Morton David Alpern (March 23, 1922 – February 12, 2018), better known as Marty Allen, was an American comedian, actor, and philanthropist.
He worked as a comedy headliner in nightclubs, as a dramatic actor in television roles, and was once called "The Darling of Daytime TV".
He contributed to the American Cancer Society, The Heart Fund, the March of Dimes, and the Fight for Sight, and he served on the board of the Epilepsy Foundation.
[5] During the early 1950s, Allen and his first comedy partner, Mitch DeWood, worked as an opening act for such stars as Sarah Vaughan, Eydie Gormé, and Nat King Cole.
[6] 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 appearance by The Beatles on February 16, 1964,[3] during which Allen won over the Beatles fans in the audience by announcing "I'm Ringo's mother!
[2][8][9] From the 1980s, he and his second wife, singer-songwriter Karon Kate Blackwell, teamed up to perform their musical comedy act to audiences around the country.
[11] In 2015, the couple continued to perform in venues around the country to overflow crowds, at the Rampart Casino[12] and the Downtown Grand in Las Vegas.
[1] He was also involved in a number of charitable causes, including the American Cancer Society, The Heart Fund, March of Dimes, Fight for Sight, Cerebral Palsy, and was on the board of the Epilepsy Foundation.
[1][2] Allen met Lorraine "Frenchy" Trydelle when she was the reservation and office manager of the Concord Resort Hotel in the Catskills.