Alan Alda on his adoration for comedian Steve Allen and recollects the spontaneity of the "Man ... 

When I was a kid...I would sneak downstairs and listen to the the Tonight Show...mostly because I had a mad crush on Steve Allen...he was so talented,,so witty, so intelligent..such a good pianist, too. A Class act!

Steve Allen was a very talented man. He can interview, entertain, produce, write, etc. He had a big effect on the television industry.

Steve Allen showed what television could be. He was a true Renaissance Man and nowhere was that better seen than in the best show he ever brought to TV: "Meeting of Minds."

Amen to that! Steve Allen set the standard that others have tried to follow.You wonder if he knew how special he was!

I was born in '53. I was always nuts about steve allen. I wrote him when I was a little kid and he sent a picture. then when i got married my wife and I got to go see him with a symphony on our honeymoon. we were the couple making out on the second row (ba-room boom). he did get his funniness from his mom. the musical ability came from his dad. the funniest thing he ever wrote was how he, his mom and his aunt were totally take in my orson welles war of the worlds. fun memories.

Thank you, Alan Alda. We'll never see the likes of Steve Allen, Henry Morgan, or Ernie Kovacs again. You were and remain terrific, too.

AND he composed 14,000 songs, played the piano, and ALMOST played the Clarinet!