Comedian Marty Allen, a Regular on ‘Ed Sullivan Show,’ Dies Near Wife

Comedian/actor Marty Allen arrives at a memorial for Jerry Lewis at the South Point Hotel & Casino on September 4, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Lewis died on August 20, 2017, at his home in Las Vegas at age 91. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

Marty Allen, a longtime actor and comedian who appeared on the “Ed Sullivan Show” and “The Tonight Show With Johnny Carson,” has died. He was 95.

Allen died in Las Vegas due to complications from pneumonia, The Associated Press reported. Karon Kate Blackwell, his wife and performing partner, was by his side.

Known for his catchphrase “hello dere,” Allen appeared 44 times on “The Ed Sullivan Show,” including the episode that also aired the debut performance of famed rock band The Beatles.

“Everyone remembers those shows with The Beatles, and they were great, but we appeared on all the shows,” Allen said in 2014 of the show, Variety reported. “There wasn’t a talk show on TV that didn’t want Allen & Rossi.”

By the 1970s and 1980s, he'd made hundreds of television appearances, including game shows like “Hollywood Squares” and “Password.”

“It’s unbelievable to be 94 years old,” Allen told an audience in 2016. “My wife says, ‘What do you want for your birthday?’ I told her, ‘An antique.’ So she framed my birth certificate.”

He also was a regular entertainer in Las Vegas for much of his life.

“We have lost another iconic Las Vegas entertainer, Marty Allen,” Las Vegas magician Lance Burton wrote on Twitter. “What a funny man who brought joy to millions of people for 95 years.”

Comedian Gilbert Gottfried tweeted, “Farewell to one of the funniest people onstage and off.”

Ventriloquist Terry Fator tweeted, “Las Vegas and show business lost a legend tonight.... and I lost a friend.”

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