Steve Rossi (born Joseph Charles Tafarella 1928)[1] is an American stand-up comedian and actor.
Rossi gained a Bachelor of Arts degree in communication, arts and theater, Greek and Latin at Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles[2] and served as an officer in the United States Air Force. The comedian was discovered by Mae West who. with her manager Jerry Franks saw him in 1953 as the lead of The Student Prince at the Civic Light Orchestra in Los Angeles.
Under his birth name, Rossi was signed to a nightclub show with West booked at Ciro's in Los Angeles before moving the show to Las Vegas at the Sahara Hotel where his name was changed reportedly to not compete as much with Mae West's shorter name on the signage.[3] According to Rossi Mae West picked "Steve" because she was dating actor Steve Cochran at the time and had a manager by the name of Bernie Ross; adding an "I" to Ross to reflect Rossi's Italian heritage.[4] West and Rossi toured in 1953 and 1954. Rossi wrote the musical numbers he performed in the show with West. Following the tour's end, Rossi concentrated on his musical career, recording music with his group, Steve Rossi and The Robinaires for Red Robin Records.
In 1957, he formed the Allen & Rossi comedy duo with Marty Allen playing the straight man and they made appearances in the 1950s and 1960s, including 44 appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show, releasing multiple comedy albums, starring in one feature film, The Last of the Secret Agents, and also performing live in Las Vegas. Rossi would also continue his singing career as a solo artist. He recorded for several labels in the 1960s and 1970s including ABC Records' ABC-Paramount label, Red Bird Records, Roulette Records, and Columbia Records. Following the breakup of Allen & Rossi in 1968, he teamed for less than three months with Joe E. Ross in an act called "Rossi & Ross". The comedy team played once on Ed Sullivan and disbanded in January 1969.[5] That same month, Rossi announced a pairing with comedian Slappy White creating the comedy act, Rossi and White. The interracial comedy team released the album, "I Found Me a White Man--You Find Yourself One" on Roulette Records. Rossi later teamed with Sandy Hackett, son of Buddy Hackett.
Rossi and Allen reunited several times, including a film released in 1974 and stage performances together in 1984-5 and 1990-1994. Rossi presented a spoof of Washington D.C. called "Laffs, Sex & Politics" co-starring Hackett in 2000. Rossi appeared on The Howard Stern Show on Oct.10 1990 and also had a role in the Brad Pitt movie The Mexican (2001). In 2004, Rossi was inducted into the Show Business Legends Hall of Fame at the Tropicana Hotel in Las Vegas. Steve Rossi's book, "Adult Stand-up Comedy For Wannabe Comedians: Hilarious Stand-up Routines, Jokes and Stories", was issued in 2006.[6] In 2007, Rossi was part of a touring cabaret show titled, "5 Star Revue" with Gary Collins, Mary Ann Mobley, Ruta Lee and Ronnie Schell. In 2009, he appeared along with Schell in the Off-Broadway play Don't Leave it All to Your Children and performed his stand-up comedy act at Feinstein's in New York City.[7]