Irish comedian Dave Allen dies aged 68

Dublin-born comedian Dave Allen, whose later trademark stand-up monologues were delivered from his chair with the obligatory glass of whiskey beside him, has died aged 68.

His agent confirmed today that Dave Allen had passed away peacefully in his sleep at his home in West London.

Allen's brand of dry humour was epitomised by his two main television shows 'Tonight with Dave Allen' which ran on ITV from 1967 to 1969 and 'Dave Allen at Large,' on the BBC. The later series were typified by a straight-faced delivery of quirky jokes and irreverent anecdotes from the setting of a formally austere studio chair.

Dave Allen, born in Dublin as David Tynan O'Mahoney, had already become well known to audiences in the early 1960s via his guest appearances on Irish crooner Val Doonican's show on the BBC.

A former journalist, many of his earlier skits were based on witty takes on religious rituals, sex and the Pope and stemmed from Allen's strict Catholic upbringing. Despite this irreverent approach, his often religiously themed send-ups were deemed suitable for seasonal viewing and he had a series of Christmas and Easter specials throughout the mid-1980s.

However, he tended to use strong language and one of his routines in which he used the word f**k, led to an apology from the BBC and a question being asked in the House of Commons. He was, for a brief time, also banned from Australian TV following a particularly risque discussion on screen with Peter Cooke and Dudley Moore.

Following the 1990s ITV show 'An Evening With Dave Allen' and a return to the BBC he retired in 1999, spending much of his time painting.

He leaves behind his wife Karin and three children.

Allen's shameless reminder, after a typically outrageous irreverent set, that he was only joking, is perhaps best summed up in his sign off, "May your God go with you..."

(SP)