The series was a variety-comedy show on NBC that featured solo performances from Martin and other musical acts, as well as various comedic bits. Recordings exist of shows at both engagements. Jokes by his fellow entertainers were crude. Davis died of throat cancer in 1990 at age 64. Reviewed in the United States on August 8, 2010. The roasts were patterned after the roasts held at the New York Friars' Club. Featured roasters include Foster Brooks, Milton Berle, Freddie Prinze, and Don Rickles. Dean Martin Celebrity Roast-Collectors Edition, The Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts: Fully Roasted, Greg Garrison Presents The Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts: Man of the Hour: Frank Sinatra. Eligible for Return, Refund or Replacement within 30 days of receipt. Martin is a well-known member of the Rat Pack, an informal group of entertainers that also featured Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr. Martin was also a friend to President John F. Kennedy but decided not to attend his inauguration in 1961 due to a dispute between JFK and Sammy Davis Jr. Martin chose to be loyal to Davis and stand up for what he believed to be right. The Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts: Sammy Davis, Jr. Sold by: Stream songs including "Dean Martin Roasts Sammy Davis, Jr.", "Milton Berle Roasts Sammy Davis, Jr." and more. (The veteran historical impersonator Jan Leighton portrayed Washington for the episode while Audrey Meadows portrayed his wife, Martha.) DVD was a little grainy & the volume had to be turn way up. It was not long after this that he was drafted into the military during World War II. Davis also felt that he owed his career to a Jewish man, Eddie Cantor, who ironically had been one of vaudevilles. 1. The Bad: if you don't know who these guys are, then the humor may be lost on you. To love Sammy was to love Black and white, Black and Jew, he said, and to embrace the human family., The service also included one last standing ovation for Davis, when they played a recording of what else? Enhancements you chose aren't available for this seller. 9. If the professor understood that all this was done in fun as entertainment and not as expressions of racism or hatred toward blacks, it still somehow constituted hurt to black Americans.