuno (16 episodes)1964Hokey Home MoviesAstronut, Oscar (voice)1964The Munsters(1 episode)1965No Space Like HomeAstronut (voice)1965The InvisibeamAstronut (voice)1965Twinkle Twinkle Little TelestarAstronut, Oscar (voice)1966The Monster MasterJames Hound (voice)1966Gems from GeminiAstronut (voice)1966The Phantom SkyscraperJames Hound (voice)1966Dr. Ha-HaJames Hound (voice)1967A Voodoo SpellJames Hound (voice)1967The Heat's OffJames Hound (voice)1967Mr. WinluckyJames Hound (voice)1967Give Me LibertyJames Hound (voice)1967Bugged by a BugJames Hound (voice)1967Which Is Witch?James Hound (voice)1967Dr. Rhinestone's TheoryJames Hound (voice)1967Marvin DigsMarvin, George (voice)1967Frozen SparklersJames Hound (voice)1967Baron Von Go-GoJames Hound (voice)1969Space PetAstronut (voice)1971Oscar's Thinking CapAstronaut, Oscar (voice)1984The Cotton ClubSolly
References
External links
Dayton Allen profile, archive.org Dayton Allen remembered m newsfromme.com