Mr. T - Man of the Year 1984

Dean Martin and Mr. T. Mr. T is the one on the right.

 "Mr. T, Man of the Year" sounds like a pretty bold statement, it sounds made up. But it's real and I can explain.

The Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts started as a replacement for the Dean Martin Show. Coming out weekly, the roasted person was labeled "Man of the Week." As time went on, broadcasts became more infrequent and the roastee was "Man of the Hour", etc. By 1984, when they decided to roast Mr. T, the title had become "Man of the Year" and so it is.

Mr. T is a great sport, his giggling fits are in stark contrast to his tough guy persona. On the dais, and one of the roasters is George Peppard. The word on the street is that Mr. T and George Pepard hated each other, though Mr. T has tended to dismiss those rumors. Peppard's "roast" of Mr. T is one of the strangest "roasts" I've ever seen - he just talks about how great Mr. T is. No jokes, no humor, just earnest sainthood. To some extent this kind of praise is part of the "roast" genre but even so, it's weird.

It's a star-packed show with some oddities... On the dais are Bob Hope, Ann Jillian, Gary Coleman, Nell Carter, Gavin MacLeod, Howard Cosell and Ricky Shroder.

Some highlights from the roast (from people other than George Peppard):

Dean Martin: His mother had 11 children - he was 4 of ‘em.

Red Buttons: The doctor who delivered Mr. T said, “He slapped me!”

Don Rickles: “We’re honoring this man… WHY?!”

Don Rickles: “And Howard Cosell, I say from the bottom of my heart, you’re annoying and you should go away.”

Artie and Olivia

Yesterday I reported that I had lost my constant and was probably going to die from the time-shift sickness. (Thanks everyone for the cards and letters.) Fortunately, Questlove is back to the afro, it was just a one show aberration and so I'm fine.

I'm not a big fan of Artie Lange. He seems to have an eating problem/alcohol problem/drug problem that we're all supposed to ignore until he's found dead one day in his bathroom. I also don't listen to Howard Stern and couldn't be payed to. However, be that as it may, I do know that if I'm running a talk show, I'm going to try to get Artie as often as possible as he is talk show dynamite.

His interview to some extent and especially the group dynamic when he stuck around for the second guest, Olivia Munn, reminded me of the old days that I'm too young to remember when Johnny Carson would have Bob Hope, Dean Martin and George Gobel on the same show and it was the comedy gold. Not that Olivia Munn and Artie Lang have the same star power or exchanges that Carson, Hope and Martin had, they don't (let's be clear about that), but it's the same spirit of unscripted hilarious back-and-forth.

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Bonus: Jimmy Fallon, Artie Lange, Olivia Munn and Susan Sarandon play ping pong: 

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Tomorrow we'll examine more closely a very important moment in this show. Something will be revealed which will change everyone's life forever.