Marty Allen
TV Personality, Comedian
An old man walks into a brothel and says, ‘Madam, I want a woman.’ The Madam looks shocked and says “Mister, how old are you?” “One hundred and two,” says the man. “I think you’ve had it,” says the Madam. “Really? Well, who do I pay?”
It’s these kinds of jokes Allen has been telling since the ’50s. You might remember him. His face is hard to forget – goofy-eyed, wild hair. He’s that comedian with the signature opening line, “Hello Dere.” You’ve seen him in hundreds of TV shows, tons of talk and game shows. He’s performed before audiences from Vegas to Atlantic City and appeared in numerous movies. He and his former partner, Steve Rossi that made up the team Allen & Rossi even opened for the Beatles when they made their U.S. debut.
Now say “Hello dere” to Marty Allen.
Q. When did you get bit by the show biz bug?
A. I always had this bug for show business, for getting laughs. On hayrides, while the other kids necked, I was the one who made jokes.
My dad owned a restaurant and bar in Pittsburgh, but that wasn’t something that appealed to me. When I was in high school, I thought maybe I’d want to be a reporter. But that didn’t last too long. By the time I got out of the Air Force, I knew I wanted to be a comedian.
Q. Did your parents encourage this peculiar ambition?
A. My folks thought it was okay, so long as it was something I really wanted to do and would stick at.
Like most comics in those days, I started out in dives, but I got lucky pretty fast. Sarah Vaughn hired me to open for her, and then her husband recommended me to Nat King Cole.
Q. How did you go from being a moderately successful single to being half of a very successful team of Allen and Rossi for 44 years?
A. Steve Rossi was working as a production singer at the Sands, in Las Vegas. And he happened to mention to Nat Cole that he was getting sick of it. Cole suggested he get in touch with me. At the time, I was performing back east with Sarah. Anyway, Steve called me and I said I’d be happy to meet with him. He flew out, we met and we just hit it off from the start.
Q. How long did it take for the new act to click?
A. We started out in small clubs, but pretty soon we were playing the Copa with Cole. But what really put us over the top came about strictly by accident. One night, in Philadelphia, in the middle of the act, I just blacked out. I couldn’t remember my next line. So, with this goofy expression on my face, I looked at Steve and said, “Hello Dere.” I didn’t think much about it. I was just happy that it had bought me a few seconds, so I could re-group and go on with the act.
Q. At what point did you realize you were on to something big?
A. When the show ended, people from the audience kept coming up to me and saying, “Hello Dere.” Right then I realized we had gold. I mean, Joe Penner had “Do you want to buy a duck?” and Lou Costello had “I’m a baaaad boy,” but most comics go through their entire careers trying to find a signature line, and I had mine just fall into my lap.
Q. Aside from the line, why do you think you made it in a field that has seen so many others fail?
A. I think a lot of comics try to get by with just gags. The ones who last are the ones who create distinct, memorable, personalities.
Q. How would you describe yours?
A. I’m ahead of the game to begin with because I’m bushy-haired and wild-eyed, with the kind of face that’s hard to forget. But audiences can tell that I really like people, and I believe they respond to that. Plus, I always work hard. No matter what the size of the audience, I’ve never dogged it. Every night is like a new experience for me because of the people out there.
Q. When I was a kid watching the Ed Sullivan Show, I had the impression that Allen and Rossi were on even more often than Señor Wences or Johnny Puelo and the HarmoniCats.
A. We must have done Sullivan about 35 or 40 times. Every time was an event. There was a real exhilaration to just being there. We were even on with the Beatles. There were 5,000 screaming kids in the audience looking at me, with my hair, thinking I must be Ringo’s mother!
Q. Some years ago, you and Rossi split up. What caused the rift?
A. Actually, it was an amicable parting of the ways. Some of it had to do with the state of the business. TV variety shows were dying off and a lot of the clubs were closing. But, mainly, it was my idea because I wanted to diversify. I wanted to do more straight acting. I did get some dramatic roles, most notably on “The Big Valley,” with Barbara Stanwyck. For that, I even cut my hair.
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