Career
Bishop began his career as part of a standup comedy act with his elder brother, Maury. He guest-hosted on television's The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson more times than anyone else, having also frequently appeared on Steve Allen's and Jack Paar's previous versions of The Tonight Show.
He starred in a situation comedy titled The Joey Bishop Show, which premiered on 20 September 1961 and ran for four seasons, first on NBC and later CBS. Bishop played a talk show host named Joey Barnes. His wife was portrayed by Abby Dalton, who joined the cast in 1962.
He later hosted a 90-minute late-night talk show, also titled The Joey Bishop Show, that was launched by ABC in 1967 as competition to Carson's Tonight Show and ran for two years. His sidekick was then-newcomer Regis Philbin.
Bishop was among the stars of the original Ocean's 11 film about military veterans who reunite in a plot to rob five Las Vegas casinos on New Year's Eve. He co-starred with Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Jr. and Peter Lawford of the so-called Rat Pack, although the five of them did not publicly acknowledge that name. During filming, the five entertainers performed together on stage in Vegas at the Sands Hotel. Bishop did only a little singing and dancing, but he told jokes and wrote some of the act's material. He later appeared with Sinatra, Martin and Davis in the military adventure Sergeants 3, a loose remake of Gunga Din, and with Martin in the western comedy Texas Across the River, in which he portrayed an Indian.
Bishop was the only member of the Rat Pack to work with members of a younger group of actors dubbed the Brat Pack, appearing (as a ghost) in the 1990 film Betsy's Wedding with Molly Ringwald and Ally Sheedy.
His final appearance in a film was a non-speaking role in Mad Dog Time, written and directed by Larry, his son. His character was named Gottlieb, which was Bishop's real surname.
Bishop was portrayed by Bobby Slayton in the 1998 HBO film The Rat Pack.
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