As I'm sure most of you have heard by now, skeptic, humanist, free thinker, song writer, comedian, author, scholar, gentleman, and a Renaissance man for our time, Steve Allen, died in his sleep yesterday. I spoke to his publicist at his office here in Burbank this morning, and he informed me that Steve's last two days were wonderful. He played to a sold-out house Sunday night, rocking the audience with humor, music, and creative thinking for an hour and a half, then spent Monday with his grandchildren, carving pumpkins and enjoying life. He was tired, so he lay down for a short nap, and simply never woke up. I suppose it doesn't get much better than that as a way to go. He didn't think an autopsy would be performed and that it was assumed a heart attack was the cause of Steve's death.

Steve Allen will be missed by all skeptics and free thinkers of all stripes, for his wit and humor in the face of nonsense and irrationalism. His many books on the subject, most notably DUMBTH, focused on the declining thinking skills of people, while his many television shows, most notably MEETING OF THE MINDS, focused on the triumph of the human mind. Steve was the keynote speaker/performer at the Skeptics Society conference in 1997, served on the Editorial Advisory Board of Skeptic magazine, and most recently submitted a letter to be read in honor of Stephen Jay Gould at our Festschrift at Caltech. The letter was vintage Allen, mixing humor with an important message about clear thinking.

We will miss you Steve . . . .

What follows is the press release from his publicist's office.

Multi-talented television pioneer Steve Allen passed away suddenly Monday night October 30th at the home of his youngest son, Bill, in Encino, California.

Mr. Allen was resting after a visit with four of his twelve grandchildren when he lost consciousness and died of an apparent heart attack.

Widely recognized for his renaissance talents as an author, composer, musician, poet, playwright and performer, Allen was the creator and first host of NBC's Tonight Show. He also won Peabody and Emmy awards for his PBS series Meeting of Minds and starred in the memorable motion picture The Benny Goodman Story. The composer of over 8,500 songs, including the popular standard This Could be the Start of Something Big and the Grammy award winning Gravy Waltz, Steve Allen was recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records as the "most prolific composer of modern times."

Only the day before his death Mr. Allen had performed before a sold out audience at Victor Valley College, one of the scores of music and comedy concerts he continued to give around the country each year during his seventh decade of life.

Mr. Allen was also the author of more than 50 published books including comedies and mysteries as well as more serious tomes on subjects as diverse as education, morality, China and the farm worker movement of Caesar Chavez. On the day of his death, Mr. Allen was working on the promotional plans for the December release of his 53rd book Steve Allen's Private Joke File, and adding the final touches to his manuscript for his 54th book, Vulgarians at the Gate concerning the rising tide of violence and vulgarity in the popular media.

Steve Allen was married to television, film and stage actress Jayne Meadows for more than 46 years. Miss Meadows described Allen as "my best friend and my partner on stage and off for more than 48 years. He was the most talented man I've ever known and the one true love of my life."

Steve Allen is survived by Miss Meadows, four sons, eleven grandchildren and three great grand children.

[Additional biographical information on Steve Allen may be found at his official website at www.SteveAllenOnline.com]