Robert S. Ensler Presents
The Photo, Poster, CD, DVD, VIDEO, & Memorabilia Store
featuring The Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts and The Dean Martin Variety Shows.
|
Robert S. Ensler Presents The Photo, Poster, CD, DVD, VIDEO, & Memorabilia Store featuring The Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts and The Dean Martin Variety Shows.
|
|
|
Los Angeles Times LOS ANGELES -- Comedian Foster Brooks, a one-time television newscaster who became an "overnight success" at the age of 59 after creating a comic drunk act that made him a favorite in Las Vegas showrooms and on television variety shows, has died. He was 89. Brooks died Thursday of natural causes in Los Angeles. The comedian, who played the dignified guy who knows he's had one cocktail too many but is trying hard not to let anybody else know it, is best remembered for his frequent appearances on "Dean Martin's Celebrity Roasts," where he'd be introduced as a "friend" of the celebrity honoree. The silver-haired, bearded Brooks was so good at acting inebriated on stage that few fans and interviewers could resist asking him if personal experience had contributed to his getting the character down so well. "He'd tell them it did," said Brooks' daughter, Teri Elmendorf. When he was a younger man, she said, he was a weekend drinker. But in the early 1960s, she said, "he just one day cold turkey stopped drinking and smoking. "He always said if he hadn't done that he wouldn't have made it" in show business. Elmendorf said recovering alcoholics would often approach her father and tell him that his drunk portrayal "gave them the laughter they needed to get through their recovery."
at the Nugget, Sparks, Nevada
Foster started as a radio announcer in Louisville, Kentucky. Foster's first job in the entertainment industry was as a radio announcer reading commercial spots at "WHAS" radio in Louisville. It was one of the original radio stations broadcasting with an impressive 50,000 watts in the US. While working at "WHAS", he met the famous singer and movie star Gene Autry. Gene was also working at the station as an entertainer with his cowboy band. Foster did the commercials for his show. Foster worked with famous singer, actor and comedian Gene Autry. When Gene Autry quit the radio station to try his hand at touring the country with his band, Foster asked for a job. Foster worked as an announcer where ever they could get bookings. Unfortunately, the Great Depression was in full swing, devastating the finances of most people. Few had money to pay for food, let alone entertainment. Gene's tour was a miserable failure so Foster returned to Louisville. Foster returned to radio announcing after the Gene Autry tour failed. A short time after this major disappointment, Foster got a job with a radio station as an announcer in Rochester, N.Y. He stayed there during World War II. After the war ended, he returned to Louisville. He was hired as an announcer at the "WAVE" radio, which was a phenomenal opportunity. The "WAVE" was one of the first stations to incorporate the fledgling TV industry. Working as an announcer for "Boyd Bennett and His Rockets" helped make Foster famous. Foster received his initial break in show business from Boyd Bennett, famous teenage 50s rock and roll pioneer, singer and song writer and TV star. He was Boyd's announcer for the "Boyd Bennett and the Rockets" music variety show. Foster accompanied Boyd on many of his personal appearances.
Challenge
of the GoBots (1984) - Other Voices Cosby
- Unknown - The
Best Little Antique Shop in Astoria (1996)
| |||||||||||||
PLEASE VISIT OUR OTHER WEBSITES: CLICK HERE TO SEE A LIST OF ALL OUR WEBSITES PLEASE SEND GENERAL QUESTIONS TO ROBERT AT: RSE@DeanMartin.TV ROASTS
& MERCHANDISE QUESTIONS:
DeanMartinRoasts@aol.com All "Robert S. Ensler Presents" websites ( CLICK HERE to see list ) have been created and are owned & operated by Ensler Entertainment who is solely responsible for its content. This web site is not affiliated with the Dean Martin Family Trust. The Rights of Publicity and the trademarks with respect to Dean Martin and Dino are owned by the Dean Martin Family Trust. |
