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Joey Bishop, R.I.P.

(No mention if the above was taken before Joey begged to see Uncle Miltie's legendary member or afterward.)

Joey Bishop has died. Who? you ask. Why, you whippersnapper, the man who was the self-described "mouse in the Rat Pack," whose disastrous foray into the '60s talk show scene gave us none other than a young Regis Philbin as sidekick (his youthful, spittle-flying exuberance was mocked by Johnny Carson: "That guy belongs in a home!"), and who made perhaps the first celebrity C&W album. That's who!

Here's a story told to me years ago-- it's "friend of a friend" stuff, so judge it accordingly.

A bookstore clerk in LA recognized a magazine-buying Joey, and told the old comic that he did and (lying) that he enjoyed his work. The dour comedian beamed at him and insisted that the young clerk come to his house for dinner-- that night, in about an hour. The guy goes, and he said that, even though Bishop had a cook, the food couldn't have been worse, and that the two of them ate in complete silence. (He also learned that, whatever it was, Joey had the same meal every night!) Then, when they were finished, the bookstore clerk was invited to Joey's other nightly ritual: going down to his home movie theater and screening a film from his library. The catch: Joey only owned Joey Bishop movies.

That night, he got very lucky and saw A Guide for the Married Man-- it could have been Betsy's Wedding.

Posted by Steve Monaco at October 18, 2007 4:16 PM

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