I'm unclear on the history of the Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts. I saw a bunch of them back in the day when they ran at least an hour and featured the top flight celebrities of the day, folks like Frank Sinatra, Jimmy Stewart, Lucille Ball and George Burns. I'm guessing that these roasts started out as part of the Dean Martin Comedy Hour, as evidenced by the one offered in 1973 for game show host Monty Hall, you know, Mr. Door Number 1, 2, or 3 on "Let's Make A Deal". The dais for the Hall tribute had none of the big names and consequently, the show seemed shorter, rushed and less funny than the ones I generally remember. The guest list for this one included Bert Parks, Audrey Meadows, boxer Rocky Graziano, hoofers Donald O'Connor and Gene Kelly, Art Linkletter, Jack Carter and Indiana Senator Birch Bayh.
As a time capsule of American life, this episode was kind of unique, in that both Jack Carter and the honoree, Monty Hall, both made reference to the energy crisis of the early Seventies. I can relate to those days when the price of gas began 'skyrocketing' past a dollar a gallon, and you were restricted to buying gasoline on odd and even numbered days based on your license plate number. You don't hear anything about that today, but it's one of those memories us 'old timers' can recall with some nostalgia, considering where we are today.
The guest list for this show noted on the IMDb program lineup included a number of entertainers that I didn't see on the program I just watched. Two of them, Doug Dillard and Allan Drake I've never heard of. I caught a glimpse of Ted Knight on the dais, but he wasn't a presenter on the show I saw, so it may have been a shortened version. Rocky Graziano seemed so nervous that he forgot to shake Monty Hall's hand after his remarks. For his part, Monty seemed gracious enough, citing every one of the roasters with a witty comeback. The best was his special thanks to Dean Martin - "here tonight whether he knows it or not".
As a time capsule of American life, this episode was kind of unique, in that both Jack Carter and the honoree, Monty Hall, both made reference to the energy crisis of the early Seventies. I can relate to those days when the price of gas began 'skyrocketing' past a dollar a gallon, and you were restricted to buying gasoline on odd and even numbered days based on your license plate number. You don't hear anything about that today, but it's one of those memories us 'old timers' can recall with some nostalgia, considering where we are today.
The guest list for this show noted on the IMDb program lineup included a number of entertainers that I didn't see on the program I just watched. Two of them, Doug Dillard and Allan Drake I've never heard of. I caught a glimpse of Ted Knight on the dais, but he wasn't a presenter on the show I saw, so it may have been a shortened version. Rocky Graziano seemed so nervous that he forgot to shake Monty Hall's hand after his remarks. For his part, Monty seemed gracious enough, citing every one of the roasters with a witty comeback. The best was his special thanks to Dean Martin - "here tonight whether he knows it or not".
