STEVE ALLEN - PROGRAM SIGNED CIRCA 1955 CO-SIGNED BY: THE BOSWELL SISTERS (CONNEE BOSWELL), KITTY KALLEN, JAYNE MEADOWS, BOB THIELE, JEROME NATHANSON, ARTHUR CANTOR, BERNARD "BUDD" GRANOFF - HFSID 288083

STEVE ALLEN, JAYNE MEADOWS and FRIENDS
Program of the New York Variety Club's dinner dance honoring Steve Allen, signed by many attendees, including Arthur Cantor, Kitty Kallen, Budd Granoff, Bob Thiele, Connee Boswell and Jerome Nathanson
Program signed: "Steve Allen", "Jayne Meadows Allen", "Arthur Cantor", "Kitty Kallen", "Bud Granoff", "Jerry Nathanson", "Bob Thiele", "To Pat/Keep Smiling/you hear/Conneee Boswell",  and others, 72p, 9x12. Program for the Variety Club's annual dinner dance at the Statler Hotel, honoring Steve Allen, November 19, 1955. Beginning as a radio DJ with a humorous bent, STEVE ALLEN (1921-2000) appeared in several films, including Down Memory Lane (1949) and I'll Get By (1950). In 1953, Allen was hired to host a local late-night program on New York's WNBC-TV, which later developed into the NBC network's Tonight Show. Allen was also an accomplished composer (he wrote over 7,400 songs, including his signature song This Could Be The Start of Something Big) and piano player, and he filled up his spare time by writing more than 50 books as well as plays and magazine articles. Allen was married to actress Jayne Meadows from 1954 until his death. Both Allen and Meadows were nominated for Emmy Awards for their dual guest appearance on the TV series LA Law, and the couple also appeared together on Allen's PBS miniseries Meeting of Minds. Actress JAYNE MEADOWS (1919-2015) began her film career in the mid-1940s as a contract player at MGM. She was especially adept at playing bitter and vengeful women. She is well remembered for playing Mildred Haveland in Lady in the Lake (1946). Meadows also made guest appearances on many variety and game shows. American singer CONNEE BOSWELL (1907-1976) was paralyzed from the waist down as a child, but that didn't stop her from pursuing a career as a singer. She and her sisters Helvetia and Martha began singing professionally as the Boswell Sisters in New Orleans in the 1920s and, after honing their act in vaudeville, caught fire in 1930. Known for tight harmonies and energetic vocals, they recorded 20 Top 20 records and scored a no. 1 hit with 1935's The Object of My Affection. After her sisters married Connee pursued a solo career. She became a favorite duet partner of Bing Crosby. The two together recorded the chart-topping cover of Alexander's Ragtime Band with Eddie Cantor in 1938 and three other Top 20 records. She continued recording into the 1950s and occasionally appeared in film between the 1930s and 1950s, as well as in the TV series Pete Kelly's Blues (1959). ARTHUR CANTOR (1920-2001) began his entertainment career as a Broadway press agent with a knack, even then, for identifying hit plays. He became a producer with a talent for choosing intelligent comedies which could also make money. Examples included two Pulitzer Prize-winning plays: Paddy Chayevsky's The Tenth Man and Tad Mosel's All the Way Home. Among his other hit productions were A Thousand Clowns, On Golden Pond and Starlight Express. KITTY KALLEN (1922-2016) was a popular singer of the 1940s with the bands of Jimmy Dorsey and Harry James, among others. She scored big hits like "Besame Mucho" (with Bob Eberly, for Dorsey) and "It's Been a Long, Long Time" (for James). In the 1950s she had solo hit records, notably "Little Things Mean a Lot" (1954). BERNARD "BUDD" GRANOFF (1920-1996), who only went by Budd, was a bi-coastal press agent representing such stars as Frank Sinatra, Jimmy Durante, Martin & Lewis, and Doris Day. In 1947, he saw Kitty Kallen for the first time at New York's Copacabana, and vowed that he would marry her. They were married in 1948, after which Granoff devoted much of his time to Kallen's career. BOB THIELE (1922-1996) was a record producer specializing in jazz and blues, recording Errol Garner, Coleman Hawkins, John Coltrane, Dizzy Gillespie, Sonny Rollins, Charlie Mingus, B.B. King, John Lee Hooker and many others. He was married to popular singer Teresa Brewer. He also wrote and recorded Louis Armstrong's hit, "It's a Wonderful World" (1965). JEROME "JERRY NATHANSON (1908-1975) headed New York's Ethical Culture Society from 1940 until his death, and wrote a biography of philosopher John Dewey. Steve Allen, an active member of the humanist movement, shared many causes with the activist Nathanson, including opposition to the death penalty. There are no doubt other noteworthy names on this program meriting further research. Toned and creased. Edges and corners heavily worn and creased. Multiple unknown stains on face and verso. Surface creases are visible head-on. Two staples at left edge with rust stains. Otherwise, fine condition.