The former journalist became a fixture on BBC television in the 70s and 80s with the series The Dave Allen Show and Dave Allen at Large. Sitting cross-legged on a stool and wearing a three-piece suit, his readiness to poke fun at sex and the Catholic church occasionally landed him in hot water.
Asked to describe himself in an interview in 1998, he said: "I'm a grumpy old fuck with a sense of humour."
Television producer Paul Jackson, who became friends with Allen after working with him at ITV, remembered the comedian as a "fabulous storyteller".
"You remember his love of argument and complexity," Mr Jackson said yesterday. "He told stories not jokes and through those stories he observed human nature so precisely and was angry at the things in life that should make you angry. He railed against the stupidity of the world and gave voice to a lot of things people think but don't say."
Alan Yentob, the BBC's creative director, described Allen as an original. "There was no one like him - the stool, the smile, the cigarette, the hand gesture, the slow burn," he said. "He was a master storyteller, a real original."
Allen's agent for 27 years, Vivienne Clore, said the comedian had been unwell over Christmas, but had recovered and was not suffering any life-threatening illnesses. He was still considering new projects at the time of his death and enjoying his garden at his home in west London. He would have been "pissed off" to be described as in semi-retirement.
"He had a natural curiosity about everything and everyone and would build up a close relationship with everyone he worked with."
Allen, was born Dave Tynan O'Mahoney in Tallaght, Ireland, in July 1936.
After short stints as a reporter on The Drogheda Argus and a redcoat at Butlins holiday camp in Skegness, he turned to comedy. He learned his craft the old-fashioned way, touring extensively with theatre groups and performing in nightclubs and working men's clubs. His first taste of television came on the BBC talent show New Faces in 1959.
Allen toured Australia in 1963 and was invited to host his own TV chatshow, Tonight with Dave Allen. It ran for 18 months, despite a controversial episode in which he discussed the merits of masturbation with guests Peter Cook and Dudley Moore.
He returned to the UK in 1964 and the first episode of the British version of Tonight with Dave Allen went on air four years later. In 1971, BBC2 commissioned Dave Allen at Large, a mixture of straight-to-camera monologues and sketches.
Allen's taboo-challenging humour was a reliable source of controversy throughout his career. In 1990, he used the f-word on air, forcing the BBC to issue an apology and prompting MPs to ask questions about him in the Commons.
Allen is survived by his wife, Karin, and three children.
The famous Irish   has died aged 68. Known as the ''Sit-down comedian,'' Allen was among the first to base his dry wit humour around the comic practices of large organisations and institutions such as the . 

Born in Dublin in 1936, he later moved to England to pursue his career. He initially  was a , but later entered comedy. His fame peaked in the 1970s and 1980s with the ''BBC'' TV shows ''The Dave Allen Show'' and ''Dave Allen at Large.''

He is survived by his wife Karin, and their three children.