Comedian Joey Bishop dies at 89

Jerry Blavat remembers how, growing up in South Philadelphia, all the young show-biz hopefuls looked up to Joey Bishop.

"Joey was an idol," Blavat said. "Here was a kid from South Philadelphia opening for Frank Sinatra. He went on to be with Sinatra and the Rat Pack - a guy from our neighborhood! Wow!"

Joey Bishop, who died Wednesday at the age of 89, never forgot his Philly roots.

When he hosted his own TV show, "The Joey Bishop Show," he talked often about South Philadelphia and tossed TastyKakes to the audience.

"Joey Gottlieb bought his clothes at Sam's at 7th and Snyder just like I did," Blavat went on, referring to Joey's original name. "And he became a major star."

Joey was more than 20 years older than Blavat and the other kids from South Philadelphia - Fabian, Frankie Avalon, Bobby Rydell, Al Martino, and they all followed his career and looked up to him, Blavat said.

Sure, they had Eddie Fisher and Mario Lanza, but they were in a different class, Blavat said. Joey, though older, was one of them.

Joey was the last surviving member of the fabled "Rat Pack."

Peter Lawford died in 1984, Sammy Davis Jr. in 1990, Dean Martin in 1995, and Sinatra in 1998.

Joey was known for his dead-pan, slightly doleful delivery. He was also a fine comic writer, and fed lines to his Rat Pack pals.

Al Martino said he still uses lines given to him years ago by Joey.

"He was known for his wit, more so than many other comics," Martino said.

"One night he was opening for Frank at the Copacabana. The place was jammed, people hanging from the chandeliers. Joey comes out and says, 'You think this is bad. Wait'll Frank's fans get here.' Only Joey could come up with a line like that."

"No words are adequate to talk about that man," Martino said.

Besides his appearances with the Rat Pack, Joey took his dry wit onto television with his own shows and as a guest on others' shows, and performed in numerous films, mostly comedies, but also had serious roles in several war movies.

Blavat called Joey's death "the end of a show-business era."

"He never used dirt or smut in his acts," Blavat said. "Today, you can't do that. Don Rickles is the only one left and he's 80."

Joey also didn't drink, except for some Passover wine, he once said.

He also insisted that the reputation of the other Rat Packers for drinking and carousing was just an act.

He loved the Italian cooking of Blavat's mother, Lucille, and whenever he came to Philly he stayed at the old Bellevue, and Blavat and his mother would take him an Italian meal.

"Whenever he needed a haircut, he called Victor from 16th and Oregon, and Victor would go to his room and cut his hair," Blavat said.

Joey was born Joseph Abraham Gottlieb to Anna and Jacob Gottlieb in the Bronx, but was brought to Philadelphia as an infant.

His father ran a bicycle shop on Moyamensing Avenue. Joey was attending South Philadelphia High School when he dropped out to become an entertainer.

He and his brother, Maury, and another pal did stand-up comedy along the East Coast.

They called themselves the "Bishop Trio," after the name of their driver, Glenn Bishop. Later, Joey adopted the name for himself.

He married Sylvia Ruzga in 1941 before he entered the Army for a three-year hitch. She died in 1999.

Joey and Sinatra got together in 1952, when Frank saw Joey perform at the Latin Quarter in New York and asked him to be his opening act.

Joey and Dean Martin were the only ones allowed to make fun of the quick-tempered Sinatra, although he and Joey eventually had a mysterious falling out while the group was filming "Robin and the Seven Hoods."

The group had performed together in the original "Ocean's Eleven" (1960) and in "Sergeants Three" (1962).

Joey's last film was "Mad Dog Time" (1996), directed by his son, actor, writer and director Larry Bishop. He played a character named "Mr. Gottlieb."

One of the Rat Pack's biggest fans was John F. Kennedy. Joey was the master of ceremonies at Kennedy's inaugural party in 1961.

Joey starred in two TV series, both called "The Joey Bishop Show." The first, an NBC sitcom, started in 1961, but didn't last long. The show moved to ABC, but died in 1965.

He became a TV talk-show host on ABC in 1967 to go up against Johnny Carson's "The Tonight Show." Joey sat behind a desk and bantered with his sidekick, newcomer Regis Philbin. The show never made a dent in Carson's ratings and was canceled after two seasons.

However, Joey was a popular guest on various shows, including "The Tonight Show" when Jack Paar was the host, and filled in for Carson a record 205 times.

His catchphrase was, "Son of a gun!"

Joey never missed a chance for a one-liner. When he appeared in the film "The Naked and the Dead," he quipped that he played both roles.

He said he did poorly in school. "I flunked sand pile."

Al Martino, now 80, often opens his act by saying, "I bet you expected an older man." Joey gave him that line.

Joey's success in show business enabled him to live well in his later years. He lived in upscale Lido Isle in Southern California's Newport Bay.

Besides his son, he is survived by two grandchildren.

Services will be private. *