Allan Sherman

Allan was married to Dee Chackes and the couple had two children. Their son Robert Sherman, born on 9th January, 1950, is a producer of TV series like ‘Tattletales’ and ‘Super Password’.

Dee received the full custody of their children following their divorce in 1966.

Suffering from obesity and diabetes, Allan went to the ‘Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital’ to recuperate. However, his lung ailment added to the complications, and he died ten days before his 49th birthday in his West Hollywood home. He was buried in ‘Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery’ in Culver City, California.

Born to Jewish parents Percy Copelon and Rose Sherman in Chicago, on November 30, 1924, Allan Sherman adopted his mother’s maiden name after his parents got divorced. His father was an auto mechanic and a racing driver. Suffering from obesity, father Percy died in a quest to observe a 100-day diet.

With the family shifting homes frequently, Allan had to attend school at myriad locations including cities like Chicago, New York, Miami and Los Angeles.

He then moved to the prestigious ‘University of Illinois’, it was here that Allan discovered his talent and he featured regularly in the humour column of the college newspaper ‘The Daily Illini’.

Allan, a mediocre student, got into trouble for breaking the rules of the sorority house when he tried to bring along his then girlfriend to the place. The University finally expelled him, thus debarring him from graduating.

Allan embarked on his career as a musical humourist in 1951, with the parody ‘A Satchel and a Seck’, disparaging the popular song of the fifties ‘A Bushel and a Peck’. This duet which also featured the artist Sylvia Froos, was recorded by the label ‘Jubilee Records’.

Based on the Bing and Gary Crosby hit number ‘Sam’s Song’, Allan recorded another satire titled ‘Jake’s Song’ for ‘Jubilee Records’. Both the songs failed to take off well and Allan soon ran out of work. He then moved on to produce game shows.

Allan was offered the production rights of the game show ‘I've Got a Secret’ by television producers Mark Goodson and Bill Todman. The game, based on Allan’s concept, was first aired on ‘CBS Network’ in 1952.

A debacle occurred on the show, after Allan insisted that the celebrity guest on the show, Tony Curtis, was asked to demonstrate the rules of some games he played as a child. As it turned out Curtis was not familiar with any of the games, the show suffered a huge setback. Allan was then removed as the producer of the show in 1958.

‘Your Surprise Package’ was another game show which Allan produced in the year 1961, for the banner ‘AI Singer Productions’. This daytime game show was hosted by then famous actor and comedian George Fenneman, and was aired on ‘CBS Network’.

Allan’s 1963 album, ‘My Son, the Nut’ was his most successful work. His spoof ‘Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh,’ from the album, themed on a summer camp, maintained the number 2 position on ‘Billboard Hot 100’ chart for three weeks.