The Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts: The Complete Collection (1973 - 1984/Time Life/StarVista DVD Box Set)

Picture: C+ Sound: C+ Extras: B Episodes: A-

PLEASE NOTE: The Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts DVD set is only available from StarVista and Time Life from their website and can be ordered from the link below.

Out of his highly successful variety TV series on NBC, which made him RCA's biggest shareholder at the time, Dean Martin and his producers decided to come up with something new to boost ratings that were in decline and introduced a situation where the biggest names in the business would be insulted by their fellow friends and stars. The roast was a hit, returned in recent years with a vengeance, but it is The Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts: The Complete Collection (1973 - 1984) where it all started and is among the most amazing series of shows ever made.

Big stars on TV during its run were rare, so every broadcast was an event, and Martin had the friends and star power to make it happen. Serving as Roastmaster, the biggest names then and from Classic Hollywood come together in what would have been an unthinkable series of events otherwise. Huge hits when first broadcast, it is a reminder of what immense talent used to be in the town, the legacies that were based on hard work and no shallow hype, plus the class and wit lacking in most such events today because of a sense of pride, legacy, accomplishment and working at the top of their game. Yes, this show is not only historical, hysterical and hilarious, but more important historically than anyone could have imagined at the time. This is what a Hollywood that works looks like, the real Hollywood.

The early shows are among the best because they were just getting started and the most happy accidents happen, plus we get some genuine moments you don't see on the later shows or these days in general. There is a sense of fun, confidence, joy and pride that made the town great thanks to the people who helped build it (versus the too often cynical, talentless vampires currently burning, slashing and gutting it with bad acting, poor excuses for stars and some of the worst, angriest and cynical directing and writing in the town's history).

Dean Martin brought an extra sense of the unexpected and whatever was funny just got funnier and even lesser jokes were amusing, especially with all the chemistry in the room in every single show. This is a must-see series for any film, TV or even music and sports fan because these shows are all that good. They are also often politically incorrect and in ways the new version never comes close to, you'll see some of the name acts showing up here in a way you never saw them before or again and that makes this box set of DVDs a very special treasury indeed.

Here's the complete list of shows, which started as half-hour broadcasts before running an hour (note the increase of star names later) with choice guests as follows:

Ronald Reagan (9/13/1973) with Nancy Reagan, Phyllis Diller, Dom DeLuise,, Mark Spitz, Jack Benny, Jonathan Winters, Nipsey Russell & Don Rickles

Hugh Hefner (9/20/1973) with Billy Baxter, Howard Cosell, Jackie Gayle, Dick Martin & Joey Bishop

Ed McMahon (9/27/1973) with Charo, Jack Carter, Jackie Vernon, Dionne Warwick & Steve Landesberg

William Conrad (10/4/1973) with Nipsey Russell, Petula Clark, Bob Newhart & Phyllis Diller

Kirk Douglas (10/11/1973) with Rich Little, Lynn Anderson, Ted Knight, Norm Crosby, Jack Burns, Avery Schreiber & Don Rickles

Bette Davis (10/18/1973) with Pat Buttram, Kay Medford, Nipsey Russell, Joyce Haber, Vincent Price, Army Archerd, Barbara Heller, Henry Fonda & Howard Cosell

Barry Goldwater (10/25/1973) with William Conrad, Norm Crosby, Steve Landesberg, Carroll O'Connor, William Holden, Mark Russell, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Donald Rice & Dan Rowan

Johnny Carson (11/1/1973) with George Burns, Truman Capote, Doc Severinsen, Joey Bishop, Ruth Buzzi, Dom DeLuise, Bob Newhart, Louisa Moritz, Fred DeCordova, Jonathan Winters, Foster Brooks, Dionne Warwick, Rich Little, Barry Goldwater, Bette Davis, Martin Milner, Kent McCord, Redd Foxx, Jack Benny & Joanna Holland

Wilt Chamberlain (11/8/1973) with Norm Crosby, Happy Hairston, Audrey Meadows, Ken Berry, Nipsey Russell, Bill Shoemaker, George Kennedy & Jackie Gayle

Hubert Humphrey (11/22/1973) with Pat Henry, Nipsey Russell, Gene Kelly, Leo Durocher, Mort Sahl, Ted Knight, Mark Russell, Rich Little, Donald Rice, Lowell Weicker, Foster Brooks & Audrey Meadows

Carroll O'Connor (12/7/1973) with Dan Rowan, Dick Martin, Marty Allen, Mike Connors, Elsie Birdwell, Norm Crosby, John Lindsay, Nipsey Russell, Gene Kelly, Joey Bishop, Ward Wood, William Conrad, William Holden, Donald O'Connor, Charles Nelson Reilly, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Ruth Buzzi, Barry Goldwater, Cass Elliot, Redd Foxx, Don Rickles & Foster Brooks

Monty Hall (12/13/1973) with Bert Parks, Audrey Meadows, Rocky Graziano, Donald O'Connor, Gene Kelly, Birch Bayh, Art Linkletter & Jack Carter

Jack Klugman & Tony Randall (The Odd Couple co-stars, 12/20/1973) with Mike Connors, Gary Burghoff, Ruth Buzzi, Soupy Sales, Jack Carter, Leonard Barr, Jackie Vernon, Loretta Lynn, Doug Kershaw & Laffit Pincay, Jr.

Zsa Zsa Gabor (1/10/1974) with Donald O'Connor, Charles Nelson Reilly, Sue Cameron, Corbett Monica, Donna Fargo, Lonnie Schorr, Ruth Buzzi, Buddy Hackett & Mel Tillis

Leo Durocher (1/17/1974) with Gene Kelly, Maury Wills, Bobby Riggs, Dizzy Dean, Chuck Connors, Alex Karras, Jack Carter, Foster Brooks, Gladys Knight

Truman Capote (1/24/1974) with Jean Simmons, Ted Knight, Audrey Meadows, Donald O'Connor, Rich Little, Joseph Wambaugh, Rocky Graziano, Foster Brooks, Anna Moffo & Johnny Russell

Don Rickles (2/7/1974) with Joey Bishop, Phyllis Diller, Lorne Greene, Dan Rowan, Dick Martin, Casey Kasem, Bob Newhart, Carol Channing, Nipsey Russell, Cliff Robertson, Jack Klugman, Pat Henry, Kirk Douglas, Rich Little, Telly Savalas, Charlie Callas, Foster Brooks & Eugene Cernan

Ralph Nader (2/14/1974) with Jack Klugman, James Brolin, Jane Withers, Steve Landesberg, Mort Sahl, Rich Little, Ruth Buzzi, Jackie Gayle, Foster Brooks & Donna Fargo

Jack Benny (2/21/1974) with Jimmy Stewart, Joey Bishop, Florence Henderson, George Burns, Norm Crosby, Zubin Mehta, Pearl Bailey, Dick Martin, Mark Spitz, Wayne Newton, Rich Little, Demond Wilson, Jack Carter, Foster Brooks & Gary Burghoff

Redd Foxx (3/1/1974) with Demond Wilson, Joey Bishop, Nipsey Russell, Foster Brooks, Norm Crosby, Rich Little, Jim Bailey, Jackie Gayle, John Barbour & Slappy White

Bobby Riggs (3/8/1974) with Vincent Price, Chuck Connors, Leo Durocher, Alex Karras, Wayne Newton, Lynn Anderson, Don Rice, Jack Carter & Rosemary Casals.

George Washington (as played by Jan Leighton in the most surreal episode, 3/15/1974) with Audrey Meadows (as Martha Washington), Dick Martin, Leonard Barr, Steve Lawrence (as Washington's aide-de-camp), Corbett Monica, Nipsey Russell, Euell Gibbons, Henny Youngman, Jack Carter & Foster Brooks (as Washington's press secretary)

Dan Rowan & Dick Martin (from Laugh-In, 3/22/1974) with Joey Bishop, Audrey Meadows, Arte Johnson, Richard Dawson, Nipsey Russell, Steve Lawrence, Bob Newhart, Ruth Buzzi & Foster Brooks

Hank Aaron (3/29/1974) with Joey Bishop, Eddie Mathews, Audrey Meadows, Lou Rawls, Norm Crosby, Jackie Bavene, Lynn Anderson, Nipsey Russell, Dizzy Dean, Jeannie Rineal, Rodney Allen Rippy & Foster Brooks

Joe Namath (4/5/1974) with Don Meredith, Weeb Ewbank, Paul "Bear" Bryant, Dick Butkus, Jim Plunkett, David Janssen, Angie Dickinson, Fulton J. Sheen, Foster Brooks, Charlie Callas, Joey Bishop, Rich Little & Slappy White

Bob Hope (10/31/1974) with Flip Wilson, Ronald Reagan, John Wayne, Ginger Rogers, Foster Brooks, Jimmy Stewart, Milton Berle, Billy Graham, Rich Little, Howard Cosell, Jack Benny, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Nipsey Russell, Omar Bradley, Phyllis Diller, Neil Armstrong, Henry Kissinger, Don Rickles & Dolores Hope

Telly Savalas (11/15/1974) with Phyllis Diller, Howard Cosell, George Kennedy, Dom DeLuise, Peter Graves, Casey Kasem, Shelley Winters, Ernest Borgnine, Dan Rowan, Dick Martin, Foster Brooks, Richard Roundtree, Robert Stack, Nipsey Russell, Rich Little, Angie Dickinson & Don Rickles

Lucille Ball (2/7/1975) with Phyllis Diller, Dan Rowan, Dick Martin, Ruth Buzzi, Bob Hope, Milton Berle, Gary Morton, Gale Gordon, Totie Fields, Rich Little, Henry Fonda, Ginger Rogers, Foster Brooks, Nipsey Russell, Jack Benny, Vivian Vance & Don Rickles

Jackie Gleason (2/27/1975) with Phyllis Diller, Milton Berle, Danny Thomas, Audrey Meadows, Gene Kelly, Nipsey Russell, Sandy Hirt, Sid Caesar, Sheila MacRae, Art Carney, Frank Gorshin & Foster Brooks

Sammy Davis, Jr. (4/24/1975) with Milton Berle, Wilt Chamberlain, Freddie Prinze, Norm Crosby, Dionne Warwick, Joey Bishop, Nipsey Russell, Phyllis Diller, Jan Murray, Frank Gorshin, Foster Brooks, Don Rickles &Altovise Davis

Michael Landon (5/15/1975) with Amanda Blake, Ernest Borgnine, Sid Caesar, Phyllis Diller, Euell Gibbons, Lorne Greene, Guy Marks, Jan Murray, Don Rickles, Cliff Robertson, Victor Sen Yung, Joey Bishop & Norm Crosby

Evel Knievel (11/10/1975) with Gabe Kaplan, Isabel Sanford, Ernest Borgnine, Milton Berle, William Conrad, Barry Goldwater, Glen Campbell, Georgia Engel, Jackie Cooper, Nipsey Russell, Joyce Brothers, Charlie Callas, Cliff Robertson, McLean Stevenson, Audrey Meadows, Ruth Buzzi & Don Rickles

Valerie Harper (11/20/1975) with Rich Little, Isabel Sanford, David Groh, Red Buttons, Phyllis Diller, Jack Albertson, Shelley Winters, Milton Berle, Ed Asner, Richard Schaal, Harold Gould, Eva Gabor, Chad Everett, Julie Kavner, Nipsey Russell, Georgia Engel, Foster Brooks & Jack Carter.

Muhammad Ali (2/19/1976) with Freddie Prinze, Gabe Kaplan, Red Buttons, Tony Orlando, Wilt Chamberlain, Georgia Engel, Billy Crystal, Floyd Patterson, Howard Cosell, Ruth Buzzi, Gene Kelly, Sherman Hemsley, Isabel Sanford, Rocky Graziano, Foster Brooks, Orson Welles & Nipsey Russell

Dean Martin (2/27/1976) with Don Rickles substituting as the Roastmaster, joined by Orson Welles, Paul Lynde, Joe Namath, Barry Goldwater, Angie Dickinson, Muhammad Ali, Jimmy Stewart, Gabe Kaplan, Gene Kelly, Hubert Humphrey, Charlie Callas, John Wayne, Joey Bishop, Rich Little, Ruth Buzzi, Tony Orlando, Georgia Engel, Nipsey Russell, Foster Brooks, Howard Cosell, Dan Rowan, Dick Martin & Bob Hope

Dennis Weaver (4/27/1976) with William Conrad, Shelley Winters, Steve Forrest, Red Buttons, Rich Little, Mike Connors, Milburn Stone, Ruth Buzzi, Nipsey Russell, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Georgia Engel, Amanda Blake, Peter Graves, Foster Brooks & Milton Berle

Joe Garagiola (5/25/1976) with Red Buttons, Orson Welles, Luis Tiant, Pat Henry, Nipsey Russell, Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, Yogi Berra, Norm Crosby, Shirley Jones, Mickey Mantle, Jack Carter, Stan Musial, Maury Wills, Charles O. Finley, Charlie Callas & Jackie Gayle

Redd Foxx (11/26/1976) with Demond Wilson, Milton Berle, Isabel Sanford, Isaac Hayes, LaWanda Page, Jimmie Walker, Slappy White, Liz Torres, George Kirby, Norm Crosby, Steve Allen, Joe Garagiola, Nipsey Russell, Don Rickles, Marty Allen & Abe Vigoda

Danny Thomas (12/15/1976) with Lucille Ball, Milton Berle, Gene Kelly, Jimmie Walker, Red Buttons, Harvey Korman, Charo, Charlie Callas, Ruth Buzzi, Nipsey Russell, Dena Dietrich, Howard Cosell, Jan Murray, Don Knotts & Orson Welles

Angie Dickinson (2/8/1977) with Jimmy Stewart, Eve Arden, Earl Holliman, Orson Welles, Joey Bishop, Juliet Prowse, Jimmie Walker, Cindy Williams, Red Buttons, Cathy Rigby, Jackie Mason, Scatman Crothers, LaWanda Page, Ruth Buzzi, Charlie Callas, Foster Brooks & Rex Reed

Gabe Kaplan (2/21/1977) with Nipsey Russell, Liz Torres, Billy Crystal, Red Buttons, Charo, Jimmie Walker, Orson Welles, Howard Cosell, Johnny Bench, Ed Bluestone, Alice Ghostley, Joe Garagiola, Charlie Callas, Abe Vigoda, George Kirby & Milton Berle

Ted Knight (3/2/1977) with Edward Asner, Gavin MacLeod, Georgia Engel, Jimmy Stewart, Orson Welles, Jimmie Walker, Jack Carter, Harvey Korman, Jackie Wilson, Red Buttons, LaWanda Page, Paul Williams, Foster Brooks, Scatman Crothers, Kelly Monteith, Willy Tyler & Lester, Julie McWhirter & Renée Richards

Peter Marshall (5/22/1977) with Joey Bishop, Rose Marie, Red Buttons, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Orson Welles, Rip Taylor, Vincent Price, Karen Valentine, Ed Bluestone, Foster Brooks, Jimmie Walker, Jackie Gayle, Paul Lynde, Jack Carter & Wayland Flowers & Madam

Dan Haggerty (11/2/1977) with Denver Pyle, William Conrad, Harry Morgan, Pat Harrington, Roger Miller, Orson Welles, Abe Vigoda, Rich Little, Ruth Buzzi, Red Buttons, Jimmie Walker, Charlie Callas, LaWanda Page, Foster Brooks, Marilyn Michaels, Jackie Gayle & Tom Dreesen

Frank Sinatra (2/7/1978, a show given its own separate DVD in this box set) with Ronald Reagan, Gene Kelly, Don Rickles, George Burns, Dom DeLuise, Redd Foxx, Jimmy Stewart, Flip Wilson, Telly Savalas, Jonathan Winters, LaWanda Page, Red Buttons, Milton Berle, Ernest Borgnine, Orson Welles, Rich Little, Barbara Marx, Jilly Rizzo, Ruth Buzzi & Peter Falk

Jack Klugman (solo, meaning Klugman got roasted twice; 3/17/1978) with Tony Randall, Milton Berle, Katherine Helmond, Dick Martin, Red Buttons, Abbe Lane, Joey Bishop, Phyllis Diller, LaWanda Page, Ruth Buzzi, Robert Guillaume, Kay Medford, Connie Stevens, Foster Brooks, Don Rickles & Dr. Joyce Brothers

Jimmy Stewart (5/10/1978) with Lucille Ball, June Allyson, Greer Garson, Red Buttons, Barry Goldwater, Henry Fonda, Eddie Albert, Foster Brooks, George Burns, Tony Randall, Don Rickles, Rich Little, Janet Leigh, Milton Berle, Jesse White, Orson Welles, Mickey Rooney, LaWanda Page, & Ruth Buzzi

George Burns (5/17/1978) with Gene Kelly, Connie Stevens, James Stewart, Milton Berle, Jack Carter, Phyllis Diller, Ernest Borgnine, Joey Bishop, Norm Crosby, Euell Gibbons, Guy Marks, Jan Murray, Cliff Robertson, Lorne Greene, Sid Caesar, Amanda Blake, Victor Sen Yung, Don Rickles, LaWanda Page, Abe Vigoda, Dom DeLuise, Ronald Reagan, Orson Welles, Charlie Callas & Ruth Buzzi

Betty White (5/31/1978) with Peter Marshall, Jimmie Walker, Bonnie Franklin, Orson Welles, Red Buttons, Charlie Callas, Abe Vigoda, LaWanda Page, Foster Brooks, Phyllis Diller, Rich Little, John Hillerman, Georgia Engel, Dan Haggerty, Milton Berle& Allen Ludden

Suzanne Somers (11/21/1978) with Milton Berle, Lorne Greene, Joyce Brothers, Audra Lindley, Norman Fell, Norm Crosby, Lee Meriwether, Charlie Callas, Bernie Kopell, Red Buttons, LaWanda Page, Paul Anka, Ruth Buzzi, Tom Bosley, Rich Little, Jackie Gayle, Zsa Zsa Gabor & Alan Hamel

Joe Namath (1/19/1979) with Joey Bishop, Paul "Bear" Bryant, Slappy White, Dick Butkus, Corbett Monica, Angie Dickinson, Audrey Meadows, Charlie Callas, David Janssen, Nipsey Russell, Jim Plunkett, Don Meredith, Rich Little, Fulton J. Sheen, Jack Carter, Weeb Ewbank, Foster Brooks, Mel Tillis, Bernie Kopell, David Doyle, George Blanda

Joan Collins (2/24/1984) with John Forsythe, Aaron Spelling, Gavin MacLeod, Beatrice Arthur, Red Buttons, Phyllis Diller, Angie Dickinson, Charlie Callas, Rich Little, Anne Baxter, Don Rickles, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Dom DeLuise &Milton Berle

Mr. T (3/14/1984) with Bob Hope, George Peppard, Gary Coleman, Ann Jillian, Red Buttons, Rich Little, Rick Schroder, Gavin MacLeod, Slappy White, Dick Shawn, Howard Cosell, Maureen Murphy, Don Rickles & Nell Carter

and

Michael Landon (12/7/1984) with Melissa Gilbert, Brian Keith, Lorne Greene, Merlin Olsen, Vic Tayback, Maureen Murphy, Rich Little, Pat Harrington, Dick Butkus, Bubba Smith, Dick Shawn, Norm Crosby, Orson Welles, Don Rickles & Slappy White

The last three were an attempt to revive the show in its original form, but those shows were not as strong, with the Collins show holing up best. Staring in the late 1970s, the shows were edited with an editing strategy of cutting in more celebrity reactions we expect were to the jokes and comments said, plus more laugh track over the laughs already there. They did not need to try so hard.

It is great to revisit the show, especially on DVD, which is the highest format they be able to issue them since all are standard definition video recordings, so this set is it. The 1.33 X 1 image comes from a series of NTSC analog recordings that reach back to the 2-inch reel-to-reel tape days and those reels are very heavy. Color is decent, though expect some flaws (as the disclaimer properly states) and minor staircasing, haloing and the usual limits of video from that time. The lossy Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono sound on all the shows are good for their age, but you'll get hum on some episodes, harmonic distortion on others (and there are sadly no subtitles) and some words that were erased by the censors not restored here. Still, that is about as good as they are going to get and fortunately, the Martin Estate and NBC preserved all the shows properly, because as the recent Mama's Family DVD box shows us (issued by StarVista as well), some of these tapes are literally disappearing.

Extras in this huge box set with a thick magnetic flap that closes it like an extended cigar box includes an illustrated booklet with major quotes from the shows, while the DVDs add Bonus Comedy Sketches featuring Dean, Tim Conway, Ted Knight and more from the original Variety Show series, two rare Dean Martin TV Specials: "Dean Martin's Red Hot Scandals of 1926", featuring Dom DeLuise, Abe Vigoda and Jonathan Winters and "Dean's Place", Three featurettes: Legends of the Roasts, The Art of the Roast and The King of Cool, a bonus DVD of some of the strongest episodes of the originating series in The Best Of Dean Martin Variety Show, Rare home movies of Dean, family & friends and separate interviews with Don Rickles, Betty White, Rich Little, Jackie Mason, Tim Conway and Ruth Buzzi on the great days of the show and show business.

As noted above, you can order The Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts at this link and select the deluxe set reviewed here, but with a bonus figurine:

http://timelife.com/products/dean-martin-celebrity-roasts-the-complete-dvd-collection?utm_sourc

- Nicholas Sheffo