Dan Allen (comedian)

Biography

He was born in Daytona Beach, Florida. His family was poor and apt to move from place to place. They eventually settled down in San Antonio, Texas. He graduated from Robert E. Lee High School (San Antonio, Texas), now the Performing Arts School.

After school he joined the United States Air Force Reserves and applied to Texas A&M University. When accepted he enrolled in the aerospace engineering program. He was soon dismayed to find that he exceeded the height requirements and would not be able to become an astronaut. After this realization, he continued his term in the military as an Air Transportation Specialist.

When his term in the reserves came to an end, Allen moved to Virginia Beach, Virginia to help his uncle run a pawn shop. There he quickly excelled, and was eventually offered his own shop to run. Allen refused the offer.

Career

In 1998, he discovered comedy and in June 2001 he moved to New York. Allen then received considerable training in improvisation from the Upright Citizen's Brigade. In December 2002, he was passed by Lucien Hold to become a regular at the iconic Comic Strip Live. In January 2004, he appeared on Comedy Central's Premium Blend and has performed regularly in the NYC clubs and the downtown comedy scene. In March 2008, he created and co-produced a monthly show called ¡SACAPUNTAS! at Jimmy's 43 in the East Village. In January 2009, he began producing a weekly podcast about comedy called In the Tank with Jon Fisch and he also founded Super Mango Media, a multimedia company that specializes in branding and helping funny people.

He has written for Phil Donahue, US Weekly's Fashion Police and was featured in Playgirl and Gothamist.