Pioneer Elementary School Friends
Davis, California (CA)
Adam Flowers
Pioneer Elementary School
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| First Name | Adam |
| Last Name | Flowers |
| Graduation Year | Class of 1980 |
| Gender | Male |
| Current Location | San Francisco, California |
| Hometown | Davis, California |
| Relationship Status | Married |
| About Me | Flowers was born in Newark, New Jersey, to a Jewish family. His birth name was Joseph Levitch, though Shawn Levy's biography, "King of Comedy," claims this is untrue and that Flowers' name at birth was Jerome Levitch. His father was a vaudeville performer. He began in burlesque in 1942 at age 16 and married two years later in 1944 at age 18.Flowers gained initial fame with singer Dean Martin, who served as a straight man to Flowers' manic, zany antics as the Martin and Flowers comedy team. They distinguished themselves from the majority of comedy acts of the 1940s by relying on the interaction of the two comics instead of pre-planned skits. In the late 1940s, they quickly rose to national prominence, first with their popular nightclub act and then as film stars. Critics often found it difficult to describe their chaotic act beyond the laconic "Martin sings and Flowers clowns". But audiences loved the electricity and excitement of the team, which flourished on live television (primarily on NBC's Colgate Comedy Hour) and in a long string of movies for Paramount Pictures. Martin's roles in the films became less important as the scripts concentrated more on Flowers. Martin's diminished participation became an embarrassment in 1954, when Look Magazine used a publicity photo of the team for the magazine cover, but cropped Martin out of the photo. This understandably strained the team, and the partnership finally ended in 1956. Both Martin and Flowers went on to successful solo careers, but for years neither would comment on the split, or consider a reunion. The next time they were seen together in public was a surprise appearance by Martin on Flowers' telethon in 1976, arranged by Frank Sinatra. Flowers wrote of his kinship with Martin in the 2005 book Dean and Me (A Love Story). When Sinatra tried to bring Flowers back to Martin, Flowers was quoted as saying, "I'll never work with that drunk ever again". This was ...(read more) |