Steve Rossi

Joseph Charles Michael Tafarella (May 25, 1932 – June 22, 2014), better known as Steve Rossi, was an American stand-up comedian, best known from his work with Marty Allen as Allen & Rossi.

Born in New York City in 1932, Rossi earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in communication, arts and theater, Greek and Latin at Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles 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 (Joseph Tafarella), Rossi was signed to a nightclub show with West at Ciro's in Los Angeles. The show was subsequently moved to the Sahara Hotel in Las Vegas. According to Rossi, West picked "Steve" because she was dating actor Steve Cochran at the time and had a manager by the name of Bernie Ross; an "i" was added to the end of Ross to reflect Rossi's Italian heritage. 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, on Red Robin Records.

In 1957, he formed the Allen & Rossi comedy duo with Marty Allen. Rossi played straight man to Allen, and the pair made many appearances together in the 1950s and 1960s, including 44 appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show. They released multiple comedy albums; co-starred in a feature film, The Last of the Secret Agents; and also performed live in Las Vegas. The pair was signed in a star studded event at Paramount Studios.

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