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Biography |
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 11, 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 party 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.
[Photo By Stephen Thorburn (c) 2007]
Sunday, February 08, 2004
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal
NORM: Comedy duo had unenviable task
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 girl 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.
They've gone separate directions but continue to
entertain. Allen, who turns 82 next month, and his wife, Karon
Blackwell, are cruise ship sensations. Rossi, six years younger, has
been touring with Dean Martin's son Ricci.
And thanks to a little
help from their friends, Allen and Rossi are getting royalties from the
new Beatles DVD that is flying off shelves.
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© Copyright
2001-2023 Marty Allen
and/or Karon Kate Blackwell
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