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The Dean Martin Celebrity Roast is an American series of television specials hosted by entertainer Dean Martin and airing from 1974 to 1984. For a series of 54 specials and shows, Martin and his friends would "roast" a celebrity. The roasts were patterned after the roasts held at the New York Friars' Club.
| The Dean Martin Celebrity Roast | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Variety/Comedy |
| Written by | David Axelroad, Bill Daley, Stan Burns, Mike Marmer, Peter Gallay, Arthur Philips |
| Directed by | Greg Garrison |
| Presented by | Dean Martin |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 10 |
| No. of episodes | 54: 29 Specials, 25 as Dean Martin Show segment |
| Production | |
| Producer | Greg Garrison |
| Running time | Varies |
| Original release | |
| Network | NBC |
| Release | October 31, 1974 – December 7, 1984 |
| Related | |
| The Dean Martin Show | |
In 1973, The Dean Martin Show was declining in popularity. In its final season, to pick up the ratings and to require less of Martin's involvement, it was retooled into a series of celebrity roasts by adding a feature called "Man of the Week Celebrity Roast." The roasts seemed to be popular among television audiences and are often marketed in post-issues as part of the official Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts and not The Dean Martin Show.
After The Dean Martin Show was cancelled in 1974, NBC drew up a contract with Martin to do several specials and do more roast specials. Starting with Bob Hope in 1974, the roast was taped in California and turned out to be a hit, leading to many other roasts to follow.[1]
In the fall of 1974, the roasts moved permanently to the MGM Grand Hotel's Ziegfeld Room in Las Vegas and mainly aired Thursdays on NBC. The televised roasts were popular in the ratings; however Martin and NBC declined to extend the 10-year contract. Some segments were taped prior to or after the roast, due to considerations with the performer or technical aspects.[2] No roasts were broadcast between 1980 and 1983 (partly due to the MGM Grand fire of 1980), with the specials returning for a few final installments in 1984. The show's official title as a television special would change based on the celebrity; in James Stewart's case for instance, it would be the Dean Martin Celebrity Roast: Jimmy Stewart.
The roastmaster (Martin), the roastee, and the roasters would be seated on a dais. The roastees were also referred to as "Man of the Hour", "Woman of the Hour", or "Man of the Week" in earlier episodes.
Every roast began with an introduction by roastmaster Martin, with jokes about the celebrity in question. He would then introduce each member of the dais, who would take turns adding insults or jokes about the honoree. For example, during the roast of Bette Davis, veteran actor Henry Fonda said that I've been close to Bette Davis for thirty-eight years - and I have the cigarette burns to prove it. In the end, the honoree would have their chance to insult the roastmaster and members of the dais.
In two instances, a pair of celebrities were roasted at the same time: Jack Klugman and Tony Randall, and Dan Rowan and Dick Martin. Only one person was honored posthumously, George Washington, who was honored for the upcoming United States Bicentennial (veteran historical impersonator Jan Leighton portrayed Washington for the episode while Audrey Meadows portrayed his wife, Martha). Michael Landon, Redd Foxx, Joe Namath, and Jack Klugman (with Tony Randall in 1973 and alone in 1978) were the only celebrities roasted twice; Landon's second time, in 1984, being the final roast. Don Rickles hosted the roast of Dean Martin and assumed the role of Roastmaster.[3]
Comedian and poet Nipsey Russell and impressionist Rich Little appeared the most often on the roast with each appearing 24 times. While most of the participants were comedians known for their work in such events, occasionally unexpected participants would be featured, such as British pop singer Petula Clark who was recruited to help roast TV actor William Conrad in 1973.
As a segment on The Dean Martin Show
- Governor Ronald Reagan, September 14, 1973 (Show #904)
- Hugh Hefner, September 21, 1973 (Show #901)
- Roasters: Billy Baxter, Joey Bishop, Howard Cosell, Jackie Gayle, Tom T. Hall, Dick Martin, Audrey Meadows
- Ed McMahon, September 28, 1973 (Show #902)
- Roasters: Charo, Ernest Borgnine, Pat Buttram, Jack Carter, Dom DeLuise, Steve Landesberg, Jackie Vernon, Dionne Warwick
- William Conrad, October 5, 1973 (Show #903)
- Roasters: Petula Clark, Phyllis Diller, Jackie Gayle, Bob Newhart, Nipsey Russell
- Kirk Douglas, October 12, 1973 (Show #905)
- Roasters: Lynn Anderson, Jack Burns, Norm Crosby, Jackie Gayle, Ted Knight, Rich Little, Don Rickles, Avery Schreiber
- Bette Davis, October 19, 1973 (Show #909)
- Senator Barry Goldwater, October 26, 1973 (Show #907)
- Johnny Carson, November 2, 1973 (Show #914)
- Roasters: Jack Benny, Joey Bishop, Foster Brooks, George Burns, Ruth Buzzi, Truman Capote, Bette Davis, Fred DeCordova, Dom DeLuise, Redd Foxx, George Gobel, Barry Goldwater, Rich Little, Kent McCord, Martin Milner, Louisa Moritz, Bob Newhart, Cliff Robertson, Doc Severinsen, Dionne Warwick, Jonathan Winters
- Wilt Chamberlain, November 9, 1973 (Show #911)
- Roasters: Ken Berry, Norm Crosby, Jackie Gayle, Happy Hairston, George Kennedy, Audrey Meadows, Nipsey Russell, Vernon Scott, Bill Shoemaker
- Senator and former Vice President Hubert Humphrey, November 23, 1973 (Show #913)
- Carroll O'Connor, December 7, 1973 (Show #908)
- Roasters: Marty Allen, Elsie Birdwell, Joey Bishop, Foster Brooks, Ruth Buzzi, Mike Connors, William Conrad, Norm Crosby, Cass Elliot, Redd Foxx, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Barry Goldwater, William Holden, Gene Kelly, John Lindsay, Dick Martin, Donald O'Connor, Charles Nelson Reilly, Don Rickles, Dan Rowan, Nipsey Russell, Ward Wood, Robert Wood
- Monty Hall, December 14, 1973 (Show #912)
- Jack Klugman & Tony Randall, December 21, 1973 (Show #910)
- Zsa Zsa Gabor, January 11, 1974 (Show #906)
- Roasters: Ruth Buzzi, Sue Cameron, Donna Fargo, Buddy Hackett, Corbett Monica, Donald O'Connor, Charles Nelson Reilly, Lonnie Schorr, Mel Tillis
- Leo Durocher, January 18, 1974 (Show #917)
- Roasters: Foster Brooks, Jack Carter, Chuck Connors, Dizzy Dean, Alex Karras, Gene Kelly, Gladys Knight, Bobby Riggs, Maury Wills
- Truman Capote, January 25, 1974 (Show #920)
- Don Rickles, February 8, 1974 (Show #918)
- Ralph Nader, February 15, 1974 (Show #919)
- Jack Benny, February 22, 1974 (Show #923)
- Redd Foxx, March 1, 1974 (Show #915)
- Bobby Riggs, March 6, 1974 (Show #916)
- Roasters: Lynn Anderson, Jack Carter, Rosemary Casals, Chuck Connors, Leo Durocher, Alex Karras, Wayne Newton, Vincent Price, Don Rice
- George Washington (portrayed by Jan Leighton), March 15, 1974 (Show #922)
- Roasters: Leonard Barr, Foster Brooks (as Washington's press secretary), Jack Carter, Euell Gibbons, Steve Lawrence (as Washington's aide-de-camp), Dick Martin, Audrey Meadows (as Martha Washington), Corbett Monica, Nipsey Russell, Henny Youngman
- Dan Rowan & Dick Martin, March 22, 1974
- Hank Aaron, March 29, 1974 (Show #921)
- Roasters: Lynn Anderson, Jackie Bavene, Joey Bishop, Foster Brooks, Norm Crosby, Dizzy Dean, Eddie Mathews, Audrey Meadows, Lou Rawls, Jeannie Rineal, Rodney Allen Rippy, Nipsey Russell
- Joe Namath, April 5, 1974 (Show #925)
As The Dean Martin Celebrity Roast
- Bob Hope, October 31, 1974 (Show #1001)
- Roasters: Neil Armstrong, Johnny Bench, Jack Benny, Milton Berle, Omar Bradley, Foster Brooks, Howard Cosell, Phyllis Diller, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Billy Graham, Dolores Hope, Henry Kissinger, Rich Little, Ronald Reagan, Don Rickles, Sugar Ray Robinson, Ginger Rogers, Nipsey Russell, Mark Spitz, James Stewart, John Wayne, Flip Wilson
- Telly Savalas, November 15, 1974
- Lucille Ball, February 7, 1975
- Roasters: Jack Benny, Milton Berle, Foster Brooks, Ruth Buzzi, Phyllis Diller, Totie Fields, Gale Gordon, Henry Fonda, Bob Hope, Dick Martin, Rich Little, Gary Morton, Don Rickles, Ginger Rogers, Dan Rowan, Nipsey Russell, Vivian Vance. Note: This roast was Jack Benny's last television appearance, airing five weeks after his death in December 1974.
- Jackie Gleason, February 27, 1975
- Roasters: Milton Berle, Foster Brooks, Sid Caesar, Art Carney, Phyllis Diller, Frank Gorshin, Jane Kean, Gene Kelly, Sheila MacRae, Audrey Meadows, Nipsey Russell, Danny Thomas, Sandy Herdt
- Sammy Davis Jr., April 25, 1975 (Show #1005)
- Michael Landon, May 15, 1975
- Evel Knievel, November 11, 1975
- Valerie Harper, November 20, 1975
- Muhammad Ali, February 19, 1976
- Dean Martin, February 27, 1976
- Roasters: Muhammad Ali, Joey Bishop, Foster Brooks, Ruth Buzzi, Charlie Callas, Howard Cosell, Angie Dickinson, Georgia Engel, Barry Goldwater, Bob Hope, Hubert Humphrey, Gabe Kaplan, Gene Kelly, Rich Little, Paul Lynde, Dick Martin, Joe Namath, Tony Orlando, Don Rickles (Roastmaster), Dan Rowan, Nipsey Russell, James Stewart, John Wayne, Orson Welles
- Dennis Weaver, April 27, 1976
- Roasters: Milton Berle, Amanda Blake, Foster Brooks, Red Buttons, Ruth Buzzi, J. D. Cannon, Mike Connors, William Conrad, Georgia Engel, Steve Forrest, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Peter Graves, George Hamilton, Jim Hutton, Sheldon Leonard, Rich Little, Martin Milner, Nipsey Russell, Milburn Stone, Shelley Winters
- Joe Garagiola, May 25, 1976
- Redd Foxx, November 26, 1976
- Danny Thomas, December 15, 1976
- Ted Knight, February 3, 1977
- Dan Haggerty, February 11, 1977
- Gabe Kaplan, February 21, 1977
- Peter Marshall, May 22, 1977
- Roasters: Joey Bishop, Ed Bluestone, Foster Brooks, Red Buttons, Jack Carter, Wayland Flowers & Madam, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Jackie Gayle, Paul Lynde, Rose Marie, Vincent Price, Rip Taylor, Karen Valentine, Jimmie Walker, Orson Welles
- Angie Dickinson, August 2, 1977
- Jack Klugman, March 17, 1978
- Jimmy Stewart, May 10, 1978 (Show #1306)
- George Burns, May 17, 1978
- Betty White, May 31, 1978
- Frank Sinatra, July 2, 1978
- Roasters: Milton Berle, Ernest Borgnine, George Burns, Red Buttons, Ruth Buzzi, Dom DeLuise, Peter Falk as Columbo, Redd Foxx, Gene Kelly, Jack Klugman, Rich Little, Barbara Marx, LaWanda Page, Ronald Reagan, Don Rickles, Jilly Rizzo, Telly Savalas, James Stewart, Orson Welles, Flip Wilson, Jonathan Winters
- Suzanne Somers, November 21, 1978
- Joe Namath, January 19, 1979
- Roasters: Milton Berle, Joey Bishop, George Blanda, Tom Bosley, Norm Crosby, Dick Butkus, Red Buttons, Ruth Buzzi, Charlie Callas, Angie Dickinson, David Doyle, Jackie Gayle, Sandy Herdt, Bruce Jenner, Bernie Kopell, Rich Little, Lee Meriwether, Mel Tillis, Jimmie Walker, Orson Welles
- Joan Collins, February 24, 1984
- Mr. T, March 14, 1984
- Michael Landon, July 12, 1984
The Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts were released on DVD through Guthy-Renker with some of The Dean Martin Show roasts selected as part of the package. The show is one of the most sold video sets of all time.[4] NBC Universal brought suit against producer Greg Garrison and Guthy-Renker for selling The Dean Martin Show DVDs; the suit did not affect the Celebrity Roasts. All 54 of the Celebrity Roasts are now being sold via television infomercial by Time–Life.[5]
In recent years The Dean Martin Celebrity Roast has been shown on Decades and its successor network Catchy Comedy as a "Weekend Binge" (later renamed "The Catchy Binge") and as a "Thanksgiving Roast" marathon on Thanksgiving Day. Catchy Comedy presented a "Catchy Binge" of the series on August 5–6, 2023.
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