News Details

< Back to News

!HELLO DERE!

Q&A Interview with comic icon Marty Allen!

Comic icon Marty Allen and Karon Kate Blackwell offer fun for all ages

At 87, Marty Allen is celebrating a long, illustrious career as an entertainer the only way he knows how - by performing. Allen still shows no signs of slowing down. With his wife and stage companion, Karon Kate Blackwell, the man who coined the phrase, “Hello Dere!” is still welcoming Las Vegas audiences to his brand of all-ages fun. Catch Marty and Karon Kate at the South Point on June 12-13.

Q: In college, you studied journalism. Was that your first choice for a career?

A: I was always a good writer. I was interested in journalism, so when I went out to school in California I studied it. I wanted to be a reporter because I looked great in a trench coat.

Q: You were in the service, in World War II, and began your career after that. How did you get started?

A: When I got out of service, I was working in Pittsburgh as a local comic and built up a reputation. One day, I got a call from an agent … “hey, you’re hot, you’re gonna be with a hot singer.” I said, “oh yeah, who?” The guy said, “In East Liberty, there’s a place, and you’ll be with Sarah Vaughn.” I went bananas. She took a liking to me. She called Nat King Cole, and told his manager about me. Then I got the call to be with Nat. I started to do some gigs with Nat, and at the time Steve Rossi was a production singer at the Sands and wanted to do something different. Nat knew him and says, “well, (Dean) Martin and (Jerry) Lewis are hot, and I know a comic.” So I flew out to meet him and we decided to give it a shot. We got some routines together and started playing the little clubs. And you know right off the bat with an act like that. The audience was reacting and we knew we had something. All of the sudden it caught fire and we went on tour and then came the Ed Sullivan Show and we were hotter than a firecracker.”

Q: How long were you two together as a team?

A: About 15 years. After you’ve played all the big nightclubs all around the country, how many times can you do it? So we went separate ways, but very amicably. We were always good friends. Then I got offers to do TV shows like “Great Valley.”

Q: Was that harder for you than comedy on a stage?

A: I think emotionally I felt it would work out fine, and it did. Then I started doing other shows and became a semi-regular on “Hollywood Squares.” I did “Beat The Clock,” and “Password.” They gave me the title of darling of daytime television. I was in L.A. at the time and that’s where I met Karon and found out she was a singer and I asked her out on a date. I went to her house and she had a piano and I said, “can you play?” and that’s where I heard her sing. I told her to come to Pittsburgh with me and be a singer at my show and she wiped ’em out. The next thing you know we’re the headliners on cruise ships.

Q: How long have you been in Las Vegas?

A: Well, we had a contract back at Vegas World, Stupak’s old place. We’ve been here about 20 years. Karon is a phenomenal talent and we scored really big here together.

Q: How much fun to be able to perform with your wife?

A: She’s a tremendous straight woman in our comedy act, and has an amazing singing voice. She’s like a female Dean Martin as far as straight humor goes. I’m very lucky.

Q: How does playing in Vegas compare to other cities?

A: I don’t think there’s a big difference because people want to be entertained wherever you are. One day, someone was pulling on my pants. It was a little kid. He said, “hey man, you’re awesome.” That killed me. A little kid. Our act is clean so I can play to kids, older people, everyone.

Q: You’re 87, and still out there performing. What drives you to keep going?

A: I love it. I was working on a ship and a guy says to me, “how do you dance like that?” I still dance now in the show. Anyway, I said, “well, I’m on the pill.” The guy says, “well, where do you get that pill? I feel like I’ve tried every pill, but not that one.” I don’t wanna retire. We’re doing well and there’s a lot to do. What do you do when you retire? If the act is doing well, why stop? A guy told me his father, grandfather, his kids and him came to watch us at the Gold Coast and he said we knocked it out of the park with all four generations. How does it get better than that?

-- END --