Marty Allen and Karon Kate Blackwell, plus a hot five-piece band led by John Jacobson, are filling the 480-seat Gold Coast showroom Fridays through Mondays at 8 p.m. and are a sure bet to continue doing so through Aug. 28 ... Allen has been a headliner here since the Allen and Steve Rossi days in the 1960s at the Riviera ... Allen and Rossi and Blackwell filled the even larger showroom at Vegas World before it became the Stratosphere.
Allen and Rossi again went their separate ways and Blackwell, Marty's wife, began playing straight lady to Allen's characters in addition to her singing and piano-playing turns ... Their current show has Allen doing two stand-up segments; the more venerable the jokes, the bigger the laughs.
Blackwell, born in Mississippi, was raised on the blues and rock 'n' roll ... During her several solo turns, she scores heavily with a variety of good material plus some two-fisted barrelhouse piano playing.
Critique concluded
Allen's comedic characters include Dr. Strangelove, a sex therapist; "Crazy Legs" Allen, a football player; as Shirley MacLaine, in drag; joining Blackwell on "Hey, Big Spender" and an old Ed Sullivan TV classic, "The Wine Taster" ... Blackwell follows with an original song, "Wedding Vows," then she plays piano, and Allen dances to close the show, after which they say "Goodbye" to the audience and sell her CDs.
Admission is by ticket, available at the casino cage; the show's free with a one-drink minimum ... A good deal: Seventy-five solid minutes of music and comedy for the price of a beverage.
Steve Rossi update
Allen's former partner is hosting a live talk-radio show, 9-11 p.m. Sundays, on KRLV 1340-AM, plus the Talk America network ... Rossi is celebrating his 50th year in show business, has a book on comedy in the works and shares host chores with Sandy Hackett ... He also has a role as an emcee in "The Mexican," with Brad Pitt and Julia Roberts.
By Robert MacyMarty Allen and wife: Beauty and the Beast, Las Vegas style
ASSOCIATED PRESS
LAS VEGAS (AP) - Think of it, if you will, as Beauty and the Beast, Las Vegas style.
There's zany Marty Allen sporting a hairdo that would make Don King flinch, with legs that were ugly even in their heyday and outrageously dressed under his frazzled, frizzy top.
Then there's Karon Kate Blackwell, a dazzling, statuesque blonde and his wife of 13 years.
When on stage, he flings out rapid-fire one-liners reminiscent of the days when he was one of television's favorite comics. She possesses a powerhouse voice and plays the piano with the gusto of James Brown.
Meet Las Vegas' version of the Odd Couple.
Allen, the comic who made "Hello Dere" household words, hasn't changed from the days when he performed with Nat "King" Cole and Sarah Vaughan, and later with singer-straightman Steve Rossi.
He's still playing a host of forlorn characters whose bells were rung once too often:
-Punch-drunk boxer Rocky Allen, staggering on stage wearing earmuffs "in case they want me to fight Mike Tyson."
-Football player Crazy Legs Allen: "Our team is not too bright. When we heard we were going to be on Monday Night Football, the whole team stayed home to watch the game."
-Hapless soul cursed with a cheating wife: "I asked the cab driver to take me where the action was. He took me to my house."
One highlight of their 90-minute show comes when Blackwell belts out "Hey Big Spender" from the show "Sweet Charity" and Allen cavorts on stage in a short skirt and high heels.
Allen met Blackwell in Los Angeles 15 years ago, where she was playing piano and writing music at a local club after working with the likes of Burl Ives and Wayne Newton, appearing on television with Johnny Carson and Merv Griffin.
Allen and former partner Rossi had split amicably after years as a duo. Blackwell encouraged them to get back together.
"I'd had a career and had gotten out of the business," she recounted.
When Allen and Rossi teamed up again, Blackwell found herself back on stage.
"I was their travel agent, conductor, opening act, booking agent, and worked the show with them," she said in an interview.
The rejuvenated career with her zany husband was an extension of childhood dreams.
"I can't remember there ever being a time I didn't want to do this," she said, recounting early years in Ellisville, Miss., playing the family's upright piano. "I'd turn and talk to the right wall, like I was performing and it was my audience."
The team of Allen, Rossi and Blackwell performed at the Vegas World Hotel, now the Stratosphere, under a "lifetime" contract that lasted four years. The trio later reached a confidential settlement.
Allen and Blackwell are currently performing at the Westward Ho Hotel-Casino to enthusiastic crowds and have a series of upcoming one-nighters in Florida.
Allen shuns the profanity common among many of today's comedians.
"My routines don't include any dirty words," he said. "I'm doing the type of comedy that is not around today. It's in the spirit of Red Skelton.
"Profanity may be the street talk today, but it's not necessary. You can have a clean, funny show without dirty language."
Allen and Blackwell live in Las Vegas, where they keep their professional and private lives separate.
Allen, who declined to give their ages, said his career was rejuvenated when he came up with the idea of Blackwell playing an attractive sidekick who feeds him straight lines from which to launch his dour-faced, rapid-fire responses.
"We have great chemistry," Allen said. "I'm free-wheeling. I can go into any type of situation, and she's able to cope with it. If I get too far out, she brings me back."
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