Leopold Rufus "Leo" Allen (born July 5, 1972) is an American

stand-up comedian Stand-up comedy is a comedic performance to a live audience in which the performer addresses the audience directly from the stage. The performer is known as a comedian, a comic or a stand-up. Stand-up comedy consists of one-liners, stories, ...

and

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles and techniques to communicate ideas. Writers produce different forms of literary art and creative writing such as novels, short stories, books, poetry, travelogues, pla ...

from

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

, known as one half of the comedy team Slovin and Allen.

Career

Allen has been performing stand-up comedy since the late 1990s. In 2001, Allen, along with his writing partner, Eric Slovin, starred in their own ''

Comedy Central Presents ''Comedy Central Presents'' is an American stand-up comedy television series created for Comedy Central. It is the network's main half-hour program which highlights either one or a series of stand-up comedians each episode. In 2011, the series e ...

'' special which featured sketches such as "Time Machine" and "Turkey Slapper". Slovin and Allen went on to write for ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serve ...

'' from 2002 - 2005. He appeared in the 1997 comedy film '' Who's the Caboose?'' starring

Sarah Silverman Sarah Kate Silverman (born December 1, 1970) is an American comedian, actress, and writer. Silverman was a writer and performer on '' Saturday Night Live'', and she starred in and produced '' The Sarah Silverman Program'', which ran from 2007 t ...

, which featured the first movie appearances of numerous comedians. A veteran of numerous New York City comedy clubs and alternative venues, Allen performs solo and as part of the duo "Slovin and Allen." He has toured with comedians such as Eugene Mirman, Demetri Martin,

Todd Barry Todd or Todds may refer to: Places ;Australia: * Todd River, an ephemeral river ;United States: * Todd Valley, California, also known as Todd, an unincorporated community * Todd, Missouri, a ghost town * Todd, North Carolina, an unincorporate ...

Michael Showalter Michael Showalter (born June 17, 1970) is an American comedian, actor, director, writer, and producer. He first came to recognition as a cast member on MTV's '' The State'', which aired from 1993 to 1995. He and David Wain created the ''Wet Hot ...

, and others. He currently hosts "Whiplash" at Upright Citizen's Brigade Theatre in NYC, for which he was nominated for a 2009 ECNY Award for Best Host. Beginning in September 2005, Allen challenged himself to read 100 books in one year. Halfway into that endeavor, he cited as favorites ''

The Ginger Man ''The Ginger Man'' is a novel, first published in Paris in 1955, by J. P. Donleavy. The story is set in Dublin, Ireland, in post-war 1947. Upon its publication, it was banned both in Ireland and the United States of America by reason of obsce ...

'' by

J.P. Donleavy James Patrick Donleavy (23 April 1926 – 11 September 2017) was an American-Irish novelist, short story writer and playwright. His best-known work is the novel ''The Ginger Man'', which was initially banned for obscenity. Early life Donleavy ...

, ''

The Master and Margarita ''The Master and Margarita'' (russian: Мастер и Маргарита) is a novel by Soviet writer Mikhail Bulgakov, written in the Soviet Union between 1928 and 1940 during Stalin's regime. A censored version, with several chapters cut by ...

'' by Mikhail Bulgakov, ''

Don Quixote is a Spanish epic novel by Miguel de Cervantes. Originally published in two parts, in 1605 and 1615, its full title is ''The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha'' or, in Spanish, (changing in Part 2 to ). A founding work of Wester ...

'' by

Miguel de Cervantes Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (; 29 September 1547 (assumed) – 22 April 1616 NS) was an Early Modern Spanish writer widely regarded as the greatest writer in the Spanish language and one of the world's pre-eminent novelists. He is best know ...

and anything by

Octavia Butler Octavia Estelle Butler (June 22, 1947 – February 24, 2006) was an American science fiction author and a multiple recipient of the Hugo and Nebula awards. In 1995, Butler became the first science-fiction writer to receive a MacArthur Fellowsh ...

. Allen's writing has appeared in the ''

New York Times Magazine ''The New York Times Magazine'' is an American Sunday magazine supplement included with the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times''. It features articles longer than those typically in the newspaper and has attracted many notable contributors. ...

''. His television credits include ''

Late Night with Conan O'Brien ''Late Night with Conan O'Brien'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by Conan O'Brien. NBC aired 2,725 episodes from September 13, 1993, to February 20, 2009. The show featured varied comedic material, celebrity interviews, and musi ...

'', ''

Funny or Die Presents ''Funny or Die Presents'' is a half-hour sketch comedy show that spawned from the comedy website Funny or Die, created by Will Ferrell and Adam McKay. It premiered on HBO on February 19, 2010. Creation Funny or Die Presents was created in June ...

'', '' Comedians of Comedy'', '' Human Giant'', '' Michael and Michael Have Issues'' and more. Allen co-starred in the comedy series ''

Jon Benjamin Has a Van ''Jon Benjamin Has a Van'' is an American live-action television comedy series that aired in the summer of 2011 on Comedy Central. The series stars Jon Benjamin as a reporter who toured around in a van to deliver uninteresting news to viewers ...

'', which ran on

Comedy Central Comedy Central is an American basic cable channel owned by Paramount Global through its network division's MTV Entertainment Group unit, based in Manhattan. The channel is geared towards young adults aged 18–34 and carries comedy program ...

for one season in 2011. He was also the show's co-creator and executive producer. Allen was a writer and executive producer on the first season of IFC series '' Comedy Bang! Bang!'', which aired in 2012. He guest starred on the third episode which aired on June 22, 2012, playing a man who eats bicycles.

References

External links

*
Slovin and Allen

MySpace Page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Allen, Leo 1972 births Living people American stand-up comedians American male television actors People from Massachusetts American television producers American television writers American male television writers Upright Citizens Brigade Theater performers 21st-century American comedians 21st-century American screenwriters 21st-century American male writers Writers Guild of America Award winners