Las Vegas legend remembers ‘Celebrity Microwaves’ served in the 70s | Kats | Entertainment
Pete Barbutti’s career has been a long journey, but it’s worth it, even if the clock is set on a microwave oven.
The great stand-up, an icon of the 1970s, has already presented the TV show “Celebrity MicroWaves”. This was a series that featured microwave recipes among celebrities from the early 1980s. The show was distributed in Canada, recorded in Calgary and had 130 episodes.
“We’ve had really good guests, most of them showing up as a favor to me,” says Barbutti, headlining the Ahern Hotel’s A-Stars Comedy Show on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. “We did five shows a day. We would make a dish in a minute or two and then eat it on the show. We had to make sure we only took small bites, because by the fifth show we couldn’t breathe.”
The program aired at 7pm on weekdays, repeating on Sundays. Stars of the era such as playmate/pop culture celebrity Barbi Benton and slapstick comedian Charlie Callas were invited.
Barbutti survived that show and many others. The monologue expert and master pianist (and accordionist, since his youth) was especially popular on “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.” Barbutti appeared 38 times with Carson and a series of guest hosts, among them David Brenner, George Carlin, David Letterman, Martin Mull, Bob Newhart, Burt Reynolds and McLean Stevenson.
Barbutti also sat down with talk show hosts Mike Douglas, Joey Bishop, Dinah Shore, Merv Griffin and Steve Allen. He had the day and night circuit covered.
Just this week, I mentioned to a friend that the comedy legend will be headlining this weekend in Las Vegas. “He must be 90 years old,” my friend said. Yes, he will be that age on Saturday, when he turns 90.
“I feel great and it’s great to have a place to perform,” said Barbutti, who can cover an entire set with just a few stories. Stories of it are of a comedy slow cooker recipe, rather than a microwave, boiling for many minutes before serving.
Asked if he would develop any new material for the weekend, Barbutti just said “Nah” and laughed. “I hope they have me back, though. We’ll see.”
Barbutti’s most recent appearance was when he introduced his late friend Shecky Greene at the UNLV College of Fine Arts Hall of Fame gala last month at Fontainebleau’s BleauLive Theater.
From the stage, Barbutti generously praised the chef who prepared the evening’s dinner. “I give him credit, because I don’t know if I would show up to work on hepatitis…” Those are the jokes, folks. Check out the Barbutti experience. You are ready for an adventure.
John Katsilometes’ column appears daily in section A. His “PodKats!” podcast can be found at reviewjournal.com/podcasts. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. follow @johnnykats on X, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.
