{"id":49519,"date":"2016-03-21T13:45:43","date_gmt":"2016-03-21T13:45:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/owegopennysaver.com\/?p=49519"},"modified":"2016-03-21T13:45:43","modified_gmt":"2016-03-21T13:45:43","slug":"marty-allen-still-making-em-laugh","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2016\/03\/21\/marty-allen-still-making-em-laugh\/","title":{"rendered":"Marty Allen still making \u2018em laugh"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Marty<\/a>

Allen and Rossi with the Beatles in 1964. Photos provided by Marty Allen.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Marty<\/a>

Allen and Rossi.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Marty<\/a>

Marty and Karon on stage.<\/p><\/div>\n

Known for his trademark salutation, \u201cHello Dere!\u201d and bug-eyed comic stare and wild Brillo-pad hair, veteran comedian Marty Allen is still making audiences laugh. He\u2019ll be appearing at the Las Vegas Rampart Casino on March 26.<\/p>\n

\u201cI get up in the morning and the only thing that doesn\u2019t hurt is my pajamas,\u201d joked Allen, who turns 94 on March 23, from his home in Las Vegas.<\/p>\n

A veteran of six decades in the entertainment industry, in 1957 the Pittsburgh-raised comedian teamed up with handsome lounge crooner Steve Rossi who became his \u201cstraight man.\u201d The union produced the incredibly popular comedy duo of Allen and Rossi.<\/p>\n

Over the following decade, the pair toured the world and appeared on every TV variety show. They amicably parted in 1968, but reunited many times, as late as the 1990s.<\/p>\n

Rossi died in 2014. \u201cHe lived in Las Vegas, too, and we remained good friends,” said Allen. “I last saw him a few days before he passed away. What can I say, we were like brothers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Today, Allen is partnered with a new straight man \u2013 or straight woman, to be more precise \u2013 his wife of over 30 years, Karon Kate Blackwell.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter Steve and I split up, I worked as a single for many years and even acted,\u201d recalled Allen. \u201cThen I met Karon at a Los Angeles restaurant. She was working as a singer and piano player, and when I saw her perform I asked her to come on the road with me and the audiences loved her.\u201d<\/p>\n

After splitting with Rossi, Allen appeared in a half-dozen feature films, some TV movies, and guest starred on several television series.<\/p>\n

One memorable guest spot was on \u201cThe Ed Sullivan Show\u201d in 1964 with The Beatles.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe guys had no idea who we were, but backstage they were very friendly and likable,\u201d recalled Allen. \u201cI remember walking over to joke with John and saying \u2018A lot of people mistake me for you!\u2019 He thought that was hysterical, me with my crazy hair, and almost collapsed from laughing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Like Marty\u2019s wild hair, his \u201cHello Dere!\u201d catchphrase, which is also the title of his 2014 autobiography (see www.martyallenhellodere.com<\/a>), was not planned. He blurted out the phrase in a brief rare moment of on-stage confusion when working with Rossi one evening. After the show, when audience members began repeating it, he says, \u201cI knew I had a gimmick entertainers only dream about.\u201d<\/p>\n

As for that hair, \u201cIt seemed every time I cut my hair, I\u2019d catch a cold, so I just let it go,\u201d he recalled. \u201cIt just took off and grew wild.\u201d<\/p>\n

But it was TV game shows where Allen excelled as himself.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was on them all, my favorite being a semi-regular on \u2018Hollywood Squares\u2019 with people like Paul Lynde, Charlie Weaver, and Rose Marie,\u201d he recalled. \u201cWe were allowed to write our own jokes which we would throw in when Peter Marshall asked the questions. We didn\u2019t know the questions up front, so we really did ad lib the answers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Allen says that throughout his career, he had a reputation of working well with others.<\/p>\n

\u201cI approached every job I ever had with a good temperament,\u201d he said. \u201cI never fought with anyone and just wanted to entertain. My career and the people I\u2019ve met have been a great blessing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nick Thomas teaches at Auburn University at Montgomery, Ala., and has written features, columns, and interviews for over 600 magazines and newspapers. Follow on Twitter @TinseltownTalks.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Known for his trademark salutation, \u201cHello Dere!\u201d and bug-eyed comic stare and wild Brillo-pad hair, veteran comedian Marty Allen is still making audiences laugh. He\u2019ll…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-49519","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-arts-living"],"yoast_head":"\nMarty Allen still making \u2018em laugh - Owego Pennysaver Press<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2016\/03\/21\/marty-allen-still-making-em-laugh\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Marty Allen still making \u2018em laugh - Owego Pennysaver Press\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Known for his trademark salutation, \u201cHello Dere!\u201d and bug-eyed comic stare and wild Brillo-pad hair, veteran comedian Marty Allen is still making audiences laugh. 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