Steve Rossi, 82, of comedy duo Allen & Rossi, dies

Steve Rossi, one half of the prolific comedy duo Allen & Rossi, which became a favorite of "The Ed Sullivan Show" and other TV variety programs, died Sunday at age 82.

Michael Flores, a longtime friend, said Rossi had cancer of the esophagus and that he visited the pal who had introduced him to the likes of Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin in hospice care in Las Vegas on Friday.

"I met every major entertainer in the country through Stevie, and I'm going to miss him," said Flores, who was manager of the Silver Nugget casino when Rossi was producing burlesque shows at another property.

The Las Vegas Sun originally reported Rossi's death on Sunday.

Marty Allen and Steve Rossi, as the straight man, appeared regularly on "The Tonight Show," starring Johnny Carson and "The Merv Griffin Show."

They also toured comedy clubs nationwide and headlined shows at major Las Vegas casinos in the 1960s until they split up in 1968, the newspaper reported.

They also famously appeared on Ed Sullivan's show several times with The Beatles.

"Everyone remembers those shows with The Beatles, and they were great, but we appeared on all the shows," Marty Allen, 92, told the Sun. "There wasn't a talk show on TV that didn't want Allen & Rossi."

Flores told The AP that he and Rossi traveled together, played golf and tennis, and often watched fights on TV at Flores' home in the Las Vegas Country Club, where Rossi also lived briefly in the mid-1970s.

Rossi was a casino entertainment director living in a hotel suite, but didn't know anyone. He asked to come over and watch TV one day and ended up staying about 3 ½ years, Flores said, laughing.

"He had a fabulous life," Flores said. "He was America's guest."

Rossi graduated from Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, had a great sense of humor, was very creative and wrote music, including his hit "More."

Flores added that Rossi was religious and thought the singer-comedian had made peace with his illness.

Rossi is survived by his wife, Karma, two children and two grandchildren.