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Marty
Allen to appear at Newnan Habitat benefit
When asked if he would
join his friend and fellow entertainer, David Pengelly, for a show
tomorrow night in Newnan, Marty Allen quickly responded that he would
be on the next flight from Las Vegas.
Allen is one of the most
versatile performers in show business. He has worked solo as a comedy
headliner in nightclubs and as a dramatic actor in TV roles. He often
presents a comedy-music-dance show with singer-composer Karon Kate
Blackwell. His infamous “Hello Dere” greeting is known and
imitated by fans throughout the world.
Marty, a self-proclaimed
Troll Doll, still sports the explosive hairstyle that made him so
memorable when he was part of the comedy team Allen & Rossi in the
‘60s. That association produced a string of hit comedy albums,
dozens of television appearances, including 40 visits to the Ed
Sullivan Show.
Unlike most performers,
Marty is one that has stood the test of time and he “enjoys every
minute of it,” he said. Throughout the 1970s and into the 1980s,
Marty made hundreds of TV appearances, was a guest on all the talk
shows and became a regular on “Hollywood Squares.” With just
as much spark and energy as he possessed 30 years ago, you can catch
Marty and his lovely partner and singing sensation, Karon Kate
Blackwell, performing in the showrooms of Las Vegas, Atlantic City and
on cruise ships taking their wit, music and charm around the world.
“I am thrilled to
have my long-time friend and professional entertainer, Marty Allen,
join me to help raise money for Habitat,” said Pengelly, who
added that he has been honored to know and work with Marty over the
years.
Eric Arnold, a
14-year-old Boy Scout, is the promoter of this show. Eric has taken on
the responsibility of raising $10,000 to benefit Newnan-Coweta Habitat
for Humanity. All proceeds will go toward the building of a house on
the east side of the county. The house will be dedicated in memory of
Michael Thompson, a local Habitat lead construction manager who passed
away earlier this year.
Karon Kate Blackwell, Marty's wife, with Joe on board Cruise Ship.
(2003)
KARON KATE BLACKWELL
When Karon and Marty met in the mid 80s, the two began performing
together, combining Karon's music and Marty's comedy.
Karon was born and raised near Ellisville, Mississippi. As a vocalist,
she can glide effortlessly from country to rhythm and blues and gospel
to a ballad by Irving Berlin or the Gershwins. As a musician, she can
pound out a rock `n' roll song on the piano Jerry Lee Lewis-style or
take an old-fashioned ragtime tune and really make it swing. Many of the
songs she sings are her own compositions.
Karon's career began in nightclubs and showrooms throughout the
country, opening for the likes of Wayne Newton in Las Vegas and Burl
Ives in Reno. Karon's television credits include The Tonight Show, The
Regis Phi/bin Show, and Hour Magazine.
When Karon is on stage, there is never a dull moment. If all the energy
that Karon Kate pours into her performance would be harnessed, the
lights of Las Vegas and Atlantic City could run on that energy for a
million years.
Karon's boogie-woogie at the piano brings down the house very time.
Karon sings a lot of old favorites, but she also includes a few of her
own compositions such as Wedding Vows, a song she wrote for Marty on
their wedding day. One of Karon's singles entitled, I Can't Laugh was a
Cashbox "pick-of-the-week" selection in 1994.
Karon is presently in the studio recording a new version of Dusty
Springfield's I Only Want To Be With You.
Proceeds from the sale of her tapes, CDs and sheet music are donated to
Childhaven, a home for battered and unwanted children in Las Vegas.
Steve and Marty with Carol Burnett
FRENCH MOVIE MAGAZINE CINE REVUE #25 - 1966
The Last of the Secret Agents?
THE LAST OF THE SECRET AGENTS?
ITALIAN MOVIE POSTER
1970
Thursday, August 20, 1998
'Rat Pack' gets star-studded Las Vegas premiere
By Ken White
Review-Journal
The Rat Pack is back in town.
Well, sort of.
Ray Liotta, Joe Mantegna, Don Cheadle, Angus MacFadyen and Bobby
Slayton, actors who portray legendary performers Frank Sinatra, Dean
Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Peter Lawford and Joey Bishop, respectively, in
HBO's "The Rat Pack" movie, are slated to attend a screening
and premiere party tonight in the Crystal Showroom at the Desert Inn,
3145 Las Vegas Blvd. South.
The event is not open to the public.
A lineup of celebrities from Hollywood and Las Vegas also is scheduled
to attend, including Paul Anka, Susan Anton, Frankie Avalon, Freddie
Bell, Olga Breeskin, David Cassidy, Angie Dickinson, Ron Eldard, Buddy
Greco, Bernie Allen, Marty Allen, Sonny King, Rich Little, Julianna
Margulies, Penn Gillette and Teller, Dick Smothers, Connie Stevens, Ben
Vereen and John Koster, president of the Desert Inn.
Also planning to attend the black-tie-optional event from the film are
actors Megan Dodds, Deborah Kara Unger and Barbara Niven, as well as
executive producer Neal Moritz, director Rob Cohen and HBO Pictures
president John Matoian.
In addition, Gov. Bob Miller will dedicate the day to the Rat Pack.
Anka, who wrote Sinatra's signature tune, "My Way," will do
the introductions at the event.
After the film is screened, Frankie Randall and his 17-piece orchestra
will perform at a private reception. Randall, a longtime friend of
Sinatra, will pay tribute to the Chairman of the Board through song and
anecdotes.
Other premieres have been held for the movie, including Aug. 14 in
Miami and the Hamptons in New York, and Tuesday in Los Angeles.
"You have to do Vegas," HBO publicist Lisa Knight Gibby says
of the Las Vegas premiere. "The Rat Pack spent so many years there
and honed their act there."
The film, which debuts Saturday at 9 p.m. on HBO, covers the Rat Pack's
heyday in Hollywood and Las Vegas, mostly detailing Sinatra's attempts
to help get John F. Kennedy elected president in 1960 while allegedly
working as a go-between with the mob and the Kennedy camp.
None of the film was shot in Las Vegas.
The Desert Inn does have a link to the Rat Pack's past, however. In
1951, the hotel hired Sinatra to headline the Painted Desert showroom
and he returned there many times over the years. His last performance at
the Desert Inn was in 1993.
Martin and Davis also performed at the Strip resort during their
careers.
The caper movie "Oceans 11," in which the Rat Pack plots to
rob five Las Vegas casinos simultaneously, was filmed in Las Vegas.
All of the original Rat Pack members, except Bishop, have died.
Buck Hujabre and Marty
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