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Marty was
born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the son of Louis and Elsie
Allen. His father owned a restaurant-bar. Marty grew up in an
atmosphere of love and security. He found he enjoyed making
people laugh and soon started dreaming
about a career in show business. Marty
often entertained his friends at parties. "I would break it up
by doing record pantomimes and impressions," he recalled.
He graduated from Alderdice High School during World War 2, so
he immediately joined the Air Force. He was stationed in Italy
where he attained the rank of sergeant and earned a Soldier's
Medal Of Valor. Marty was on guard duty while a plane was being
refueled. Suddenly sparks set off a fire in the plane. Marty saw
the potential for disaster and jumped into the cab of the fuel
truck and drove it away, preventing an explosion. He then raced
back to the plane, crawled into the bomb bay and rolled on the
flames to extinguish the fire. In addition to the medal, his
heroism earned him a full-dress parade.
After the war, Marty attended the University of Southern
California where he studied journalism,. "I like to write, and I
wanted to be a reporter so I could trenchcoat," he explained. He
was still doing a comedy act in the small clubs, but to
supplement his GI bill allotment, he hit on a novel idea. He
became the first door-to-door dance salesman.
"I got the idea that women would love to learn to dance or just
dance for the fun of it during their work day. So, for $10 a
half-hour, I'd arrive at their door with a record player and
records and we'd dance," he said. "I finally had to give it up.
I was visiting 15 clients a day! It was costing me a fortune in
new shoes and foot powder."
While working in the nightclubs, Marty polished his many comedy
routines and developed a first-rate act. Eventually, the job
offers he received became too lucrative for him to remain in
college. He began to travel all over the country gaining
experience and popularity. He did return to California briefly,
to perform as the rear end of a dancing horse. "To this day, I
still can't believe I actually had to audition for that job,"
Marty said.
During the 1950s, Marty worked in many of the top nightclubs in
the country as opening act for established stars such as Sarah
Vaughan, Eydie Gorme and many others, including the legendary
Nat "King" Cole. It was during this time that he became part of
the great comedy team of Allen & Rossi.
That association produced a string of hit comedy albums, dozens of
television appearances,
including 40 visits to the Ed Sullivan Show, and the theatrical
motion picture "The Last Of The Secret Agents."
Eventually, Marty decided to try his hand at some strait dramatic
roles. His debut as a serious actor came on "The Big Valley" TV
series. In an episode titled "The Jonah," Marty played a character
who was considered a jinx and blamed for a run of bad luck at the
ranch. "I met two great ladies doing that show," Marty said, "Linda
Evans was very nice to me, and when Barbara Stanwyk complimented me
on my acting, I was in heaven." Marty appeared in several other
dramatic productions, including the TV movie "Mister Jerico," and
"The Ballad of Billie Blue" and a Rod Serling "Night Gallery"
segment.
Helping others, who are less fortunate, is part of his personal
credo. In 1968 he made a "Hello Dere" tour of military hospitals in
the United States, paying for his own transportation and hotel
costs. A commendation for his good deeds was placed in the
Congressional Record. He repeated the tour yearly through 1972. On
each tour, he spent long hours talking to and entertaining the
wounded soldiers who had just returned from Vietnam. He is also
involved in a number of charitable causes including American Cancer
Society, The Heart Fund, March Of Dimes, Fight For Sight, Cerebral
Palsy, and is on the board of the Epilepsy Foundation. "I believe
that if you have a talent and you use it to become successful, you
should give back in return for the good fortune you've had," he
said.
Throughout the 1970s and into the'80s, Marty made hundreds of TV
appearances. "I went up and down the dial. I did all the talk shows
and even became a regular on 'Hollywood Squares." He also appeared
on "The Circus Of The Stars," "Password" and many other game shows
plus 10 movies for television. " They used to call me 'the darling
of daytime television.' I did everything except 'Sermonette.'" It
was during this time he met Karon Kate Blackwell. The two began
performing together, combining "Katie's" music and Marty's comedy.
The scene was almost as wild as Marty Allen's
hair.
Forty years ago Monday, Las Vegans Marty Allen and Steve Rossi were
at the epicenter of the Beatles' U.S. debut, an earthquake in pop
culture.
"It was total pandemonium, pure electricity" recalled Allen. Every
time Ed Sullivan tried to introduce the British boy band on Feb. 9,
1964, "all those girls went bananas. You knew this was going to
sweep the country."
At
the time, Allen and Rossi, six years into their act, were one of the
hottest comedy teams of their era. They were making their 12th
appearance on Sullivan's Sunday night TV show, then the
entertainment world's greatest launching pad.
After the Beatles' five-song set before a then-record 73 million
viewers, Allen and Rossi's dilemma was immediately apparent: How do
you avoid bombing when you're following the most explosive act ever?
With a screeching teeny-bopper crowd drowning out Sullivan, Allen
and Rossi stepped into the swirl.
"If we had done our comedy bit, we would have died," Rossi said.
The big-haired Allen, who earlier cracked up John Lennon backstage
with, "A lot of people mistake me for you," went with his trademark
opener, "Hello dere," and added, "I'm Ringo's mother."
Big applause. Then Rossi, an accomplished singer, launched into the
Beatles' hit song "I Want to Hold Your Hand" as Allen ran up the
aisle, dancing and clapping.
"Marty got them hand clapping. We won 'em over," said Rossi, who
teamed up with Allen for almost 30 years, including 44 appearances
on the Sullivan show.
Allen & Rossi have gone separate directions but
continue to entertain. Allen, who just turned a very active and spry
88 in March, and his wife, Karon Kate Blackwell, are cruise ship
sensations. ... Over 600 shows in 10 years!
Since 1999, Marty and
Karon have revamped the show biz act that made him famous.
Marty has added new material to include present day events while
Karon sings, plays the piano, and plays the strait person for Marty
during their on stage comedy routine.
Marty and Karon still
love performing. They travel extensively, routinely performing
to sold out shows. After 25 years of marriage, Karon brings a
new spark to the show with her Jerry Lee Louis style piano playing,
remarkably gorgeous outfits, and lovely presence. Marty still
has the wild hair, albeit, looking more like a human troll doll
these days... but still bringing down the house with style and
flair!
Marty and Karon prove
during every show that great comedy and entertainment is timeless.
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Marty Allen, 2009 |
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