Collision Linked to Death of Steve Allen

A minor traffic accident triggered comedian Steve Allen’s death two months ago, the Los Angeles County coroner’s office said Friday.

Allen, who suffered from a heart condition, suffered an injury to the left side of his chest during the accident on Oct. 30, said Scott Carrier, a spokesman for the coroner’s office.

Allen was driving to the Encino home of his son Bill when his car was struck by a sport utility vehicle backing out of a driveway about 7:45 p.m., Carrier said.

The impact ruptured a blood vessel in Allen’s chest, which allowed blood to leak into the sac surrounding his heart, Carrier said. This condition, known as a hemopericardium, caused the entertainer’s death, Carrier said.

A heart attack had initially been suspected, but the coroner’s office disclosed in November that it was looking into the accident as a possible factor.

“What launched the investigation was that his attending physician listed the minor traffic accident on his death certificate,” Carrier said.

It was not immediately clear who had told the attending doctor. On Friday, Bill Allen said his father had said “not one word” about the accident when he came to his home shortly afterward.

“It is all sad but true that a traffic accident did occur at 7:45,” said Allen, who said he did not learn of it until a few days later. “That’s less than an hour before he died.”

“My mother and I have not fully come to grips with this,” Allen said. His mother is veteran actress Jayne Meadows, Steve Allen’s wife of more than 40 years.

“We were so convinced that the Lord had taken a good man because it was his time,” he said. “So this is something that’s really hard for us to accept. It’s been a devastating piece of news.

“It was heartbreaking enough to lose my father at all,” added Allen, the youngest of the Allen children. “But now to discover more of the conditions, that’s even more painful. To think that something like a traffic accident could have taken this wonderful man.”

He Was Discovered Unconscious by Son

The accident occurred in the 16000 block of Valley Vista Boulevard in Encino. Allen’s car received minor damage, and afterward the comedian and the other driver exchanged names and information before Allen drove on to his son’s house.

Arriving there, Allen complained he wasn’t feeling well and decided to rest. Found unconscious by his son a short time later, Allen was taken to Encino-Tarzana Regional Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead at 9 p.m.

Allen suffered from occlusive coronary arteriosclerosis, Carrier said, a condition that creates a hardening of the arteries. The entertainer had occasionally been in ill health over the past decade, including a bout with colon cancer.

The coroner completed Allen’s autopsy Nov. 9 and finished the report on the death last week. The coroner delayed releasing information until Friday to ensure that Allen’s relatives had received the report first, Carrier said.

Allen’s death was ruled an accident, Carrier said. Routine toxicology tests performed on Allen found no alcohol or drugs, he added.

The Los Angeles Police Department declined to release details on the traffic accident.

“We’re looking into the matter to determine what should be done,” said LAPD spokesman Officer Don Cox, refusing to say more.

Allen, who was once honorary mayor of Encino, hosted the original “Tonight” show, wrote books and composed thousands of songs during his eclectic career.

In the days before he died, Allen had performed before a sold-out audience at Victor Valley College, worked on promotional plans for the December release of his 53rd book, “Steve Allen’s Private Joke File,” and completed the manuscript for a planned book, “Vulgarians at the Gate,” about violence and vulgarity in the media.

Show Ushered In Late-Night TV Genre

The son of vaudeville actors, Allen charmed radio and television audiences for decades with his inspired shtick, most of it ad-libbed.

As the original host of “Tonight” in the mid-1950s, Allen invented the genre of late-night TV and redefined the art of comedy, serving up screwball skits featuring such characters as the Question Man and antics such as the very emotional reading aloud of letters to the editor.

Allen made millions of dollars from his television shows, his commercials for Mocha Mix creamer and Restonic mattresses, his lectures, and royalties on the 8,500 songs that put him in the Guinness Book of World Records as the “most prolific composer of modern times.”