Joey Bishop

Joey Bishop
Born	Joseph Abraham Gottlieb February 3, 1918(1918-02-03) Bronx, New York, United States
Died	October 17, 2007 (aged 89) Newport Beach, California
Occupation	Film, television actor, comedian
Spouse(s)	Sylvia Ruzga (1941 – 1999) (her death)

Joey Bishop (February 3, 1918 – October 17, 2007) was an American entertainer who was perhaps best known for being a member of the "Rat Pack" with Frank Sinatra, Peter Lawford, Sammy Davis Jr., and Dean Martin. Bishop appeared on television as early as 1948 and was a frequent guest on television talk shows, game shows, and comedy shows. Bishop was portrayed by Bobby Slayton in the 1998 HBO film The Rat Pack a made for television about the group of entertainers.

Personal life

Bishop, youngest of five children, was born as Joseph Abraham Gottlieb in the Bronx, New York, the son of Anna (née Siegel) and Jacob Gottlieb, Jewish Central European immigrants.^[1][2][3] His father was a bicycle repairman.^[4] Bishop was raised in South Philadelphia.^[4] In 1941, Bishop married Sylvia Ruzga, who died in 1999 from lung cancer; they had one son, Larry Bishop.

Career

Bishop began his career as part of a standup comedy act with his elder brother, Maury. He guest-hosted on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson more times than anyone else, and frequently appeared on Steve Allen and Jack Paar's previous versions of the show. He had his own television talk show, The Joey Bishop Show (1967-1969), a 90-minute late-night talk show on ABC. His co-host for this show was then-newcomer Regis Philbin.

A situation comedy, also titled The Joey Bishop Show, premiered on 20 September 1961 and ran for four seasons, on both NBC and CBS. Bishop played a talk show host and Abby Dalton portrayed his wife (who joined the cast in 1962).

He was the only member of The Rat Pack to costar with members of The Brat Pack, appearing in the film Betsy's Wedding with Molly Ringwald and Ally Sheedy.

Death

Bishop died on October 17, 2007 at his home in Newport Beach, California. Bishop was the last living male member of The Rat Pack (some of the women who were loosely considered members are still alive) and was also the longest-lived member.

Filmography

• The Deep Six (1958)
• The Naked and the Dead (1958)
• Onionhead (1958)
• Ocean's Eleven (1960)
• Pepe (1960) (Cameo)
• Sergeants 3 (1962)
• Johnny Cool (1963)
• Texas Across the River (1966)
• A Guide for the Married Man (1967)
• Who's Minding the Mint? (1967)
• Valley of the Dolls (1967)
• The Delta Force (1986)
• Betsy's Wedding (1990)
• Mad Dog Time (1996)

Television work

• What's My Line? (1950-1967) (frequent panelist)
• The Joey Bishop Show (1961-1965) situation comedy co-starring Abby Dalton on NBC, then CBS
• Password (1961-1967) (frequent guest)
• Get Smart (1967) (cameo guest)
• The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1962-1992) (frequent guest & substitute host)
• The Hollywood Squares (1966-1981) (frequent panelist)
• The Joey Bishop Show (1967-1969) late-night 90-minute talk show on ABC
• Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In (1968 and 1971)
• Celebrity Sweepstakes (1974-1977) (frequent panelist)
• Match Game (1976) (panelist)
• Liar's Club (1976-1978) (frequent panelist)
• Break the Bank (1976-1977) (frequent panelist)
• Glory Years (1987)

References

External links

• Joey Bishop at the Internet Movie Database
• Joey Bishop at Allmovie
• Joey Bishop, 89; comedian was last surviving member of Rat Pack
• Joey Bishop & Greetings From the Stars
• Joey Bishop at Find A Grave