1973 Dean Martin celebrity roast of The Gipper... 2 funny:
Near the end of Dean Martin's variety show in 1973-74, the formula evolved into a series of celebrity roasts.
The show was cancelled in '74, but NBC decided to go with the 'Dean Martin Celebrity Roast' for a series of TV specials from 1974-84.
Martin and a panel of longtime celeb buds roasted: Hugh Hefner, Ed McMahon, William Conrad, Kirk Douglas, Bette Davis, Barry Goldwater, Johnny Carson, Wilt Chamberlain, Hubert Humphrey, Carroll O'Connor, Monty Hall, Jack Klugman & Tony Randall, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Leo Durocher, Truman Capote, Don Rickles, Ralph Nader, Jack Benny, Redd Foxx, Bobby Riggs, George Washington, Dan Rowan & Dick Martin, Hank Aaron, Joe Namath, Bob Hope, Telly Savalas, Lucille Ball, Jackie Gleason, Sammy Davis Jr, Michael Landon, Evel Knievel, Valerie Harper, Muhammad Ali, Dennis Weaver, Joe Garagiola, Danny Thomas, Angie Dickinson, Gabe Kaplan, Ted Knight, Peter Marshall, Dan Haggerty, Frank Sinatra, Jack Klugman, Jimmy Stewart, George Burns, Betty White, Suzanne Somers, Joan Collins, Mr T, and even Dean Martin himself... they really were pretty raucous, but ESPECIALLY when Rickles got on the mike.
But that very first episode in 1973?
None other than Ronald Reagan... and it's pretty funny, classic Rickles, and not what you'd call PC, ya know.