Vegas says ‘Goodbye Dere’ to longtime pal Allen
HE called out his catchphrase “Hello Dere!” to his many friends in Las Vegas, and he always wore his hair in a wild, black mane. And rather than lean on a proper cane, he used a Louisville Slugger, often pretending to take a few cuts with his favorite prop.
Marty Allen, a showroom and TV favorite for more than a half-century who gained national fame with stage partner Steve Rossi, died on Monday in Las Vegas. He was 95. Allen, who had been suffering from complications related to pneumonia, was admitted to a Las Vegas rehab facility over the weekend. He was with family members, including his wife of 34 years, Karon Kate Blackwell, at his passing.
Las Vegas publicist Candi Cazau, a friend of Allen’s for more than 40 years, said she saw Allen in hospice care about 15 minutes before he died.
“He was an incredible man, and he always seemed so young to me,” Cazau said. “He was like the Energizer bunny of entertainers.”
Allen most recently performed at the South Point Showroom on March 22, the day before his 95th birthday. On Christmas morning, Allen suffered a fractured right hip after a fall at his Las Vegas home and had struggled in his rehabilitation.
“If it weren’t for that fall,” Cazau said, “he would have been performing next month.” Allen and Blackwell had planned to return to the stage April 21 at the Rrazz Room in Boca Raton, Fla.
The Allen and Rossi comedy team performed in clubs around the country and on TV from 1957-68. They routinely headlined in Las Vegas, recording live albums at the Riviera and Sands. Following a breakup they always described as amicable, the two reunited for a brief run at Bob Stupak’s Vegas World (now site of the Stratosphere) in 1990.
The zenith of the Allen & Rossi partnership was Feb. 16, 1964, when the duo appeared during The Beatles’ second appearance on “The Ed Sullivan Show,” broadcast from the Deauville Hotel in Miami Beach. Allen introduced himself that night as “Ringo’s mother.” In a side conversation with John Lennon, Allen claimed, “I’m often mistaken for you.”
The bug-eyed comic and smooth, straight-man partner made more than 40 appearances on Sullivan’s Sunday-night variety show. With Rossi and as a solo act, Allen estimated he’d made more than 400 TV appearances during his career, including “Hollywood Squares” and “The Mike Douglas Show.”
Allen was also a terrific dancer, proud of the blackand-white clips that showed him dancing in his television appearances. A decorated World War II veteran, he was also fiercely proud of his military background. Allen was stationed in Italy with the 15th Air Force when sparks from a fuel truck touched off a fire in a plane. Allen prevented an explosion, driving the fuel truck away, returning to the bomb bay of the fighter and rolling across the flames to extinguish them.
For that act, he earned the Soldier’s Medal for Bravery.
In his final performance at a sold-out South Point Showroom, Allen joked about his advancing age.
“I told my wife I wanted an antique for my birthday,” he said. “So she framed my birth certificate.”
Jewel’s Encore
Folk superstar Jewel, who has a home in Las Vegas, is booked for two nights at the Encore Theater on March 30-31. Tickets for “Jewel: Hits, Muses and Mentors” go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday.
March is shaping up as the Month of Jewel. She’s also set to perform in the “One Night for One Drop” Cirque du Soleil charity show March 2 at the MJ One Theater at Mandalay Bay. The production is actually inspired by her life story.
Also, the Jewel song “Mercy,” from her 2015 album “Picking Up the Pieces,” is serving as inspiration for a monument being conceived by Las Vegas abstract artist Tim Bavington, honoring first responders and those affected by the Oct. 1 shooting on the Strip. She also performed at the Nov. 4 “Vegas Cares” charity show, produced by The Best Agency Chief Executive Officer Ken Henderson at The Venetian Theater, which raised $100,000 to fund that effort.
Signing off
On Monday I attempted to remember a conversation with ex-palms owner George Maloof that might not have happened. It centered on the renovation of the marquee at the hotel. I’d remembered us talking of that possibility in 2009 or so. “It might have been in the air at the time. I know we were always talking about how to move the property forward,” Maloof said. “But I don’t think we had any specific plans for it.”
Regardless, the sign is being overhauled even as we speak, with the 14-foot-tall letters being taken down as part of a fully refurbished LED display package. The project should be finished by the end of the year.
Maloof, who has not toured the hotel-casino in several months, said, “It’s a really famous sign, but it is dated,” then joked, “Maybe I’ll ask to take the letters to my place, as mementos.”
Maloof added that he has many friends in the Station Casinos empire, including hotel general manager Jon Gray, who are enacting the Palms’ $485 million overhaul. “I can’t wait to see what they’ve got going over there.”
History of ‘Absinthe’
The ill-fated Fontainebleau resort will forever be known as the original reason Spiegelworld officials moved “Absinthe” to the Strip. The initial plans for the hotel, which on Monday was renamed The Drew under the stewardship of resort mogul Steve Witkoff of New York, called for a 3,000-seat theater. That venue was adjusted to an 800-seat, state-of-the-art theater as plans were made for the hotel to open with “Absinthe” as its anchor production.
All those plans halted when the project went bankrupt in 2009. “Absinthe” opened at Caesars Palace two years later.
John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. Contact him at jkatsilometes@ reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on Twitter, @ Johnnykats1 on Instagram. As of 9 p.m. Monday:
1. Fontainebleau on Las Vegas Strip has new name and opening date
More than five months after buying the Fontainebleau, New York developer Steve Witkoff unveiled a plan and a new name for the unfinished
Strip resort.
2. 3 die, others hurt in Grand Canyon helicopter crash
A helicopter operated by a Boulder City-based tour company crashed Saturday evening in the Grand Canyon, killing three and critically injuring four, according to police.
3. Trump to disclose $1.5T infrastructure plan on Monday
President Donald Trump on Monday will unveil his long-awaited infrastructure plan, a $1.5 trillion proposal that fulfills a number of campaign goals, but relies heavily on state and local governments to produce much of the funding.
4. Four killed on flight from Henderson to Southern California
Four people were killed Sunday when a small, home-built plane flying from Henderson crashed near a mountain town in Southern California, authorities said.
5. British tourists hospitalized after fatal Grand Canyon copter crash
The pilot and three passengers who survived a deadly helicopter crash in the Grand Canyon were hospitalized Sunday in Las Vegas after an hourslong rescue effort, officials said. As of 9 p.m. Monday:
1. Who is Drew?
Developer Steve Witkoff has renamed the former Fontainebleau: The Drew Las Vegas.
2. Helicopter crash in the Grand Canyon
Rescue efforts from the helicopter crash scene in the Grand Canyon, Arizona. 3. Helicopter crash news conference
Six passengers and a pilot were on board the Eurocopter EC130 belonging to Boulder City-based Papillon Grand Canyon Helicopters when it crashed about 5:20 p.m. Saturday.