Steve Allen is comedian and creator of the Tonight Show and the Steve Allen Show. He is a composer, singer, producer, conductor, a songwriter of more than 4,000 songs, and the author of 38 books. He is a political activist, a Humanist Laureate for the Academy of Humanism, and the producer of the award-winning PBS-TV network series Meeting of Minds, a "talk show" with some of history's most significant figures, with Mr. Allen acting as host. His tireless efforts on behalf of the promotion of science, skepticism, and humanism have kept these movements on the cutting edge in the media and popular culture. His book Dumbth was a national bestselling social commentary on the state of U.S. education.