Dave Allen (actor)

Dave Allen
Allen in November 2008
Born	c. 1958 (age 58–59) Naperville, Illinois
Other names	Gruber, Dave Gruber Allen, David Gruber Allen
Education	Augustana College
Occupation	Actor, comedian
Years active	1991 – present

David (Gruber) Allen (born c. 1958) is an American television and film actor and comedian, who has been credited in many movies and television roles as Dave Gruber Allen and David Gruber Allen. Allen is known for his work on the 1990 TV series Higgins Boys and Gruber and playing guidance counselor Jeff Rosso on the Judd Apatow-produced comedy-drama Freaks and Geeks. He also played Mr. Kwest on Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide and a town troubadour on Gilmore Girls. Allen had a minor role in the 2016 film Ghostbusters.

Allen plays the "Naked Trucker" - a character that first appeared as part of a sketch comedy show Two-Headed Dog. In 1998, at the invitation of Largo owner Mark Flannigan, Allen began to appear as the Naked Trucker as a solo act, opening at Largo in L.A. for Tenacious D, Jon Brion, and others. The act was an instant success and soon expanded to include David Koechner, who plays "T-Bones." Koechner and Allen starred in The Naked Trucker and T-Bones Show on Comedy Central, which was picked up for 8 episodes.

Allen is a member of comedy group 2 Headed Dog with comedians Jim Turner, Mark Fite, and Craig Anton. He also made an appearance as a minor character, Mr. Woodward, one of Reese's teachers on the television show Malcolm in the Middle. In addition, Allen frequently plays the character "Todd Carlin", a hippie and fictional relative of George Carlin. This character is usually involved in comedy shows at Largo. Allen has guest starred on Gilmore Girls, where he played a town troubadour, organic farmer, and a de facto minister officiating a wedding. He has been credited in many movies and television roles as Dave Gruber Allen and David Gruber Allen.