That's right: Another damn obit. The very funny comedian and voice actor Dayton Allen died last Thursday at age 85. Born Dayton Allen Bolke, he was a native of New York and he got into show business, more or less following the path of his boyhood friend, Art Carney. Both broke into radio in their teens as disc jockeys and specialists in funny voices. Dayton parlayed his skills into work on early children's TV shows, dubbing in voices for puppets and often appearing on camera. He did both for years on the Howdy Doody program, originating the voice of Flub-a-Dub and many other denizens of Doodyville and playing a wide array of non-puppet characters.
Steve Allen "discovered" Dayton and added him to his stock company of comic players. Often, when Steverino did his "Man on the Street" routines, the funniest interview would be with Dayton Allen playing some scatterminded "expert." Audiences howled at him and loved repeating his catch-phrase, "Whyyyyy not?"
Throughout all of this, Dayton Allen established himself as one of the top voiceover performers in the New York talent pool. He was heard in many of the Terrytoons animated shows, voicing both Heckle and Jeckle, and almost all the characters on the Deputy Dawg series, including the star of the show. He was also heard on many of the cartoons produced by Hal Seeger, such as Milton the Monster and Stuffy Durma. He occasionally worked with his brother, Bradley Bolke, who was also active in doing animation voices. (Bradley was the voice of Chumley the Walrus on Tennessee Tuxedo and His Tales.)
Dayton more or less retired from performing in the early eighties. Around then, I had occasion to offer him a role in a TV show I was writing and it led to what is easily the most hilarious hour or so I ever spent on the phone. Our casting director was unable to track down an agent for Mr. Allen so I called a friend who furnished me with what turned out to be Dayton's home number. I made the call to him and he politely declined the job, saying that thanks to wise real estate investments, he had plenty of money…and he didn't feel like flying to Los Angeles to be funny. He could be funny in his own toilet, he said. He was sure funny on the phone, and he seemed to enjoy the audience. He kept coming up with anecdotes and jokes, and he kept me on the line for so long that I felt like I should have paid a cover charge. Weak with laughter, I finally begged off…but only when he announced he had to go to the toilet and be funny in there. I'm sure he was…just as I'm sure it was our loss that he decided to retire when he did.