Got a lot of messages about that Dean Martin clip. Here's one from Phil De Croocq…
I was fortunate enough to see what was the second-to-last show on that Frank, Dean and Sammy tour. It was at The Chicago Theatre on State St. here in Chicago, as was the final show for the three of them. It was almost 20 years ago, of course. But I do remember how good they all sounded and performed, especially Sammy. He opened the show and did a set. Then Dean came out and did a set. There was an intermission, then Frank came out and did a set. Then they all performed together. It was a fantastic show.
After watching that clip a few times, this wasn't the Dean Martin I saw that night. And that isn't The Chicago Theatre. In fact, there was no type of video production or cameras set up at that show.
I believe they used the story that Dean came down with some sort of kidney trouble and couldn't continue with the tour. And he must have made a miraculous recovery, as he performed at Bally's in Vegas a couple months later. Dean continued to perform at Bally's in Vegas and Atlantic City for awhile after leaving the Rat Pack Reunion tour. I'm guessing this clip was from one of those Vegas or AC shows.
Here's an interesting sidenote: That same week, Tom Dreesen did a series of pilots for a late-night talk show here at WLS, the ABC network o/o station here in Chicago. I don't know if they were for ABC or syndication, and I don't know if they were seen outside of the Chicago market. His guests for the first show were to be Frank, Dean and Sammy.
The tour busted-out Sunday night. Dreesen's first show was taping on Monday. Dean was already back in California, and Frank and Sammy canceled "out of concern" for their ill friend Dean. So the guests that first night were Altovise (Mrs. Sammy) Davis and Barbara (Mrs. Frank) Sinatra. Not exactly the kind of show that turns a pilot into a series. But the Dreesen show was still better than the Jerry Lewis/Charlie Callas talkshow failure. I have a pretty wacky Charlie Callas story if I ever see his name pop-up on your weblog.
Yeah, the clip couldn't have been from the Frank/Dino/Sammy tour and been Dean's last public performance since he did play at least one later stay at Bally's in Vegas. It doesn't look like it's from Bally's. So does anyone have any firmer idea of where it is from?
I hadn't heard about that Dreesen pilot but I'm sorry to hear that. Tom's a good guy and he actually would have hosted (and still could host) a pretty good talk show. Many moons ago, I wrote a sitcom pilot that was to star Tom. It was a deal he got as a kind of consolation prize when he was fired from the pilot of Hello, Larry. (Ron Liebman was fired before him. Tom replaced Ron and then McLean Stevenson replaced Tom.) Of all the projects I've done that never went the distance, I think the Tom Dreesen pilot is the one that disappointed me the most. It was a great idea for a show — mostly Tom's idea, by the way — and he would have been terrific in it.
(To give you an idea of what a great, smart guy Tom is: We had a recurring role in it that called for a crotchety old man. Tom suggested a fellow some of you may remember named Leonard Barr — a stand-up comic who, getting back on topic, was Dean Martin's uncle. Leonard is, like Irv Benson, kind of forgotten, even on the Internet. But he was very funny and when a network guy said to Tom, "You know, he'll steal the show from you," Tom replied, "Fine. I don't care who gets the laughs so long as it's a good show." I've worked with comedians who would slit a major artery before they'd say something like that.)
Anyway, that show never made it to tape day due to a contract snag that had nothing to do with Tom or me. Since Hello, Larry was also a dud, it's sad to hear Tom had three pilot fiascos. He deserves better luck than that.
And hey, what has happened to Charlie Callas? Last time I saw him perform anywhere, I think, he was on a short-lived sitcom that no one saw. I only saw it because I was dating a lady who was on it…and that was twenty years ago. He seems to have had a few small parts in a few things since then but a guy who's that funny oughta be around more. His website doesn't seem to have been updated for a long time and I think he's even missed the last few Jerry Lewis Telethons. Hope he's okay. Any Charlie Callas info or anecdotes will be most welcome on this site.