Remembering Marty Allen, Standup Comedian and Half of Allen & Rossi

Marty Allen, the stand-up comedian and funny half of the Allen & Rossi duo, who died Monday in Las Vegas at the age of 95, worked with his first comedy partner, Mitch DeWood, as an opening act for such stars as Sarah Vaughan, Eydie Gormé, and Nat King Cole in the 1950s. 

When the duo split up, he achieved fame with his partner Steve Rossi as the comedy team of Allen and Rossi.

As  Marvin Glassman wrote last year in the Florida Jewish Journal,

Allen may be one of the oldest Jewish comedians still on stage to have performed on "The Ed Sullivan Show," a popular television variety show in the 1950s and 60s.
Allen and his late partner Steve Rossi became a comedy duo hit from the "Sullivan" appearances. Known as "Allen & Rossi," the duo appeared 44 times on "Ed Sullivan" and had 700 other television appearances in their heyday from 1957-68, before breaking up as a duo.

Allen was the pudgy, wild-haired short, affable Jewish man who would play funny characters while being asked questions by Rossi. Allen's quick wit made audiences laugh as Rossi would ask him questions after beginning the routines by saying "Hello Dere."

Born as Morton Alpern in Pittsburgh, he went into show business after serving in the U.S. Air Forces in World War II while stationed in Italy. Allen earned a Soldier's Medal for his bravery getting fellow soldiers out of a plane that was caught on fire while being refueled.

"I was shocked when I was in Italy to later learn about the Holocaust and care deeply about being Jewish and being a supporter of Israel. Growing up, our family celebrated all the Jewish holidays and I still celebrate the Jewish holidays," said Allen.

Today we're sharing a rare clip of Marty Allen performing a solo stand-up routine.

Enjoy!

A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO MAY NOT BE VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY ON SOME COMPUTERS AND TABLETS.  YOU MUST CLICK ON THE TITLE AT THE TOP OF THE EMAIL TO REACH THE JEWISH HUMOR CENTRAL WEBSITE, FROM WHICH YOU CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON IN THE VIDEO IMAGE TO START THE VIDEO.