The Dean Martin Celebrity Roast: Frank Sinatra

The Dean Martin Celebrity Roast: Frank Sinatra (1978)

Dean Martin managed to get all sorts of great names to sit down and be roasted but when he finally got Frank Sinatra, all bets were off. Sinatra's tough reputation was well-known so would people really show up and throw jokes at him? Of course they would and what an incredible line-up that came to roast the legendary singer/actor. Ronald Reagan, Gene Kelly, Jimmy Stewart, Don Rickles, George Burns, Dom DeLuise, Telly Savalas, Jonathan Winters, Red Buttons, LaWanda Page, Jack Klugman, Ernest Borgnine, Orson Welles, Milton Berle, Flip Wilson and special appearances by Peter Falk and Ruth Buzzi among others.

So, with such a legendary main target and some great roasters, did this episode work? In my opinion this here is one of the funniest things that ever played on television. It's nearly impossible to talk about a highlight because there are simply so many with each of the personalities bringing their "A" game and really delivering the laughs. There's really not a single roaster who stinks and in fact all of them are constantly getting huge laughs. Welles and Stewart really deliver the goods and of course Rickles is always able to get laughs. Berle also does a terrific job but so does Martin in his side remarks. Kelly gives a touching tribute to Sinatra but one of the most touching moments comes from Martin being serious and talking what kind of friend Sinatra is. Still, can anything prepare you for Martin and Sinatra getting beaten up by Buzzi? Episode: A+

From the beautiful Ziegfeld room in Las Vegas Nevada, Dean Martin welcomes some of the greatest celebrities from all over the world (all of them American). As usual the Roastmaster is the only one not to rehearse, and Sinatra helps him out with the auto cue. George Burns gets the first turn roasting 'The Leader' and settles down to take a little nap after-wards. See the honorable Ronald Reagan, then former governor of California and ultimate nice guys Jimmy Stewart & Gene Kelly trying to be funny and mean. This turns out to be impossible for both of them, so Jimmy reads one of his poems while Gene ends up showing old movie clips (that get so much applause you might think Gene and Frankie were dancing there on stage). They might as well have tried telling jokes, for none behind the dais dare to be caught with their mouth closed, or even smiling: they have to be grinning or falling over laughing all the time. Orson Welles especially looks like hes weeping.

Always uncomfortable playing themselves, Dom Deluise and Jonathan Winters pretend to be Sinatra's personal chef and ex-chauffeur. Milton Berle takes the opportunity to insult the man formerly known as 'The Lean Lark' as well as the three African American Roasties: Flip Wilson, LaWanda Page and Redd Foxx. Although they get their chance to retaliate, none of them seems to get more than a minute of air time. By comparison Peter Falk is on for over fifteen minutes, stealing the show after unexpectedly turning up in the audience as Lt. Columbo. After him, the equally unannounced Ruth Buzzi as Gladys Ormfby and Charlie Callas as a mob boss simply cannot compete. Strangely enough Buzzi (who managed to fire of some of the raunchiest jabs) keeps her Gladys outfit on for the rest of the evening, while Peter and Charlie change into a tux. Another nice surprise is when Ernie Borgnine reprises the part of Fatso from "From here to eternity".

TV stars Telly Savalas and Jack Klugman don't have much to add, but Orson Welles talks eloquently about "the world's first finger snapping pope" and speaks a bit of Italian. Red Buttons does not look very happy to follow him, but still manages to get some of the biggest laughs, with Klugman and Fatso jumping up from the table with mirth (of course they had been sitting there for over an hour by this time). Indeed, the show does seem to go on forever, with one tux taking it's turn on the dais after the other. Something like this could never be done nowadays, but back in the seventies a TV special with so many big name stars reaching back all the way to the forties really was something to stay home for. Still, the yap yap yapping just goes on and on and on and you know we ain't there yet as long as there are still people sitting there, blowing smoke till it's their turn.

Rich Little comes up from off stage, of maybe he was just sitting at the very end of the table, and proceeds to impersonate everybody who came before (except Swoonatra himself). A special surprise guest is Ol' blue Eyes' favourite body guard Gilly (a name that often slipped into his lyrics, like on his rendition of 'Mrs Robbinson'). Don Rickles is the final roaster (but makes sure to tell us he's just kidding), before Dean proclaims his Pallie Frank not just the man of the hour, but of the century. In return 'The Voice' spills the beans on Deano by saying his drunk act is just that. Frankie always had to have the last laugh. He was the first member of the Ratpack and the last to go. Speaking of the Pack: apparently Sammy Davis Jr. and Joey Bishop were out of favour in 1977, for neither of them got an invitation.

8 out of 10

Dean Martin was one of America's greatest legends in the entertainment industry. He is sorely missed even to this day. He honors or roasts his beloved friend and American icon, Frank Sinatra, in one of his many roasts. In my opinion, even the half-hour infomercial is far more entertaining than anything on television today. I miss people like Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, and so many others. There are more people who are gone than living with us like Don Rickles, Peter Falk, and Ruth Buzzi. Frank Sinatra's roast is pretty relaxed from what we know. We're glad to see celebrities cut loose and be themselves and poke fun at this man. Nobody will ever have the roasts that Dean ever put together in Las Vegas. Of course, people were smoking cigarettes (God forbid that you display any smoking on television anymore) and drinking liquor and being human anymore. Those days are gone forever and now you have a bit of history with these episodes. Even though they drank and smoke, they always appear to be having fun at themselves.