Dayton Allen
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Dayton Allen (September 24, 1919-November 11, 2004) was a comedian and voice actor. He was one of the "men in the street" on the Tonight Show hosted by Steve Allen. His catch phrase was "Why not?" (pronounced "whooooyyy not!")
Born "Dayton Allen Bolke" in New York City, he grew up in Mount Vernon, New York, where he graduated from A.B. Davis High School in June 1936. One of his school friends was Art Carney. Like Carney, Allen began his career in radio. In 1937-8 WINS (AM) hired him as a disc jockey.
Allen was the voice of various New York-based children's television show characters, appearing on Winky Dink and You as "Mr. Bungle" for five years and playing "Phineas T. Bluster", "Flub-a-Dub" and various other puppet characters on Howdy Doody for four years. Dayton was also the voice of Deputy Dawg, Heckle and Jeckle, Luno, Fearless Fly and many early Terrytoons cartoon characters. He continued to be a voiceover performer through the 1990s.
He was best known as the "Why Not?" man. The catch-phrase began as a stalling ad-lib to an interview question. After it caught on. Allen used it for television commercials and saw novelty toys, a book and a record spin off the "Why not?" phenomena. In its day, fans were shouting "Why not?" as often as Mad Magazine's famous "What? Me Worry?"
His brother, Bradley Bolke, was also a voice actor best known as the voice of Chumley (Tennessee Tuxedo's sidekick) on "Tennessee Tuxedo and His Tales" and the sydnicated version of "The Underdog Show".
