The only thing thicker in the air than the cigarette smoke and packing a bigger kick than the cocktails were the insults. “The Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts” celebrated the art of the put-down, but ...

The New York Friars Club established the celebrity roast as a club tradition in 1950 with Sam Livingston in the hot seat and a motto of "We only roast the ones we love." Roasts quickly became regular ...