Here’s one to check how old you are. Marty Allen, of Allen and Rossi comedy duo, has died at 95. They were a big hit way back when, appearing on all the variety shows (especially Ed Sullivan) and working Vegas. Their humor doesn’t hold up well today, but they were considered very funny back then.
Another “I thought he’d died a long time ago!” celebrity. 
I remember watching him on TV when I was a kid, and I thought he was hilarious. Can’t think of the last time he was on, though.
I guess 95 is a pretty good run. :o
RIP, Marty.
- I thought he was already dead.
- I did not know he was from Pittsburgh.
My wife and I went on a Caribbean cruise in December 2005. One day while we were in the breakfast buffet line, I saw a guy who was immediately recognizable to me as Marty Allen. He was with his wife and performing partner Karon.
I chatted with him briefly. He said he and his wife had flown to our last port to join the cruise, would perform that night, and would get off at our next port. This was a semi-regular gig for them. He seemed like a pretty nice guy.
We went to his show that night. He and his wife were excellent performers, in a well-written, well rehearsed, broad humor, vaudeville form of excellence. Pros.
RIP
I remember him from his comedy act in the 1960s. as I’ve remarked on this Board before, I saw the Allen and Rossi movie the Last of the Secret Agents? back when it came out in 1966, observing that it was one of the many films of that period that sank into complete obscurity - it never appeared on TV as far as I know, nor has it ben on home media. (It had a title song by Nancy Sinatra, a la You Only Live Twice, which got re-used for the 1997 Bill Murray movie The Man Who Knew Too Little)
aside from that, I dion’t think I’ve even though of the comedy duo, much less heard about them. Rossi died of cancer in 2014.
- I thought he was already dead.
- According to the link in the OP, Allen and Rossi twice followed the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan Show.
- He was still performing well into his 90s: “94 years old and I’ve still got it!..but nobody wants it.”
mmm
If anyone is interested Marc Maron just reposted his interview with Allen from a couple of years ago. Not as fast as he once was but an interesting interview.
Believe it or not, Allen was also a war hero. He received the Soldiers Medal for rescuing people from a burning plane in Italy during WWII.
Steve Rossi, the straight man of the duo, died in 2014.
One of his “Hollywood Squares” zingers:
“What does a guy from Philadelphia dunk his pretzel in?”
“A girl from New Jersey!”
(Yeah, I know, a lot of them were probably prepared by writers ahead of time, but still. . . .)
I saw him once at LAX, not doing his act just waiting for a plane like me. I did what I always do when I see a celeb. Acknowledge with a wave/salute and leave them alone.
“What do you call a flock of chickens?”
“A bucket.”
BTW, notice how much he looks like one of them little Troll dolls?
Are there any Borscht Belt comedians left, or was Marty the last one?
Quite a few. E.g., Jack Burns of Burns and Carlin and then Burns and Schreiber.