Joseph Abraham Gottlieb (February 3, 1918 – October 17, 2007), known professionally as Joey Bishop, was an American entertainer who appeared on television as early as 1948 and eventually starred in his own weekly comedy series playing a talk/variety show host, then later hosted a late-night talk show with Regis Philbin as his young sidekick on ABC.

[2] Bishop, the youngest of five children, was born on February 3, 1918, in the Bronx, New York City, the son of Polish-Jewish immigrants Anna (née Siegel) and Jacob Gottlieb.

[5] Bishop was drafted into the US Army during World War II, and he rose to the rank of sergeant in the Special Services, serving at Fort Sam Houston in Texas.

[6] Bishop began his career in the 1930s when he skipped his final semester of high school to form a comedy trio with two other boys, performing in nightclubs and burlesque houses in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and throughout the East Coast.

[7][8][9][10] Bishop resumed his solo career after he was discharged from the military in August 1945, working at the Casablanca Roadhouse in New Jersey and then becoming an opening act in New York City at the Greenwich Village Inn.

[15] Bishop was among the stars of the original Ocean's 11 film about military veterans who reunite in a plot to rob five Las Vegas casinos on New Year's Eve.

He co-starred with Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., and Peter Lawford, also known as the Rat Pack, although the five of them did not publicly acknowledge that name.

[18] His final appearance in a film was a non-speaking role in Mad Dog Time (1996), written and directed by his son, Larry.

In failing health for some time, Bishop died at age 89 of multiple organ failure on October 17, 2007, in his home on Lido Isle, a man-made island in the harbor of Newport Beach, California,[1] as the last surviving Rat Pack member.