[abe]

Comedian Joey Bishop dies



LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- Joey Bishop, the stone-faced comedian who found success in nightclubs, television and movies but became most famous as a member of Frank Sinatra's Rat Pack, has died at 89.

Joey Bishop was the last surviving member of the Rat Pack.

He was the group's last surviving member. Peter Lawford died in 1984, Sammy Davis Jr. in 1990, Dean Martin in 1995, and Sinatra in 1998.

Bishop died Wednesday night of multiple causes at his home in Newport Beach, publicist and longtime friend Warren Cowan said Thursday.

The Rat Pack -- originally a social group surrounding Humphrey Bogart -- became a show business sensation in the early 1960s, appearing at the Sands Hotel in Las Vegas in shows that combined music and comedy in a seemingly chaotic manner.

Reviewers often claimed that Bishop played a minor role, but Sinatra knew otherwise. He termed the comedian "the Hub of the Big Wheel," with Bishop coming up with some of the best one-liners and beginning many jokes with his favorite phrase, "Son of a gun!"

The quintet lived it up whenever members were free of their own commitments. They appeared together in such films as "Ocean's Eleven" and "Sergeants 3" and proudly gave honorary membership to a certain fun-loving politician from Massachusetts, John F. Kennedy, at whose inauguration gala Bishop served as master of ceremonies.

Comedian Joey Bishop dies - CNN.com

I always liked him.

R.I.P. Joey.

[turtle777]

I could care less© but I decided not to

-t

[brassplayersrock²]

el turt that hurts.

he was a good comedian. to bad he passed on i say

[Atomic Rooster]

Heh, I thought he was already into his dirtnap.

[residentEvil]

RIP Deborah Kerr

[Atomic Rooster]

So for you faithful, Heaven or Hell? Or do Jews go to such places.

[brassplayersrock²]

where ever one wants to go is where they go. doesn't matter of religion. the individual chooses

[abe]

The Rat Pack faded after Kennedy's assassination, but the late 1990s brought a renaissance, with the group depicted in an HBO movie and portrayed by imitators in Las Vegas and elsewhere. The movie "Ocean's Eleven" was even remade in 2003 with George Clooney and Brad Pitt in the lead roles.

Bishop defended his fellow performers' rowdy reputations in a 1998 interview.

"Are we remembered as being drunk and chasing broads?" he asked. "I never saw Frank, Dean, Sammy or Peter drunk during performances. That was only a gag. And do you believe these guys had to chase broads? They had to chase 'em away."

Away from the Rat Pack, Bishop starred in two TV series, both called "The Joey Bishop Show."

The first, an NBC sitcom, got off to a rocky start in 1961. Critical and audience response was generally negative, and the second season brought a change in format. The third season brought a change in network, with the show moving to ABC, but nothing seemed to help and it was canceled in 1965.

In the first series, Bishop played a TV talk show host.

Then, he really became a TV talk show host. His program was started by ABC in 1967 as a challenge to Johnny Carson's immensely popular "The Tonight Show."

Like Carson, Bishop sat behind a desk and bantered with a sidekick, TV newcomer Regis Philbin. But despite an impressive guest list and outrageous stunts, Bishop couldn't dent Carson's ratings, and "The Joey Bishop Show" was canceled after two seasons.

Philbin remembered Bishop fondly.

"It was the thrill of my life to be chosen by Joey as the announcer for his talk show on ABC back in the '60s," he said in a statement. "I learned a lot about the business of making people laugh. He was a master comedian and a great teacher and I will never forget those days or him."

Comedian Joey Bishop dies - CNN.com

[ghporter]

I remember watching Joey Bishop's talk show. He was hysterical. What a great talent-he'll be missed.

I was more shocked to hear that Deborah Kerr had died too. Lovely lady, and a great actress. "From Here to Eternity" was as much her movie as Lancaster's.

[abe]

Originally Posted by ghporter 

I remember watching Joey Bishop's talk show. He was hysterical. What a great talent-he'll be missed.

I was more shocked to hear that Deborah Kerr had died too. Lovely lady, and a great actress. "From Here to Eternity" was as much her movie as Lancaster's.

Yes. And it's not like those were the only two great performances.

(Complete credited cast)

Burt Lancaster ... 1st Sgt. Milton Warden

Montgomery Clift ... Pvt. Robert E. Lee 'Prew' Prewitt

Deborah Kerr ... Karen Holmes

Donna Reed ... Alma Burke (Lorene)

Frank Sinatra ... Pvt. Angelo Maggio

These were the roles that won Donna Reed and Frank Sinatra their Oscars.

And if you recall the scene in the Godfather where Johnny Fontaine was being denied the role of a lifetime in Jack Woltz' until Vito Corleone arranges to make him an offer he couldn't refuse, that was supposed to be based on Sinatra's inability to get the role of Maggio in FHTE which he really wanted.

An urban myth regarding the casting of Frank Sinatra was that the Mafia made Columbia Pictures an offer they couldn't refuse. This of course was fictionalized in Mario Puzo's novel "The Godfather" and its subsequent film adaptation. The real reason for Sinatra's casting was mainly his then-wife Ava Gardner, who was shooting a film for Columbia head Harry Cohn and suggested to him that he use Sinatra. Although initially reluctant, Cohn eventually saw this as being a good idea, as Sinatra's stock was so low at the time that he would sign for a very low salary. Sinatra had been lobbying hard for the role,even suggesting he would do it for nothing, but he was eventually hired for the token amount of $8,000.

There's lots of interesting trivia about the film here:

From Here to Eternity (1953) - Trivia

From Here to Eternity (1953)