A Collection of Letters Father Donald K. Sharpes, Mount Saint Nichols, Spokane (1959-1960)

The three letters indicate Steve Allen's more serious side on issues of religion and philosophy. The collection on Steve Allen's letterhead includes (1) a type one-page letter signed to Donald K. Sharpes on September 7, 1959. Allen explains his intent in the articles in Look Magazine was to shock Christians into realizing their hypocrisy. (2) a letter of November 27, 1959, where he explains he has digested the contents of his previous letter and he intends to answer with a fuller communication; and (3) August 2, 1960, where he provides a long two-page typed letter his response. He explains that he is a neighbor of a philosopher or a scientist, but he believes man has a soul. He is puzzled by the horrors of creation such as children born on occasion without a brain or other deformities. Do these little beings have souls? He goes on to say that his autobiography Mark it and Strike It will be published in a few weeks which will mainly deal only with the trivialities of his television career. He closes by noting he has enclosed a pamphlet on a sane Nuclear Policy entitled Morals and Missiles.