Marty Allen | |
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Marty Allen (1960)
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Birth name | Morton David Alpern |
Born |
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
March 23, 1922
Medium | Stand-up, television and film acting |
Nationality | American |
Years active | 1950–present |
Website | www |
Marty Allen (born Morton David Alpern; March 23, 1922) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and veteran of World War II. He has worked as a comedy headliner in nightclubs and as a dramatic actor in TV roles.
Allen was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to parents Louis and Elsie Alpern. He graduated from Taylor Allderdice High School in 1940 and was inducted into their alumni Hall Of Fame in 2009.
He then joined the U.S. Army Air Corps. He was stationed in Italy where he attained the rank of sergeant and earned a Soldier's Medal for his bravery during a fire which happened while a plane was being refueled. His heroism also earned him a full-dress parade.
During the early to the mid-1950s, Allen worked as an opening act for stars such as Sarah Vaughan, Eydie Gorme, and Nat King Cole with his first comedy partner, Mitch DeWood. They also worked many clubs, including the famous Copacabana. The team broke up and they went their separate ways.
He then became part of the comedy team of Allen & Rossi with Steve Rossi, which resulted in a string of hit comedy albums, 44 appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show (including the famous Beatles appearance in February 1964), and the film The Last of the Secret Agents? (1966). They worked together from 1957 to 1968, parted ways amicably, and reunited for shows in the 1970s, 80s, and 90s.