   allan sherman (born allan copelon; november 30, 1924&nbsp;â november 20, 1973) was an american comedy writer and television producer who became famous as a song parodist in the early 1960s. his first album, my son, the folk singer (1962), became the fastest-selling record album up to that time. his biggest hit single was "hello muddah, hello fadduh", a comic novelty in which a boy describes his summer camp experiences to the tune of ponchielli's dance of the hours. ==early life== sherman was born in chicago to jewish american parents percy copelon and rose sherman. percy was an auto mechanic and race car driver who, like his son, suffered from obesity (he weighed over 350 pounds), and died while attempting a 100-day diet. sherman's parents divorced when he was in grade school, and allan adopted his mother's maiden name. due to his parents constantly moving to new residences, allan attended over a dozen public schools in chicago, new york, los angeles, and miami. he attended the university of illinois, where he earned mostly "c" grades and contributed a humor column to the daily illini, the college newspaper, but never received a degree because he was expelled for breaking into a campus sorority house with his then-girlfriend. ==television writer and producer== sherman devised a game show he intended to call i know a secret. television producer mark goodson used sherman's idea and turned it into i've got a secret, which ran on cbs from 1952 to 1967. rather than paying him for the concept, mark goodson-bill todman productions made sherman the show's producer. sherman was reported to be warm and kindhearted to all who worked for him. however, differences occured between sherman and anyone who was in a position to try to restrain his creativity.goodson-todman executive gil fates relates typical sherman stunts in his memoir about what's my line?. as producer of i've got a secret, which was broadcast live, he showed a fondness for large scale stunts that had the potential to teeter on the brink of disaste
1924_births 1973_deaths 20th-century_American_male_actors American_comedians American_entertainment_industry_businesspeople American_male_singers American_male_voice_actors American_novelty_song_performers American_satirists American_television_producers Burials_in_California DePatie-Freleng_Enterprises Deaths_from_emphysema Fairfax_High_School_(Los_Angeles)_alumni Grammy_Award-winning_artists Jewish_American_musicians Jewish_comedians Jubilee_Records_artists Male_actors_from_Chicago,_Illinois Parodists Parody_musicians RCA_Victor_artists Songwriters_from_Illinois