Dean Martin
Encyclopedia
Dean Martin was an American singer, film
actor, television
star and comedian
. Martin's hit singles included "Memories Are Made of This
", "That's Amore", "Everybody Loves Somebody
", "You're Nobody till Somebody Loves You
", "Sway
", "Volare
" and "Ain't That a Kick in the Head?
". Nicknamed the "King of Cool", he was one of the members of the "Rat Pack
" and a major star in four areas of show business: concert stage/night clubs, recordings, motion pictures, and television.
, to Italian
parents, Gaetano and Angela Crocetti (née
Barra). His father was from Abruzzo
, Italy
, and his mother was an Italian of part Neapolitan
and part Sicilian
ancestry. Martin was the younger of two sons. His brother was named Bill. Martin spoke only Italian
until he started school. He attended Grant Elementary School in Steubenville, and took up the drums as a hobby as a teenager. He was the target of much ridicule for his broken English and ultimately dropped out of Steubenville High School
in the 10th grade
because he thought that he was smarter than his teachers. He delivered bootleg liquor, served as a speakeasy
croupier
, was a blackjack
dealer
, worked in a steel mill
and boxed as welterweight
. He grew up a neighbor to Jimmy the Greek.
At the age of 15, he was a boxer
who billed himself as "Kid Crochet". His prizefighting years earned him a broken nose (later straightened), a scarred lip, and many sets of broken knuckles (a result of not being able to afford the tape used to wrap boxers' hands). Of his twelve bouts, he would later say "I won all but eleven." For a time, he roomed with Sonny King
, who, like Martin, was just starting in show business and had little money. It is said that Martin and King held bare-knuckle matches in their apartment, fighting until one of them was knocked out; people paid to watch.
Eventually, Martin gave up boxing. He worked as a roulette
stickman and croupier
in an illegal casino
behind a tobacco shop where he had started as a stock boy. At the same time, he sang with local bands, calling himself "Dino Martini" (after the famous Metropolitan Opera tenor, Nino Martini
). He got his first break working for the Ernie McKay Orchestra
. He sang in a crooning style influenced by Harry Mills (of the Mills Brothers
), among others. In the early 1940s, he started singing for bandleader Sammy Watkins, who suggested that he change his name to Dean Martin.
In October 1941, Martin married Elizabeth Anne McDonald. During their marriage (ended by divorce in 1949), they had four children. Martin worked for various bands throughout the early 1940s, mostly on looks and personality until he developed his own singing style. Martin famously flopped at the Riobamba, a high class nightclub in New York, when he followed Frank Sinatra
in 1943, but it was the setting for their meeting.
Martin was drafted into the United States Army
in 1944 during World War II
, serving a year stationed in Akron, Ohio
. He was then reclassified as 4-F and was discharged (possibly because of a double hernia
; Jerry Lewis
referred to the surgery that Martin needed for this in his autobiography).
By 1946, Martin was doing relatively well, but was still little more than an East Coast nightclub singer with a common style, similar to that of Bing Crosby
. He drew audiences to the clubs where he played, but he inspired none of the fanatical popularity enjoyed by Sinatra.
early in his career. According to this book, Martin was given help with his singing career by the Chicago Outfit
who owned saloons in the city
, and later performed in shows hosted by these bosses when he was a star. The mob bosses were Tony ("Joe Batters") Accardo
and Sam Giancana
. Freedland suggests that Martin felt little sympathy for the Mafia and did them small favors only if it was not inconvenient for him. Another book, The Animal in Hollywood by John L. Smith, depicted Martin's longtime friendship with Mafia mobsters "Handsome Johnny" Roselli and Anthony ("The Animal") Fiato
. Smith suggested that Fiato did Martin many favors, such as getting back money from two swindlers who had cheated his ex-wife Betty out of thousands of dollars of her alimony.
and Columbia Pictures
, but a Hollywood contract was not forthcoming. He met comic Jerry Lewis
at the Glass Hat Club in New York
, where both men were performing. Martin and Lewis
formed a fast friendship which led to their participation in each other's acts and the ultimate formation of a music-comedy team.
Martin and Lewis's official debut together occurred at Atlantic City
's 500 Club on July 24, 1946, and they were not well received. The owner, Skinny D'Amato, warned them that if they did not come up with a better act for their second show later that night, they would be fired. Huddling together in the alley behind the club, Lewis and Martin agreed to "go for broke", to throw out the pre-scripted gags and to improvise. Martin sang and Lewis came out dressed as a busboy, dropping plates and making a shambles of both Martin's performance and the club's sense of decorum until Lewis was chased from the room as Martin pelted him with breadrolls. They did slapstick, reeled off old vaudeville
jokes, and did whatever else popped into their heads at the moment. This time, the audience doubled over in laughter. This success led to a series of well-paying engagements on the Eastern seaboard, culminating in a triumphant run at New York's Copacabana
. Patrons were convulsed by the act, which consisted primarily of Lewis interrupting and heckling Martin while he was trying to sing, and ultimately the two of them chasing each other around the stage and having as much fun as possible. The secret, both said, is that they essentially ignored the audience and played to one another.
The team made its TV debut on the very first broadcast of CBS-TV network's Toast of the Town (later called The Ed Sullivan Show
) with Ed Sullivan
and Rodgers & Hammerstein appearing on this same inaugural telecast of June 20, 1948. A radio series commenced in 1949, the same year Martin and Lewis were signed by Paramount
producer Hal B. Wallis
as comedy relief for the movie My Friend Irma
.
Their agent, Abby Greshler, negotiated for them one of Hollywood's best deals: although they received only a modest $75,000 between them for their films with Wallis, Martin and Lewis were free to do one outside film a year, which they would co-produce through their own York Productions. They also had complete control of their club, record, radio and television appearances, and it was through these endeavors that they earned millions of dollars.
In Dean & Me, Lewis calls Martin one of the great comic geniuses of all time. But the harsh comments from the critics, as well as frustration with the formulaic similarity of Martin and Lewis movies, which producer Hal Wallis stubbornly refused to change, led to Martin's dissatisfaction. He put less enthusiasm into the work, leading to escalating arguments with Lewis. They finally could not work together, especially after Martin told his partner he was "nothing to me but a dollar sign". The act broke up in 1956, 10 years to the day from the first official teaming.
Martin's first solo film, Ten Thousand Bedrooms
(1957), was a box office failure. He was still popular as a singer, but with rock and roll
surging to the fore, the era of the pop crooner was waning.
(1957), he was ecstatic to receive the part because it would be a dramatic showcase with the two most intriguing young actors of the period and he could learn from Marlon Brando
and Montgomery Clift
. Tony Randall
already had the part, but talent agency MCA realized that with this movie, Martin would become a triple threat: they could make money from his work in night clubs, movies, and records. Martin replaced Randall and the film turned out to be the beginning of Martin's spectacular comeback. Success would continue as Martin starred alongside Frank Sinatra
for the first time in a highly acclaimed Vincente Minnelli
drama, Some Came Running
(1958). By the mid '60s, Martin was a top movie, recording, and nightclub star, while Lewis' film career declined. Martin was acclaimed for his performance as Dude in Rio Bravo (1959), directed by Howard Hawks
and also starring John Wayne
and singer Ricky Nelson
. He teamed up again with Wayne in The Sons of Katie Elder
(1965), somewhat unconvincingly cast as brothers.
In 1960, Martin was cast in the motion picture version of the Judy Holliday
hit stage play Bells Are Ringing
. Martin played a satiric variation of his own womanizing persona as Vegas singer "Dino" in Billy Wilder
's comedy Kiss Me, Stupid
(1964) with Kim Novak
, and he was not above poking fun at his image in films such as the Matt Helm
spy
spoofs
of the 1960s, in which he was a co-producer.
As a singer, Martin copied the styles of Harry Mills (of the Mills Brothers
), Bing Crosby
, and Perry Como
until he developed his own and could hold his own in duets with Sinatra and Crosby. Like Sinatra, he could not read music, but he recorded more than 100 albums and 600 songs. His signature tune, "Everybody Loves Somebody
", knocked The Beatles
' "A Hard Day's Night
" out of the number-one spot in the United States in 1964. This was followed by the similarly-styled "The Door is Still Open to My Heart", which reached number six later that year. Elvis Presley
was said to have been influenced by Martin, and patterned "Love Me Tender
" after his style. Martin, like Elvis, was influenced by country music
. By 1965, some of Martin's albums, such as Dean "Tex" Martin, The Hit Sound Of Dean Martin, Welcome To My World and Gentle On My Mind were composed of country and western songs made famous by artists like Johnny Cash
, Merle Haggard
, and Buck Owens
. Martin hosted country performers on his TV show and was named "Man Of the Year" by the Country Music Association
in 1966. "Ain't That a Kick in the Head", a song Martin performed in Ocean's Eleven
that never became a hit at the time, has enjoyed a spectacular revival in the media and pop culture.
For three decades, Martin was among the most popular acts in Las Vegas
. Martin sang and was one of the smoothest comics in the business, benefiting from the decade of raucous comedy with Lewis. Martin's daughter, Gail, also sang in Vegas and on his TV show, co-hosting his summer replacement series on NBC. Though often thought of as a ladies' man, Martin spent a lot of time with his family; as second wife Jeanne put it, prior to the couple's divorce, "He was home every night for dinner."
, Peter Lawford
, and Sammy Davis, Jr.
formed the legendary Rat Pack
, so called by the public after an earlier group of social friends, the Holmby Hills Rat Pack centered on Humphrey Bogart
and Lauren Bacall
, of which Sinatra had been a member.
The Martin-Sinatra-Davis-Lawford-Bishop group referred to themselves as "The Summit" or "The Clan" and never as "The Rat Pack", although this has remained their identity in the popular imagination. The men made films together, formed an important part of the Hollywood social scene in those years, and were politically influential (through Lawford's marriage to Patricia Kennedy, sister of President John F. Kennedy
).
The Rat Pack were legendary for their Las Vegas
performances. For example, the marquee at the Sands Hotel
might read DEAN MARTIN---MAYBE FRANK---MAYBE SAMMY. Las Vegas rooms were at a premium when the Rat Pack would appear, with many visitors sleeping in hotel lobbies or cars to get a chance to see the three men together. Their act (always in tuxedo) consisted of each singing individual numbers, duets and trios, along with much seemingly improvised slapstick and chatter. In the socially-charged 1960s, their jokes revolved around adult themes, such as Sinatra's infamous womanizing and Martin's legendary drinking, as well as many at the expense of Davis's race and religion. Davis famously practiced Judaism
and used Yiddish phrases onstage, eliciting much merriment from both his stage-mates and his audiences. It was all good-natured male bonding, never vicious, rarely foul-mouthed, and the three had great respect for each other. The Rat Pack was largely responsible for the integration of Las Vegas. Sinatra and Martin (both liberal Democrats) were active supporters of the Civil Rights Movement and refused to perform in clubs that would not allow African-American or Jewish performers.
Posthumously, the Rat Pack has experienced a popular revival, inspiring the George Clooney
/Brad Pitt
"Ocean's" trilogy.
comedy-variety series, The Dean Martin Show
, which exploited his public image as a lazy, carefree boozer. There he perfected his famous laid-back persona of the half-drunk crooner
suavely hitting on beautiful women with hilarious remarks that would get anyone else slapped, and making snappy if slurred remarks about fellow celebrities during his famous roast
s. During an interview he stated, and this may have been tongue-in-cheek, that he had someone record them on cassette tape so he could listen to them; this is evidenced by his comments to this effect on the British TV documentary 'Wine, Women and Song' which was aired in 1983.
The TV show was a success. Martin prided himself on memorizing whole scripts – not merely his own lines. He disliked rehearsing because he firmly believed his best performances were his first. The show's loose format prompted quick-witted improvisation from Martin and the cast. On occasion, he made remarks in Italian, some mild obscenities that brought angry mail from offended, Italian-speaking viewers. This prompted a battle between Martin and NBC censors, who insisted on more scrutiny of the show's content. The show was often in the Top Ten. Martin, deeply appreciative of the efforts of the show's producer, his friend Greg Garrison
, later made a handshake deal giving Garrison, a pioneer TV producer in the 1950s, 50% ownership of the show. However, the validity of that ownership is currently the subject of a lawsuit brought by NBC Universal
.
Despite Martin's reputation as a heavy drinker – a reputation perpetuated via his vanity license plates reading "DRUNKY" – he was remarkably self-disciplined. He was often the first to call it a night, and when not on tour or on a film location, liked to go home to see his wife and children. Phyllis Diller
has said that Martin was indeed drinking alcohol onstage and not apple juice. She also commented that although he was not drunk, he was not really sober either, but had very strict rules when it came to performances. He borrowed the lovable-drunk shtick from Joe E. Lewis
, but his convincing portrayals of heavy boozers in Some Came Running
and Howard Hawks's Rio Bravo led to unsubstantiated claims of alcoholism
. More often than not, Martin's idea of a good time was playing golf or watching TV, particularly westerns – not staying with Rat Pack
friends Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis, Jr.
into the early hours of the morning.
Martin starred in and co-produced a series of four Matt Helm
superspy comedy adventures. A fifth, The Ravagers, was planned starring Sharon Tate
and Martin in a dual role, one as a serial killer, but due to the murder of Tate and the decline of the spy genre, the film was never made.
By the early 1970s, The Dean Martin Show was still earning solid ratings, and although he was no longer a Top 40 hitmaker, his record albums continued to sell steadily. His name on a marquee could guarantee casinos and nightclubs a standing-room-only crowd. He found a way to make his passion for golf profitable by offering his own signature line of golf balls. Shrewd investments had greatly increased Martin's personal wealth; at the time of his death, Martin was reportedly the single largest minority shareholder of RCA stock. Martin even managed to cure himself of his claustrophobia
by reportedly locking himself in the elevator of a tall building and riding up and down for hours until he was no longer panic-stricken.
Now comfortable financially, Martin did not need to work as much and he began reducing his schedule. The final (1973–74) season of his variety show would be retooled into one of celebrity roasts, requiring less of Martin's involvement. After the show's cancellation, NBC continued to air The Dean Martin Celebrity Roast
format in a series of TV specials through 1984. In those 11 years, Martin and his panel of pals successfully ridiculed and made fun of these legendary stars in this order: Ronald Reagan
, Hugh Hefner
, Ed McMahon
, William Conrad
, Kirk Douglas
, Bette Davis
, Barry Goldwater
, Johnny Carson
, Wilt Chamberlain
, Hubert Humphrey
, Carroll O'Connor
, Monty Hall
, Jack Klugman
& Tony Randall
, Zsa Zsa Gabor
, Leo Durocher
, Truman Capote
, Don Rickles
, Ralph Nader
, Jack Benny
, Redd Foxx
, Bobby Riggs
, George Washington
, Dan Rowan & Dick Martin
, Hank Aaron, Joe Namath
, Bob Hope
, Telly Savalas
, Lucille Ball
, Jackie Gleason
, Sammy Davis Jr, Michael Landon
, Evel Knievel
, Valerie Harper
, Muhammad Ali
, Dean Martin, Dennis Weaver
, Joe Garagiola
, Danny Thomas
, Angie Dickinson
, Gabe Kaplan
, Ted Knight
, Peter Marshall
, Dan Haggerty
, Frank Sinatra
, Jack Klugman
, Jimmy Stewart, George Burns
, Betty White
, Suzanne Somers
, Joan Collins
, and Mr T. For nearly a decade, Martin had recorded as many as four albums a year for Reprise Records
. That stopped in November 1974, when Martin recorded his final Reprise album - Once In A While, released in 1978. His last recording sessions were for Warner Brothers Records. An album titled The Nashville Sessions was released in 1983, from which he had a hit with "(I Think That I Just Wrote) My First Country Song", which was recorded with Conway Twitty
and made a respectable showing on the country charts. A followup single "L.A. Is My Home" / "Drinking Champagne" came in 1985. The 1975 film Mr. Ricco
marked Martin's final starring role, and Martin limited his live performances to Las Vegas
and Atlantic City
.
Martin seemed to suffer a mid-life crisis. In 1972, he filed for divorce from his second wife, Jeanne. A week later, his business partnership with the Riviera was dissolved amid reports of the casino's refusal to agree to Martin's request to perform only once a night. He was quickly snapped up by the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino, and signed a three-picture deal with MGM Studios. Less than a month after his second marriage had been legally dissolved, Martin married 26-year-old Catherine Hawn on April 25, 1973. Hawn had been the receptionist at the chic Gene Shacrove hair salon in Beverly Hills. They divorced November 10, 1976. He was also briefly engaged to Gail Renshaw
, Miss World
-U.S.A. 1969.
Eventually, Martin reconciled with Jeanne, though they never remarried. He also made a public reconciliation with Jerry Lewis
on Lewis' Labor Day Muscular Dystrophy Association telethon
in 1976. Frank Sinatra
shocked Lewis and the world by bringing Martin out on stage. As Martin and Lewis embraced, the audience erupted in cheers and the phone banks lit up, resulting in one of the telethon's most profitable years. Lewis reported the event was one of the three most memorable of his life. Lewis brought down the house when he quipped, "So, you working?" Martin, playing drunk, replied that he was "at the Meggum" – this reference to the MGM Grand Hotel convulsed Lewis. This, along with the death of Martin's son Dean Paul Martin
a few years later, helped to bring the two men together. They maintained a quiet friendship, but only performed together again once, in 1989, on Martin's 72nd birthday.
. It remains a matter of speculation whether her alcoholism led to the failure of the marriage, or whether Martin's infidelities led to Betty's alcoholism. Subsequent to their divorce, Martin gained custody of their children; Betty lived out her life in quiet obscurity in San Francisco. Their children were Stephen Craig (born June 29, 1942), Claudia Dean (March 16, 1944 - 2001 from breast cancer
), Barbara Gail (born April 11, 1945) and Deana (Dina) (born August 19, 1948).
Martin's second wife was Jeanne Biegger. A stunning blonde, Jeanne could sometimes be spotted in Martin's audience while he was still married to Betty. Their marriage lasted 24 years (1949–1973) and produced three children. Their children were Dean Paul
(November 17, 1951 - March 21, 1987; plane crash), Ricci James (born September 20, 1953) and Gina Caroline (born December 20, 1956), whose marriage made Dean the father-in-law
of The Beach Boys
' Carl Wilson
.
Martin's third marriage, to Catherine Hawn, lasted three years. One of Martin's managers had spotted her at the reception desk of a hair salon on Rodeo Drive
, then arranged a meeting. Martin adopted Hawn's daughter, Sasha, but their marriage also failed. Martin initiated divorce proceedings.
Martin's uncle was Leonard Barr
, who appeared in several of his shows.
law by making the dealer deal the cards by hand instead of from a shoe. Although Sinatra and Martin were implicated as the cause of the violation, neither was fined by the New Jersey Casino Control Commission. The Golden Nugget received a $25,000 fine (which Sinatra paid, stating that it was his responsibility as he and Martin were the cause of the fine) and four employees including the dealer, a supervisor and pit boss were suspended from their jobs without pay.
Martin returned to films briefly with appearances in the two star-laden, yet critically panned Cannonball Run
movies. He also had a minor hit single with "Since I Met You Baby
" and made his first music video, which appeared on MTV
. The video was created by Martin's youngest son, Ricci.
On March 21, 1987, Martin's son, Dean Paul (formerly Dino of the '60s "teeny-bopper
" rock group Dino, Desi & Billy), was killed when his F-4 Phantom II
jet fighter crashed while flying with the California Air National Guard
. A much-touted tour with Davis and Sinatra in 1988 sputtered. On one occasion, he infuriated Sinatra when he turned to him and muttered, "Frank, what the hell are we doing up here?" Martin, who always responded best to a club audience, felt lost in the huge stadiums they were performing in (at Sinatra's insistence), and he was not interested in drinking until dawn after performances. His final Vegas shows were at Bally's Hotel in 1990. There he had his final reunion with Jerry Lewis
on his 72nd birthday. Martin's last two TV appearances involved tributes to his former Rat Pack
members. On December 8, 1989, he joined many stars of the entertainment industry in Sammy Davis, Jr's 60th anniversary celebration, which aired only a few weeks before Davis died from throat cancer. In December 1990, he congratulated Frank Sinatra
on his 75th birthday special.
Martin was diagnosed with lung cancer
at Cedars Sinai Medical Center in September 1993, and in early 1995 retired from public life. He died of acute respiratory failure
resulting from emphysema
at his Beverly Hills home on Christmas morning 1995, at age 78. The lights of the Las Vegas Strip
were dimmed in his honor.
caricature of Martin's likeness officially designate the stretch, along with a state historical marker, in the Gazebo Park at Route 7 and North Fourth Street.
An annual "Dean Martin Festival" celebration is held in Steubenville. Impersonators, friends and family of Martin, and various entertainers, many of Italian ancestry, appear.
In 2005, Las Vegas renamed Industrial Road as Dean Martin Drive. A similarly named street was dedicated in 2008 in Rancho Mirage, California.
Martin's family was presented a gold record in 2004 for Dino: The Essential Dean Martin
, his fastest-selling album ever, which also hit the iTunes Top 10. For the week ending December 23, 2006, the Dean Martin and Martina McBride
duet of "Baby, It's Cold Outside
" reached #7 on the R&R AC chart. It also went to #36 on the R&R Country chart - the last time Martin had a song this high in the charts was in 1965, with the song "I Will
", which reached #10 on the Pop chart.
An album of duets, Forever Cool
, was released by Capitol/EMI in 2007. It features Martin's voice with Kevin Spacey
, Shelby Lynne
, Joss Stone
, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy
, Robbie Williams
, McBride and others.
His footprints were immortalized at Grauman's Chinese Theater in 1964. Martin has three stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
: one at 6519 Hollywood Boulevard, for movies; one at 1617 Vine, for recordings; and one at 6651 Hollywood Boulevard, for television.
In February 2009, Martin was honored with a posthumous Grammy award for Lifetime Achievement. Four of his surviving children, Gail, Deana, Ricci and Gina, were on hand to accept on his behalf. In 2009, Martin was inducted into the Hit Parade Hall of Fame.
, Logorama
, A Bronx Tale
, Casino
, Goodfellas
, and Return to Me
), television series (such as American Dad!
, Friends
, and House MD
), video games (such as The Godfather: The Game
, The Godfather II
, Fallout: New Vegas
, and Mafia II
), and even fashion shows (such as the Victoria's Secret
Fashion Show 2008).
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
actor, television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
star and comedian
Comedian
A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience, primarily by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting a fool, as in slapstick, or employing prop comedy...
. Martin's hit singles included "Memories Are Made of This
Memories Are Made of This
"Memories Are Made of This" is a popular song written by Terry Gilkyson, Richard Dehr, and Frank Miller in 1955.-History:The most popular version of the song was recorded by Dean Martin. It reached #1 on the Billboard chart for six weeks in 1956, and became his biggest hit...
", "That's Amore", "Everybody Loves Somebody
Everybody Loves Somebody
"Everybody Loves Somebody" is a song written in 1947 by Sam Coslow, Irving Taylor and Ken Lane. By 1964, the song had already been recorded by several artists , but without much success...
", "You're Nobody till Somebody Loves You
You're Nobody till Somebody Loves You
"You're Nobody till Somebody Loves You" is a popular song written by Russ Morgan, Larry Stock, and James Cavanaugh and published in 1944.The song was first recorded by Morgan and has been covered by numerous artists...
", "Sway
Sway (song)
"Sway" is the English version of "¿Quién será?", a 1953 mambo song by Mexican composer and bandleader Pablo Beltrán Ruiz. The most famous version is that of Dean Martin recorded in 1954. English lyrics are by Norman Gimbel...
", "Volare
Volare (song)
"Nel blu dipinto di blu" , popularly known as "Volare" , is Domenico Modugno's signature song....
" and "Ain't That a Kick in the Head?
Ain't That A Kick In The Head?
Ain't That a Kick in the Head? is a song which was written in 1960 with music by Jimmy Van Heusen and lyrics by Sammy Cahn. It was first recorded on May 10, 1960 by Dean Martin, with conducting by Nelson Riddle...
". Nicknamed the "King of Cool", he was one of the members of the "Rat Pack
Rat Pack
The Rat Pack was a group of actors originally centered on Humphrey Bogart. In the mid-1960s it was the name used by the press and the general public to refer to a later variation of the group, after Bogart's death, that called itself "the summit" or "the clan," featuring Frank Sinatra, Dean...
" and a major star in four areas of show business: concert stage/night clubs, recordings, motion pictures, and television.
Early life
Martin was born in Steubenville, OhioSteubenville, Ohio
Steubenville is a city located along the Ohio River in Jefferson County, Ohio on the Ohio-West Virginia border in the United States. It is the political county seat of Jefferson County. It is also a principal city of the Weirton–Steubenville, WV-OH Metropolitan Statistical Area...
, to Italian
Italian people
The Italian people are an ethnic group that share a common Italian culture, ancestry and speak the Italian language as a mother tongue. Within Italy, Italians are defined by citizenship, regardless of ancestry or country of residence , and are distinguished from people...
parents, Gaetano and Angela Crocetti (née
NEE
NEE is a political protest group whose goal was to provide an alternative for voters who are unhappy with all political parties at hand in Belgium, where voting is compulsory.The NEE party was founded in 2005 in Antwerp...
Barra). His father was from Abruzzo
Abruzzo
Abruzzo is a region in Italy, its western border lying less than due east of Rome. Abruzzo borders the region of Marche to the north, Lazio to the west and south-west, Molise to the south-east, and the Adriatic Sea to the east...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, and his mother was an Italian of part Neapolitan
Naples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
and part Sicilian
Sicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
ancestry. Martin was the younger of two sons. His brother was named Bill. Martin spoke only Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
until he started school. He attended Grant Elementary School in Steubenville, and took up the drums as a hobby as a teenager. He was the target of much ridicule for his broken English and ultimately dropped out of Steubenville High School
Steubenville High School
Steubenville High School is a public high school in Steubenville, Ohio. It is the only public high school in the Steubenville City Schools District. The school is commonly known by the name of its mascot, Big Red. Popular lore says the mascot got its name from the famous race horse, Man 'O War...
in the 10th grade
Tenth grade
In majority of the world,Tenth grade is the tenth year of school post-kindergarten. The variants of "10th grade" in various nations is described below.-Australia:...
because he thought that he was smarter than his teachers. He delivered bootleg liquor, served as a speakeasy
Speakeasy
A speakeasy, also called a blind pig or blind tiger, is an establishment that illegally sells alcoholic beverages. Such establishments came into prominence in the United States during the period known as Prohibition...
croupier
Croupier
A croupier or dealer is someone appointed at a gambling table to assist in the conduct of the game, especially in the distribution of bets and payouts. Croupiers are typically employed by casinos.-Origin of the word:...
, was a blackjack
Blackjack
Blackjack, also known as Twenty-one or Vingt-et-un , is the most widely played casino banking game in the world...
dealer
Croupier
A croupier or dealer is someone appointed at a gambling table to assist in the conduct of the game, especially in the distribution of bets and payouts. Croupiers are typically employed by casinos.-Origin of the word:...
, worked in a steel mill
Steel mill
A steel mill or steelworks is an industrial plant for the manufacture of steel.Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon. It is produced in a two-stage process. First, iron ore is reduced or smelted with coke and limestone in a blast furnace, producing molten iron which is either cast into pig iron or...
and boxed as welterweight
Welterweight
Welterweight is a weight class division in combat sports. Originally the term "welterweight" was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like kickboxing, taekwondo and mixed martial arts also began to use it for their own weight division system...
. He grew up a neighbor to Jimmy the Greek.
At the age of 15, he was a boxer
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
who billed himself as "Kid Crochet". His prizefighting years earned him a broken nose (later straightened), a scarred lip, and many sets of broken knuckles (a result of not being able to afford the tape used to wrap boxers' hands). Of his twelve bouts, he would later say "I won all but eleven." For a time, he roomed with Sonny King
Sonny King (singer)
Sonny King was an Italian American lounge singer.He was born as Luigi Antonio Schiavone on April 1, 1922 in Brooklyn, New York. He was the sidekick of Jimmy Durante for 28 years until Durante's death in 1980. They appeared together on the Ed Sullivan Show five times in the 1960s...
, who, like Martin, was just starting in show business and had little money. It is said that Martin and King held bare-knuckle matches in their apartment, fighting until one of them was knocked out; people paid to watch.
Eventually, Martin gave up boxing. He worked as a roulette
Roulette
Roulette is a casino game named after a French diminutive for little wheel. In the game, players may choose to place bets on either a single number or a range of numbers, the colors red or black, or whether the number is odd or even....
stickman and croupier
Croupier
A croupier or dealer is someone appointed at a gambling table to assist in the conduct of the game, especially in the distribution of bets and payouts. Croupiers are typically employed by casinos.-Origin of the word:...
in an illegal casino
Casino
In modern English, a casino is a facility which houses and accommodates certain types of gambling activities. Casinos are most commonly built near or combined with hotels, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships or other tourist attractions...
behind a tobacco shop where he had started as a stock boy. At the same time, he sang with local bands, calling himself "Dino Martini" (after the famous Metropolitan Opera tenor, Nino Martini
Nino Martini
Nino Martini was an Italian operatic tenor and actor. He began his career as an opera singer in Italy before moving to the United States to pursue an acting career in films...
). He got his first break working for the Ernie McKay Orchestra
Ernie McKay Orchestra
Ernie McKay is an American musician who led a territory band in Columbus, Ohio.Documentation listing musicians who performed with Ernie McKay and his Orchestra has not been made available, although the best-known name associated with McKay is that of young Dean Martin who sang with the band in the...
. He sang in a crooning style influenced by Harry Mills (of the Mills Brothers
Mills Brothers
The Mills Brothers, sometimes billed as The Four Mills Brothers, were an American jazz and pop vocal quartet of the 20th century who made more than 2,000 recordings that combined sold more than 50 million copies, and garnered at least three dozen gold records...
), among others. In the early 1940s, he started singing for bandleader Sammy Watkins, who suggested that he change his name to Dean Martin.
In October 1941, Martin married Elizabeth Anne McDonald. During their marriage (ended by divorce in 1949), they had four children. Martin worked for various bands throughout the early 1940s, mostly on looks and personality until he developed his own singing style. Martin famously flopped at the Riobamba, a high class nightclub in New York, when he followed Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
in 1943, but it was the setting for their meeting.
Martin was drafted into the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
in 1944 during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, serving a year stationed in Akron, Ohio
Akron, Ohio
Akron , is the fifth largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Summit County. It is located in the Great Lakes region approximately south of Lake Erie along the Little Cuyahoga River. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 199,110. The Akron Metropolitan...
. He was then reclassified as 4-F and was discharged (possibly because of a double hernia
Hernia
A hernia is the protrusion of an organ or the fascia of an organ through the wall of the cavity that normally contains it. A hiatal hernia occurs when the stomach protrudes into the mediastinum through the esophageal opening in the diaphragm....
; Jerry Lewis
Jerry Lewis
Jerry Lewis is an American comedian, actor, singer, film producer, screenwriter and film director. He is best known for his slapstick humor in film, television, stage and radio. He was originally paired up with Dean Martin in 1946, forming the famed comedy team of Martin and Lewis...
referred to the surgery that Martin needed for this in his autobiography).
By 1946, Martin was doing relatively well, but was still little more than an East Coast nightclub singer with a common style, similar to that of Bing Crosby
Bing Crosby
Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby was an American singer and actor. Crosby's trademark bass-baritone voice made him one of the best-selling recording artists of the 20th century, with over half a billion records in circulation....
. He drew audiences to the clubs where he played, but he inspired none of the fanatical popularity enjoyed by Sinatra.
Mafia connections
A biography on Martin entitled Dean Martin: King of the Road by Michael Freedland alleged that he had links to the MafiaMafia
The Mafia is a criminal syndicate that emerged in the mid-nineteenth century in Sicily, Italy. It is a loose association of criminal groups that share a common organizational structure and code of conduct, and whose common enterprise is protection racketeering...
early in his career. According to this book, Martin was given help with his singing career by the Chicago Outfit
Chicago Outfit
The Chicago Outfit, also known as the Chicago Syndicate or Chicago Mob and sometimes shortened to simply the Outfit, is a crime syndicate based in Chicago, Illinois, USA...
who owned saloons in the city
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, and later performed in shows hosted by these bosses when he was a star. The mob bosses were Tony ("Joe Batters") Accardo
Tony Accardo
Antonino Joseph Accardo , also known as "Joe Batters" or "Big Tuna", rose from small-time hoodlum to the position of day-to-day boss of the Chicago Outfit in 1947, to ultimately become the final Outfit authority in 1972, until his death...
and Sam Giancana
Sam Giancana
Salvatore Giancana , better known as Sam Giancana, was a Sicilian-American mobster and boss of the Chicago Outfit from 1957-1966...
. Freedland suggests that Martin felt little sympathy for the Mafia and did them small favors only if it was not inconvenient for him. Another book, The Animal in Hollywood by John L. Smith, depicted Martin's longtime friendship with Mafia mobsters "Handsome Johnny" Roselli and Anthony ("The Animal") Fiato
Anthony Fiato
Craig Anthony Fiato, also known as Anthony the Animal and Tony Rome, was an American mobster and hitman for the Los Angeles crime family who later became an undercover informant and government witness...
. Smith suggested that Fiato did Martin many favors, such as getting back money from two swindlers who had cheated his ex-wife Betty out of thousands of dollars of her alimony.
Teaming with Jerry Lewis
Martin attracted the attention of Metro-Goldwyn-MayerMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of films and television programs. MGM was founded in 1924 when the entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer...
and Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production and distribution company. Columbia Pictures now forms part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. It is one of the leading film companies...
, but a Hollywood contract was not forthcoming. He met comic Jerry Lewis
Jerry Lewis
Jerry Lewis is an American comedian, actor, singer, film producer, screenwriter and film director. He is best known for his slapstick humor in film, television, stage and radio. He was originally paired up with Dean Martin in 1946, forming the famed comedy team of Martin and Lewis...
at the Glass Hat Club in New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, where both men were performing. Martin and Lewis
Martin and Lewis
Martin and Lewis were an American comedy team, comprising singer Dean Martin and comedian Jerry Lewis as the comedic "foil". The pair first met in 1945; their debut as a duo occurred at Atlantic City's 500 Club on July 24/25, 1946....
formed a fast friendship which led to their participation in each other's acts and the ultimate formation of a music-comedy team.
Martin and Lewis's official debut together occurred at Atlantic City
Atlantic City, New Jersey
Atlantic City is a city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States, and a nationally renowned resort city for gambling, shopping and fine dining. The city also served as the inspiration for the American version of the board game Monopoly. Atlantic City is located on Absecon Island on the coast...
's 500 Club on July 24, 1946, and they were not well received. The owner, Skinny D'Amato, warned them that if they did not come up with a better act for their second show later that night, they would be fired. Huddling together in the alley behind the club, Lewis and Martin agreed to "go for broke", to throw out the pre-scripted gags and to improvise. Martin sang and Lewis came out dressed as a busboy, dropping plates and making a shambles of both Martin's performance and the club's sense of decorum until Lewis was chased from the room as Martin pelted him with breadrolls. They did slapstick, reeled off old vaudeville
Vaudeville
Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
jokes, and did whatever else popped into their heads at the moment. This time, the audience doubled over in laughter. This success led to a series of well-paying engagements on the Eastern seaboard, culminating in a triumphant run at New York's Copacabana
Copacabana (nightclub)
The Copacabana is a famous New York City nightclub. Many entertainers, among them Danny Thomas, Pat Cooper and the comedy team of Martin and Lewis, made their debuts at the Copacabana. The 1978 Barry Manilow song "Copacabana" is named after, and is about the nightclub. Part of the 2003 Yerba...
. Patrons were convulsed by the act, which consisted primarily of Lewis interrupting and heckling Martin while he was trying to sing, and ultimately the two of them chasing each other around the stage and having as much fun as possible. The secret, both said, is that they essentially ignored the audience and played to one another.
The team made its TV debut on the very first broadcast of CBS-TV network's Toast of the Town (later called The Ed Sullivan Show
The Ed Sullivan Show
The Ed Sullivan Show is an American TV variety show that originally ran on CBS from Sunday June 20, 1948 to Sunday June 6, 1971, and was hosted by New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan....
) with Ed Sullivan
Ed Sullivan
Edward Vincent "Ed" Sullivan was an American entertainment writer and television host, best known as the presenter of the TV variety show The Ed Sullivan Show. The show was broadcast from 1948 to 1971 , which made it one of the longest-running variety shows in U.S...
and Rodgers & Hammerstein appearing on this same inaugural telecast of June 20, 1948. A radio series commenced in 1949, the same year Martin and Lewis were signed by Paramount
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
producer Hal B. Wallis
Hal B. Wallis
Hal B. Wallis was an American film producer.-Career:Harold Brent Wallis was born in Chicago in 1898. His family moved in 1922 to Los Angeles, California, where he found work as part of the publicity department at Warner Bros...
as comedy relief for the movie My Friend Irma
My Friend Irma (film)
My Friend Irma is a comedy film directed by George Marshall and is most notable as the film debut of comedy team Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis...
.
Their agent, Abby Greshler, negotiated for them one of Hollywood's best deals: although they received only a modest $75,000 between them for their films with Wallis, Martin and Lewis were free to do one outside film a year, which they would co-produce through their own York Productions. They also had complete control of their club, record, radio and television appearances, and it was through these endeavors that they earned millions of dollars.
In Dean & Me, Lewis calls Martin one of the great comic geniuses of all time. But the harsh comments from the critics, as well as frustration with the formulaic similarity of Martin and Lewis movies, which producer Hal Wallis stubbornly refused to change, led to Martin's dissatisfaction. He put less enthusiasm into the work, leading to escalating arguments with Lewis. They finally could not work together, especially after Martin told his partner he was "nothing to me but a dollar sign". The act broke up in 1956, 10 years to the day from the first official teaming.
Martin's first solo film, Ten Thousand Bedrooms
Ten Thousand Bedrooms
Ten Thousand Bedrooms was Dean Martin's first movie in the wake of the dissolution of his partnership with Jerry Lewis in the team of Martin and Lewis....
(1957), was a box office failure. He was still popular as a singer, but with rock and roll
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
surging to the fore, the era of the pop crooner was waning.
Solo career
Never totally comfortable in films, Martin wanted to be known as a real actor. Though offered a fraction of his former salary to co-star in a war drama, The Young LionsThe Young Lions
The Young Lions is a 1958 war drama film directed by Edward Dmytryk, based upon the 1949 novel of the same name by Irwin Shaw, and starring Marlon Brando, Montgomery Clift, and Dean Martin.-Outline:...
(1957), he was ecstatic to receive the part because it would be a dramatic showcase with the two most intriguing young actors of the period and he could learn from Marlon Brando
Marlon Brando
Marlon Brando, Jr. was an American movie star and political activist. "Unchallenged as the most important actor in modern American Cinema" according to the St...
and Montgomery Clift
Montgomery Clift
Edward Montgomery Clift was an American film and stage actor. The New York Times’ obituary noted his portrayal of "moody, sensitive young men"....
. Tony Randall
Tony Randall
Tony Randall was a U.S. actor, comic, producer and director.-Early years:Randall was born Arthur Leonard Rosenberg to a Jewish family in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the son of Julia and Mogscha Rosenberg, an art and antiques dealer...
already had the part, but talent agency MCA realized that with this movie, Martin would become a triple threat: they could make money from his work in night clubs, movies, and records. Martin replaced Randall and the film turned out to be the beginning of Martin's spectacular comeback. Success would continue as Martin starred alongside Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
for the first time in a highly acclaimed Vincente Minnelli
Vincente Minnelli
Vincente Minnelli was an American stage director and film director, famous for directing such classic movie musicals as Meet Me in St. Louis, The Band Wagon, and An American in Paris. In addition to having directed some of the most famous and well-remembered musicals of his time, Minnelli made...
drama, Some Came Running
Some Came Running
Some Came Running is a novel by James Jones, published in 1957. It is the story of a war veteran with literary aspirations who returns in 1948 to his hometown of Parkman, Indiana, after a failed writing career...
(1958). By the mid '60s, Martin was a top movie, recording, and nightclub star, while Lewis' film career declined. Martin was acclaimed for his performance as Dude in Rio Bravo (1959), directed by Howard Hawks
Howard Hawks
Howard Winchester Hawks was an American film director, producer and screenwriter of the classic Hollywood era...
and also starring John Wayne
John Wayne
Marion Mitchell Morrison , better known by his stage name John Wayne, was an American film actor, director and producer. He epitomized rugged masculinity and became an enduring American icon. He is famous for his distinctive calm voice, walk, and height...
and singer Ricky Nelson
Ricky Nelson
Eric Hilliard Nelson , better known as Ricky Nelson or Rick Nelson, was an American singer-songwriter, instrumentalist, and actor...
. He teamed up again with Wayne in The Sons of Katie Elder
The Sons of Katie Elder
The Sons of Katie Elder is a 1965 Technicolor western film directed by Henry Hathaway and starring John Wayne and Dean Martin. The movie was filmed principally in Mexico....
(1965), somewhat unconvincingly cast as brothers.
In 1960, Martin was cast in the motion picture version of the Judy Holliday
Judy Holliday
Judy Holliday was an American actress.Holliday began her career as part of a night-club act, before working in Broadway plays and musicals...
hit stage play Bells Are Ringing
Bells Are Ringing (musical)
Bells Are Ringing is a musical with a book and lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green and music by Jule Styne. The story revolves around Ella, who works at an answering service and the characters that she meets there. The main character was based on Mary Printz, who worked for Green's answering...
. Martin played a satiric variation of his own womanizing persona as Vegas singer "Dino" in Billy Wilder
Billy Wilder
Billy Wilder was an Austro-Hungarian born American filmmaker, screenwriter, producer, artist, and journalist, whose career spanned more than 50 years and 60 films. He is regarded as one of the most brilliant and versatile filmmakers of Hollywood's golden age...
's comedy Kiss Me, Stupid
Kiss Me, Stupid
Kiss Me, Stupid is a 1964 American comedy film directed by Billy Wilder and starring Dean Martin, Kim Novak, and Ray Walston.The screenplay by Wilder and I.A.L. Diamond is based on Wife For a Night , an Italian film starring Gina Lollobrigida -- which was itself taken from a play by Anna Bonacci...
(1964) with Kim Novak
Kim Novak
Kim Novak is an American film and television actress. She began her career with her roles in Pushover and Phffft! but achieved greater prominence in the 1955 film Picnic...
, and he was not above poking fun at his image in films such as the Matt Helm
Matt Helm
Matt Helm is a fictional character created by author Donald Hamilton. He is a U.S. government counter-agent—a man whose primary job is to kill or nullify enemy agents—not a spy or secret agent in the ordinary sense of the term as used in spy thrillers.-The character and the series:The...
spy
SPY
SPY is a three-letter acronym that may refer to:* SPY , ticker symbol for Standard & Poor's Depositary Receipts* SPY , a satirical monthly, trademarked all-caps* SPY , airport code for San Pédro, Côte d'Ivoire...
spoofs
Parody
A parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
of the 1960s, in which he was a co-producer.
As a singer, Martin copied the styles of Harry Mills (of the Mills Brothers
Mills Brothers
The Mills Brothers, sometimes billed as The Four Mills Brothers, were an American jazz and pop vocal quartet of the 20th century who made more than 2,000 recordings that combined sold more than 50 million copies, and garnered at least three dozen gold records...
), Bing Crosby
Bing Crosby
Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby was an American singer and actor. Crosby's trademark bass-baritone voice made him one of the best-selling recording artists of the 20th century, with over half a billion records in circulation....
, and Perry Como
Perry Como
Pierino Ronald "Perry" Como was an American singer and television personality. During a career spanning more than half a century he recorded exclusively for the RCA Victor label after signing with them in 1943. "Mr...
until he developed his own and could hold his own in duets with Sinatra and Crosby. Like Sinatra, he could not read music, but he recorded more than 100 albums and 600 songs. His signature tune, "Everybody Loves Somebody
Everybody Loves Somebody
"Everybody Loves Somebody" is a song written in 1947 by Sam Coslow, Irving Taylor and Ken Lane. By 1964, the song had already been recorded by several artists , but without much success...
", knocked The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
' "A Hard Day's Night
A Hard Day's Night (song)
"A Hard Day's Night" is a song by the English rock band The Beatles. Written by John Lennon, and credited to Lennon–McCartney, it was released on the movie soundtrack of the same name in 1964...
" out of the number-one spot in the United States in 1964. This was followed by the similarly-styled "The Door is Still Open to My Heart", which reached number six later that year. Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
was said to have been influenced by Martin, and patterned "Love Me Tender
Love Me Tender (song)
"Love Me Tender" is a song recorded by Elvis Presley and published by Elvis Presley Music, adapted from the tune of "Aura Lee" , a sentimental Civil War ballad.- History :...
" after his style. Martin, like Elvis, was influenced by country music
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
. By 1965, some of Martin's albums, such as Dean "Tex" Martin, The Hit Sound Of Dean Martin, Welcome To My World and Gentle On My Mind were composed of country and western songs made famous by artists like Johnny Cash
Johnny Cash
John R. "Johnny" Cash was an American singer-songwriter, actor, and author, who has been called one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century...
, Merle Haggard
Merle Haggard
Merle Ronald Haggard is an American country music singer, guitarist, fiddler, instrumentalist, and songwriter. Along with Buck Owens, Haggard and his band The Strangers helped create the Bakersfield sound, which is characterized by the unique twang of Fender Telecaster guitars, vocal harmonies,...
, and Buck Owens
Buck Owens
Alvis Edgar Owens, Jr. , better known as Buck Owens, was an American singer and guitarist who had 21 No. 1 hits on the Billboard country music charts with his band, the Buckaroos...
. Martin hosted country performers on his TV show and was named "Man Of the Year" by the Country Music Association
Country Music Association
The Country Music Association was founded in 1958 in Nashville, Tennessee. It originally consisted of only 233 members and was the first trade organization formed to promote a music genre...
in 1966. "Ain't That a Kick in the Head", a song Martin performed in Ocean's Eleven
Ocean's Eleven (1960 film)
Ocean's 11 is a 1960 heist film directed by Lewis Milestone and starring five Rat Packers: Peter Lawford, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Jr., and Joey Bishop....
that never became a hit at the time, has enjoyed a spectacular revival in the media and pop culture.
For three decades, Martin was among the most popular acts in Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
. Martin sang and was one of the smoothest comics in the business, benefiting from the decade of raucous comedy with Lewis. Martin's daughter, Gail, also sang in Vegas and on his TV show, co-hosting his summer replacement series on NBC. Though often thought of as a ladies' man, Martin spent a lot of time with his family; as second wife Jeanne put it, prior to the couple's divorce, "He was home every night for dinner."
The Rat Pack
As Martin's solo career grew, he and Frank Sinatra became close friends. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, Martin and Sinatra, along with friends Joey BishopJoey Bishop
Joey Bishop was an American entertainer who was perhaps best known for being a member of the "Rat Pack" with Frank Sinatra, Peter Lawford, Sammy Davis, Jr., and Dean Martin...
, Peter Lawford
Peter Lawford
Peter Sydney Ernest Aylen , better known as Peter Lawford, was an English-American actor.He was a member of the "Rat Pack", and brother-in-law to US President John F. Kennedy, perhaps more noted in later years for his off-screen activities as a celebrity than for his acting...
, and Sammy Davis, Jr.
Sammy Davis, Jr.
Samuel George "Sammy" Davis Jr. was an American entertainer and was also known for his impersonations of actors and other celebrities....
formed the legendary Rat Pack
Rat Pack
The Rat Pack was a group of actors originally centered on Humphrey Bogart. In the mid-1960s it was the name used by the press and the general public to refer to a later variation of the group, after Bogart's death, that called itself "the summit" or "the clan," featuring Frank Sinatra, Dean...
, so called by the public after an earlier group of social friends, the Holmby Hills Rat Pack centered on Humphrey Bogart
Humphrey Bogart
Humphrey DeForest Bogart was an American actor. He is widely regarded as a cultural icon.The American Film Institute ranked Bogart as the greatest male star in the history of American cinema....
and Lauren Bacall
Lauren Bacall
Lauren Bacall is an American film and stage actress and model, known for her distinctive husky voice and sultry looks.She first emerged as leading lady in the Humphrey Bogart film To Have And Have Not and continued on in the film noir genre, with appearances in The Big Sleep and Dark Passage ,...
, of which Sinatra had been a member.
The Martin-Sinatra-Davis-Lawford-Bishop group referred to themselves as "The Summit" or "The Clan" and never as "The Rat Pack", although this has remained their identity in the popular imagination. The men made films together, formed an important part of the Hollywood social scene in those years, and were politically influential (through Lawford's marriage to Patricia Kennedy, sister of President John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
).
The Rat Pack were legendary for their Las Vegas
Las Vegas Strip
The Las Vegas Strip is an approximately stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard in Clark County, Nevada; adjacent to, but outside the city limits of Las Vegas proper. The Strip lies within the unincorporated townships of Paradise and Winchester...
performances. For example, the marquee at the Sands Hotel
Sands Hotel
The Sands Hotel was a historic Las Vegas Strip hotel/casino that operated from December 15, 1952 to June 30, 1996. Designed by architect Wayne McAllister, the Sands was the seventh resort that opened on the Strip....
might read DEAN MARTIN---MAYBE FRANK---MAYBE SAMMY. Las Vegas rooms were at a premium when the Rat Pack would appear, with many visitors sleeping in hotel lobbies or cars to get a chance to see the three men together. Their act (always in tuxedo) consisted of each singing individual numbers, duets and trios, along with much seemingly improvised slapstick and chatter. In the socially-charged 1960s, their jokes revolved around adult themes, such as Sinatra's infamous womanizing and Martin's legendary drinking, as well as many at the expense of Davis's race and religion. Davis famously practiced Judaism
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
and used Yiddish phrases onstage, eliciting much merriment from both his stage-mates and his audiences. It was all good-natured male bonding, never vicious, rarely foul-mouthed, and the three had great respect for each other. The Rat Pack was largely responsible for the integration of Las Vegas. Sinatra and Martin (both liberal Democrats) were active supporters of the Civil Rights Movement and refused to perform in clubs that would not allow African-American or Jewish performers.
Posthumously, the Rat Pack has experienced a popular revival, inspiring the George Clooney
George Clooney
George Timothy Clooney is an American actor, film director, producer, and screenwriter. For his work as an actor, he has received two Golden Globe Awards and an Academy Award...
/Brad Pitt
Brad Pitt
William Bradley "Brad" Pitt is an American actor and film producer. Pitt has received two Academy Award nominations and four Golden Globe Award nominations, winning one...
"Ocean's" trilogy.
The 1960s to 1980s
In 1965, Martin launched his weekly NBCNBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
comedy-variety series, The Dean Martin Show
The Dean Martin Show
The Dean Martin Show is a TV variety-comedy series that ran from 1965 to 1974 for 264 episodes. It was broadcast by NBC and hosted by crooner Dean Martin...
, which exploited his public image as a lazy, carefree boozer. There he perfected his famous laid-back persona of the half-drunk crooner
Crooner
Crooner is an American epithet given to male singers of pop standards, mostly from the Great American Songbook, either backed by a full orchestra, a big band or by a piano. Originally it was an ironic term denoting an emphatically sentimental, often emotional singing style made possible by the use...
suavely hitting on beautiful women with hilarious remarks that would get anyone else slapped, and making snappy if slurred remarks about fellow celebrities during his famous roast
Roast (comedy)
A roast is an event in which an individual is subjected to a public presentation of comedic insults, praise, outlandish true and untrue stories, and heartwarming tributes, the implication being that the roastee is able to take the jokes in good humor and not as serious criticism or insult, and...
s. During an interview he stated, and this may have been tongue-in-cheek, that he had someone record them on cassette tape so he could listen to them; this is evidenced by his comments to this effect on the British TV documentary 'Wine, Women and Song' which was aired in 1983.
The TV show was a success. Martin prided himself on memorizing whole scripts – not merely his own lines. He disliked rehearsing because he firmly believed his best performances were his first. The show's loose format prompted quick-witted improvisation from Martin and the cast. On occasion, he made remarks in Italian, some mild obscenities that brought angry mail from offended, Italian-speaking viewers. This prompted a battle between Martin and NBC censors, who insisted on more scrutiny of the show's content. The show was often in the Top Ten. Martin, deeply appreciative of the efforts of the show's producer, his friend Greg Garrison
Greg Garrison
Greg Garrison was a pioneer producer and director in television, directing nearly 4,000 shows in his career. He received more than a dozen Emmy Award nominations, although he never won....
, later made a handshake deal giving Garrison, a pioneer TV producer in the 1950s, 50% ownership of the show. However, the validity of that ownership is currently the subject of a lawsuit brought by NBC Universal
NBC Universal
NBCUniversal Media, LLC is a media and entertainment company engaged in the production and marketing of entertainment, news, and information products and services to a global customer base...
.
Despite Martin's reputation as a heavy drinker – a reputation perpetuated via his vanity license plates reading "DRUNKY" – he was remarkably self-disciplined. He was often the first to call it a night, and when not on tour or on a film location, liked to go home to see his wife and children. Phyllis Diller
Phyllis Diller
Phyllis Diller is an American actress and comedian. She created a stage persona of a wild-haired, eccentrically dressed housewife who makes jokes about a husband named "Fang" while pretending to smoke from a long cigarette holder...
has said that Martin was indeed drinking alcohol onstage and not apple juice. She also commented that although he was not drunk, he was not really sober either, but had very strict rules when it came to performances. He borrowed the lovable-drunk shtick from Joe E. Lewis
Joe E. Lewis
Joe E. Lewis , born Joseph Klewan in New York City, was an American comedian and singer.-Biography:...
, but his convincing portrayals of heavy boozers in Some Came Running
Some Came Running
Some Came Running is a novel by James Jones, published in 1957. It is the story of a war veteran with literary aspirations who returns in 1948 to his hometown of Parkman, Indiana, after a failed writing career...
and Howard Hawks's Rio Bravo led to unsubstantiated claims of alcoholism
Alcoholism
Alcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...
. More often than not, Martin's idea of a good time was playing golf or watching TV, particularly westerns – not staying with Rat Pack
Rat Pack
The Rat Pack was a group of actors originally centered on Humphrey Bogart. In the mid-1960s it was the name used by the press and the general public to refer to a later variation of the group, after Bogart's death, that called itself "the summit" or "the clan," featuring Frank Sinatra, Dean...
friends Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis, Jr.
Sammy Davis, Jr.
Samuel George "Sammy" Davis Jr. was an American entertainer and was also known for his impersonations of actors and other celebrities....
into the early hours of the morning.
Martin starred in and co-produced a series of four Matt Helm
Matt Helm
Matt Helm is a fictional character created by author Donald Hamilton. He is a U.S. government counter-agent—a man whose primary job is to kill or nullify enemy agents—not a spy or secret agent in the ordinary sense of the term as used in spy thrillers.-The character and the series:The...
superspy comedy adventures. A fifth, The Ravagers, was planned starring Sharon Tate
Sharon Tate
Sharon Marie Tate was an American actress. During the 1960s she played small television roles before appearing in several films. After receiving positive reviews for her comedic performances, she was hailed as one of Hollywood's promising newcomers and was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for...
and Martin in a dual role, one as a serial killer, but due to the murder of Tate and the decline of the spy genre, the film was never made.
By the early 1970s, The Dean Martin Show was still earning solid ratings, and although he was no longer a Top 40 hitmaker, his record albums continued to sell steadily. His name on a marquee could guarantee casinos and nightclubs a standing-room-only crowd. He found a way to make his passion for golf profitable by offering his own signature line of golf balls. Shrewd investments had greatly increased Martin's personal wealth; at the time of his death, Martin was reportedly the single largest minority shareholder of RCA stock. Martin even managed to cure himself of his claustrophobia
Claustrophobia
Claustrophobia is the fear of having no escape and being closed in small spaces or rooms...
by reportedly locking himself in the elevator of a tall building and riding up and down for hours until he was no longer panic-stricken.
Now comfortable financially, Martin did not need to work as much and he began reducing his schedule. The final (1973–74) season of his variety show would be retooled into one of celebrity roasts, requiring less of Martin's involvement. After the show's cancellation, NBC continued to air The Dean Martin Celebrity Roast
The Dean Martin Celebrity Roast
The Dean Martin Celebrity Roast is a NBC television special show hosted by entertainer Dean Martin from 1974 to 1984. For a series of 54 specials and shows, Martin would periodically “roast” a celebrity. These roasts were patterned after the roasts held at the New York Friars' Club in New York City...
format in a series of TV specials through 1984. In those 11 years, Martin and his panel of pals successfully ridiculed and made fun of these legendary stars in this order: Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
, Hugh Hefner
Hugh Hefner
Hugh Marston "Hef" Hefner is an American magazine publisher, founder and Chief Creative Officer of Playboy Enterprises.-Early life:...
, Ed McMahon
Ed McMahon
Edward Peter "Ed" McMahon, Jr. was an American comedian, game show host and announcer. He is most famous for his work on television as Johnny Carson's sidekick and announcer on The Tonight Show from 1962 to 1992. He also hosted the original version of the talent show Star Search from 1983 to 1995...
, William Conrad
William Conrad
William Conrad was an American actor, producer and director whose career spanned five decades in radio, film and television....
, Kirk Douglas
Kirk Douglas
Kirk Douglas is an American stage and film actor, film producer and author. His popular films include Out of the Past , Champion , Ace in the Hole , The Bad and the Beautiful , Lust for Life , Paths of Glory , Gunfight at the O.K...
, Bette Davis
Bette Davis
Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis was an American actress of film, television and theater. Noted for her willingness to play unsympathetic characters, she was highly regarded for her performances in a range of film genres, from contemporary crime melodramas to historical and period films and occasional...
, Barry Goldwater
Barry Goldwater
Barry Morris Goldwater was a five-term United States Senator from Arizona and the Republican Party's nominee for President in the 1964 election. An articulate and charismatic figure during the first half of the 1960s, he was known as "Mr...
, Johnny Carson
Johnny Carson
John William "Johnny" Carson was an American television host and comedian, known as host of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson for 30 years . Carson received six Emmy Awards including the Governor Award and a 1985 Peabody Award; he was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame in 1987...
, Wilt Chamberlain
Wilt Chamberlain
Wilton Norman "Wilt" Chamberlain was an American professional NBA basketball player for the Philadelphia/San Francisco Warriors, the Philadelphia 76ers and the Los Angeles Lakers; he also played for the Harlem Globetrotters prior to playing in the NBA...
, Hubert Humphrey
Hubert Humphrey
Hubert Horatio Humphrey, Jr. , served under President Lyndon B. Johnson as the 38th Vice President of the United States. Humphrey twice served as a United States Senator from Minnesota, and served as Democratic Majority Whip. He was a founder of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party and...
, Carroll O'Connor
Carroll O'Connor
John Carroll O'Connor best known as Carroll O'Connor, was an American actor, producer and director whose television career spanned four decades...
, Monty Hall
Monty Hall
Monte Halperin, OC, OM , better known by the stage name Monty Hall, is a Canadian-born MC, producer, actor, singer and sportscaster, best known as host of the television game show Let's Make a Deal.-Early life:...
, Jack Klugman
Jack Klugman
Jacob Joachim "Jack" Klugman is an American stage, film and television actor known for his roles in sitcoms, movies, and television and on Broadway...
& Tony Randall
Tony Randall
Tony Randall was a U.S. actor, comic, producer and director.-Early years:Randall was born Arthur Leonard Rosenberg to a Jewish family in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the son of Julia and Mogscha Rosenberg, an art and antiques dealer...
, Zsa Zsa Gabor
Zsa Zsa Gabor
Zsa Zsa Gabor is a Hungarian-born American stage, film and television actress.She acted on stage in Vienna, Austria, in 1932, and was crowned Miss Hungary in 1936. She emigrated to the United States in 1941 and became a sought-after actress with "European flair and style", with a personality that...
, Leo Durocher
Leo Durocher
Leo Ernest Durocher , nicknamed Leo the Lip, was an American infielder and manager in Major League Baseball. Upon his retirement, he ranked fifth all-time among managers with 2,009 career victories, second only to John McGraw in National League history. Durocher still ranks tenth in career wins by...
, Truman Capote
Truman Capote
Truman Streckfus Persons , known as Truman Capote , was an American author, many of whose short stories, novels, plays, and nonfiction are recognized literary classics, including the novella Breakfast at Tiffany's and the true crime novel In Cold Blood , which he labeled a "nonfiction novel." At...
, Don Rickles
Don Rickles
Donald Jay "Don" Rickles is an American stand-up comedian and actor. A frequent guest on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, Rickles has acted in comedic and dramatic roles, but is best known as an insult comic....
, Ralph Nader
Ralph Nader
Ralph Nader is an American political activist, as well as an author, lecturer, and attorney. Areas of particular concern to Nader include consumer protection, humanitarianism, environmentalism, and democratic government....
, Jack Benny
Jack Benny
Jack Benny was an American comedian, vaudevillian, and actor for radio, television, and film...
, Redd Foxx
Redd Foxx
John Elroy Sanford , better known by his stage name Redd Foxx, was an American comedian and actor, best known for his starring role on the sitcom Sanford and Son.-Early life:...
, Bobby Riggs
Bobby Riggs
Robert Larimore "Bobby" Riggs was a 1930s–40s tennis player who was the World No. 1 or the co-World No. 1 player for three years, first as an amateur in 1941, then as a professional in 1946 and 1947...
, George Washington
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
, Dan Rowan & Dick Martin
Dick Martin
Dick Martin may refer to:*Dick Martin , American illustrator, particularly associated with the Land of Oz*Dick Martin , co-host of Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In*Dickie Martin, British test pilot-See also:*Richard Martin...
, Hank Aaron, Joe Namath
Joe Namath
Joseph William "Joe" Namath , nicknamed "Broadway Joe" or "Joe Willie", is a former American football quarterback. He played college football for the University of Alabama under coach Paul "Bear" Bryant and his assistant, Howard Schnellenberger, from 1962–1964, and professional football in the...
, Bob Hope
Bob Hope
Bob Hope, KBE, KCSG, KSS was a British-born American comedian and actor who appeared in vaudeville, on Broadway, and in radio, television and movies. He was also noted for his work with the US Armed Forces and his numerous USO shows entertaining American military personnel...
, Telly Savalas
Telly Savalas
Aristotelis "Telly" Savalas was an American film and television actor and singer, whose career spanned four decades. Best known for playing the title role in the 1970s crime drama Kojak, Savalas was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Birdman of Alcatraz...
, Lucille Ball
Lucille Ball
Lucille Désirée Ball was an American comedian, film, television, stage and radio actress, model, film and television executive, and star of the sitcoms I Love Lucy, The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour, The Lucy Show, Here's Lucy and Life With Lucy...
, Jackie Gleason
Jackie Gleason
Jackie Gleason was an American comedian, actor and musician. He was known for his brash visual and verbal comedy style, especially by his character Ralph Kramden on The Honeymooners, a situation-comedy television series. His most noted film roles were as Minnesota Fats in the drama film The...
, Sammy Davis Jr, Michael Landon
Michael Landon
Michael Landon was an American actor, writer, director, and producer. He is widely known for his roles as Little Joe Cartwright in Bonanza , Charles Ingalls in Little House on the Prairie , and Jonathan Smith in Highway to Heaven...
, Evel Knievel
Evel Knievel
Evel Knievel , born Robert Craig Knievel, was an American daredevil and entertainer. In his career he attempted over 75 ramp-to-ramp motorcycle jumps between 1965 and 1980, and in 1974, a failed jump across Snake River Canyon in the Skycycle X-2, a steam-powered rocket...
, Valerie Harper
Valerie Harper
Valerie Harper is an American actress, known for her role as Rhoda Morgenstern on the 1970s television show The Mary Tyler Moore Show, and for her starring roles on the sitcoms Rhoda and Valerie.-Early life and career:Harper was born at the Good Samaritan Hospital in Suffern, Rockland County,...
, Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali is an American former professional boxer, philanthropist and social activist...
, Dean Martin, Dennis Weaver
Dennis Weaver
William Dennis Weaver was an American actor, best known for his work in television, including roles on Gunsmoke, as Marshal Sam McCloud on the NBC police drama McCloud, and the 1971 TV movie Duel....
, Joe Garagiola
Joe Garagiola
Joseph Henry "Joe" Garagiola, Sr. is an American former catcher in Major League Baseball who later became an announcer and television host, popular for his colorful personality. He was well known for being one of the regular panelists of The Today Show on NBC for many years.-Early life:Garagiola...
, Danny Thomas
Danny Thomas
Danny Thomas was an American nightclub comedian and television and film actor, best known for starring in the television sitcom Make Room for Daddy . He was also the founder of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital...
, Angie Dickinson
Angie Dickinson
Angie Dickinson is an American actress. She has appeared in more than fifty films, including Rio Bravo, Ocean's Eleven, Dressed to Kill and Pay It Forward, and starred on television as Sergeant Suzanne "Pepper" Anderson on the 1970s crime series Police Woman.-Early life:Dickinson, the second of...
, Gabe Kaplan
Gabe Kaplan
Gabriel W. "Gabe" Kaplan is an American comedian, actor, poker commentator, and professional poker player.He was born in Brooklyn, New York...
, Ted Knight
Ted Knight
Ted Knight was an American actor best known for playing the comedic role of Ted Baxter on The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Henry Rush on Too Close for Comfort, and Judge Elihu Smails in Caddyshack.- Early years :...
, Peter Marshall
Peter Marshall
Peter Marshall may refer to:* Peter Marshall , British author whose works include Demanding The Impossible: A History of Anarchism and Europe's Lost Civilization...
, Dan Haggerty
Dan Haggerty
Dan Haggerty is an American actor, best known for the title role in The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams....
, Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
, Jack Klugman
Jack Klugman
Jacob Joachim "Jack" Klugman is an American stage, film and television actor known for his roles in sitcoms, movies, and television and on Broadway...
, Jimmy Stewart, George Burns
George Burns
George Burns , born Nathan Birnbaum, was an American comedian, actor, and writer.He was one of the few entertainers whose career successfully spanned vaudeville, film, radio, television and movies, with and without his wife, Gracie Allen. His arched eyebrow and cigar smoke punctuation became...
, Betty White
Betty White
Betty White Ludden , better known as Betty White, is an American actress, comedienne, singer, author, and former game show personality. With a career spanning seven decades since 1939, she is best known to modern audiences for her television roles as Sue Ann Nivens on The Mary Tyler Moore Show and...
, Suzanne Somers
Suzanne Somers
Suzanne Somers is an American actress, author, singer and businesswoman, known for her television roles as Chrissy Snow on Three's Company and as Carol Lambert on Step by Step....
, Joan Collins
Joan Collins
Joan Henrietta Collins, OBE , is an English actress, author, and columnist. Born in Paddington and raised in Maida Vale, Collins grew up during the Second World War. At the age of nine, she made her stage debut in A Doll's House and after attending school, she was classically trained as an actress...
, and Mr T. For nearly a decade, Martin had recorded as many as four albums a year for Reprise Records
Reprise Records
Reprise Records is an American record label, founded in 1960 by Frank Sinatra. It is owned by Warner Music Group, and operated through Warner Bros. Records.-Beginnings:...
. That stopped in November 1974, when Martin recorded his final Reprise album - Once In A While, released in 1978. His last recording sessions were for Warner Brothers Records. An album titled The Nashville Sessions was released in 1983, from which he had a hit with "(I Think That I Just Wrote) My First Country Song", which was recorded with Conway Twitty
Conway Twitty
Conway Twitty , born Harold Lloyd Jenkins, was an American country music artist. He also had success in early rock and roll, R&B, and pop music. He held the record for the most number one singles of any act with 55 No. 1 Billboard country hits until George Strait broke the record in 2006...
and made a respectable showing on the country charts. A followup single "L.A. Is My Home" / "Drinking Champagne" came in 1985. The 1975 film Mr. Ricco
Mr. Ricco
Mr. Ricco is a 1975 crime drama film directed by Paul Bogart. It stars Dean Martin in his last leading film role, along with Eugene Roche, Denise Nicholas and Cindy Williams.-Plot:...
marked Martin's final starring role, and Martin limited his live performances to Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
and Atlantic City
Atlantic City, New Jersey
Atlantic City is a city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States, and a nationally renowned resort city for gambling, shopping and fine dining. The city also served as the inspiration for the American version of the board game Monopoly. Atlantic City is located on Absecon Island on the coast...
.
Martin seemed to suffer a mid-life crisis. In 1972, he filed for divorce from his second wife, Jeanne. A week later, his business partnership with the Riviera was dissolved amid reports of the casino's refusal to agree to Martin's request to perform only once a night. He was quickly snapped up by the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino, and signed a three-picture deal with MGM Studios. Less than a month after his second marriage had been legally dissolved, Martin married 26-year-old Catherine Hawn on April 25, 1973. Hawn had been the receptionist at the chic Gene Shacrove hair salon in Beverly Hills. They divorced November 10, 1976. He was also briefly engaged to Gail Renshaw
Gail Renshaw
The Miss World U.S.A. titleholder, Gail Renshaw, was 1st runner-up at the 1969 Miss World competition. After the pageant, she resigned her title in order to get married, and was replaced by her 1st runner-up, Connie Haggard from Texas....
, Miss World
Miss World
The Miss World pageant is the oldest surviving major international beauty pageant. It was created in the United Kingdom by Eric Morley in 1951...
-U.S.A. 1969.
Eventually, Martin reconciled with Jeanne, though they never remarried. He also made a public reconciliation with Jerry Lewis
Jerry Lewis
Jerry Lewis is an American comedian, actor, singer, film producer, screenwriter and film director. He is best known for his slapstick humor in film, television, stage and radio. He was originally paired up with Dean Martin in 1946, forming the famed comedy team of Martin and Lewis...
on Lewis' Labor Day Muscular Dystrophy Association telethon
Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon
The MDA Labor Day Telethon is an annual telethon in the United States to raise money for the Muscular Dystrophy Association . The first MDA telethon was during the Thanksgiving Day weekend of 1952 and titled Party for MDA. It has been held annually since 1966...
in 1976. Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
shocked Lewis and the world by bringing Martin out on stage. As Martin and Lewis embraced, the audience erupted in cheers and the phone banks lit up, resulting in one of the telethon's most profitable years. Lewis reported the event was one of the three most memorable of his life. Lewis brought down the house when he quipped, "So, you working?" Martin, playing drunk, replied that he was "at the Meggum" – this reference to the MGM Grand Hotel convulsed Lewis. This, along with the death of Martin's son Dean Paul Martin
Dean Paul Martin
Dean Paul Martin was an American entertainer, noted as a tennis player, a singer and actor, and a military pilot.-Early life and career:...
a few years later, helped to bring the two men together. They maintained a quiet friendship, but only performed together again once, in 1989, on Martin's 72nd birthday.
Personal life
Martin was married three times. Martin's first wife, Betty McDonald, tried by all accounts to be a good wife and mother to their four children, but her efforts were ultimately undone by her alcoholismAlcoholism
Alcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...
. It remains a matter of speculation whether her alcoholism led to the failure of the marriage, or whether Martin's infidelities led to Betty's alcoholism. Subsequent to their divorce, Martin gained custody of their children; Betty lived out her life in quiet obscurity in San Francisco. Their children were Stephen Craig (born June 29, 1942), Claudia Dean (March 16, 1944 - 2001 from breast cancer
Breast cancer
Breast cancer is cancer originating from breast tissue, most commonly from the inner lining of milk ducts or the lobules that supply the ducts with milk. Cancers originating from ducts are known as ductal carcinomas; those originating from lobules are known as lobular carcinomas...
), Barbara Gail (born April 11, 1945) and Deana (Dina) (born August 19, 1948).
Martin's second wife was Jeanne Biegger. A stunning blonde, Jeanne could sometimes be spotted in Martin's audience while he was still married to Betty. Their marriage lasted 24 years (1949–1973) and produced three children. Their children were Dean Paul
Dean Paul Martin
Dean Paul Martin was an American entertainer, noted as a tennis player, a singer and actor, and a military pilot.-Early life and career:...
(November 17, 1951 - March 21, 1987; plane crash), Ricci James (born September 20, 1953) and Gina Caroline (born December 20, 1956), whose marriage made Dean the father-in-law
Father-in-law
A parent-in-law is a person who has a legal affinity with another by being the parent of the other's spouse. Many cultures and legal systems impose duties and responsibilities on persons connected by this relationship...
of The Beach Boys
The Beach Boys
The Beach Boys are an American rock band, formed in 1961 in Hawthorne, California. The group was initially composed of brothers Brian, Dennis and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and friend Al Jardine. Managed by the Wilsons' father Murry, The Beach Boys signed to Capitol Records in 1962...
' Carl Wilson
Carl Wilson
Carl Dean Wilson was an American rock and roll singer and guitarist, best known as a founding member, lead guitarist and sometime lead vocalist of The Beach Boys...
.
Martin's third marriage, to Catherine Hawn, lasted three years. One of Martin's managers had spotted her at the reception desk of a hair salon on Rodeo Drive
Rodeo Drive
Rodeo Drive of Beverly Hills, California is a shopping district known for designer label and haute couture fashion. The name generally refers to a three-block long stretch of boutiques and shops but the street stretches further north and south....
, then arranged a meeting. Martin adopted Hawn's daughter, Sasha, but their marriage also failed. Martin initiated divorce proceedings.
Martin's uncle was Leonard Barr
Leonard Barr
Leonard Barr , born Leonard Barra, was an old-style, one-liner standup American comic in the tradition of Henny Youngman. He was the uncle of Dean Martin...
, who appeared in several of his shows.
Later years and death
On December 1, 1983 while gambling at the Golden Nugget casino in Atlantic City, Martin and Sinatra intimidated the dealer and several employees into breaking New JerseyNew Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
law by making the dealer deal the cards by hand instead of from a shoe. Although Sinatra and Martin were implicated as the cause of the violation, neither was fined by the New Jersey Casino Control Commission. The Golden Nugget received a $25,000 fine (which Sinatra paid, stating that it was his responsibility as he and Martin were the cause of the fine) and four employees including the dealer, a supervisor and pit boss were suspended from their jobs without pay.
Martin returned to films briefly with appearances in the two star-laden, yet critically panned Cannonball Run
The Cannonball Run (film)
The Cannonball Run is a 1981 comedy film starring Burt Reynolds, Roger Moore, Dom DeLuise and Farrah Fawcett, and was directed by Hal Needham. It was produced by Hong Kong's Golden Harvest films. There was a sequel, 1984's Cannonball Run II.-Plot:...
movies. He also had a minor hit single with "Since I Met You Baby
Since I Met You Baby (song)
"Since I Met You Baby" is an American rhythm and blues song written and recorded by pianist Ivory Joe Hunter. The song, which Hunter recorded in 1956, became an American standard, and saw renewed popularity in 1969 when country music artist Sonny James released his hit version.-Song...
" and made his first music video, which appeared on MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
. The video was created by Martin's youngest son, Ricci.
On March 21, 1987, Martin's son, Dean Paul (formerly Dino of the '60s "teeny-bopper
Teenybopper
The term teenybopper was invented by marketing professionals and psychologists, later becoming a subculture of its own. The term describes a young teenager, particularly a girl, who follows adolescent trends in music, fashion and culture. The term was introduced in the 1950s to refer to teenagers...
" rock group Dino, Desi & Billy), was killed when his F-4 Phantom II
F-4 Phantom II
The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II is a tandem two-seat, twin-engined, all-weather, long-range supersonic jet interceptor fighter/fighter-bomber originally developed for the United States Navy by McDonnell Aircraft. It first entered service in 1960 with the U.S. Navy. Proving highly adaptable,...
jet fighter crashed while flying with the California Air National Guard
California Air National Guard
The California Air National Guard is the air component of the California National Guard. The California Air National Guard is headquartered at Sacramento, California.One of the duties of the California Air National Guard is defense of the United States...
. A much-touted tour with Davis and Sinatra in 1988 sputtered. On one occasion, he infuriated Sinatra when he turned to him and muttered, "Frank, what the hell are we doing up here?" Martin, who always responded best to a club audience, felt lost in the huge stadiums they were performing in (at Sinatra's insistence), and he was not interested in drinking until dawn after performances. His final Vegas shows were at Bally's Hotel in 1990. There he had his final reunion with Jerry Lewis
Jerry Lewis
Jerry Lewis is an American comedian, actor, singer, film producer, screenwriter and film director. He is best known for his slapstick humor in film, television, stage and radio. He was originally paired up with Dean Martin in 1946, forming the famed comedy team of Martin and Lewis...
on his 72nd birthday. Martin's last two TV appearances involved tributes to his former Rat Pack
Rat Pack
The Rat Pack was a group of actors originally centered on Humphrey Bogart. In the mid-1960s it was the name used by the press and the general public to refer to a later variation of the group, after Bogart's death, that called itself "the summit" or "the clan," featuring Frank Sinatra, Dean...
members. On December 8, 1989, he joined many stars of the entertainment industry in Sammy Davis, Jr's 60th anniversary celebration, which aired only a few weeks before Davis died from throat cancer. In December 1990, he congratulated Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
on his 75th birthday special.
Martin was diagnosed with lung cancer
Lung cancer
Lung cancer is a disease characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. If left untreated, this growth can spread beyond the lung in a process called metastasis into nearby tissue and, eventually, into other parts of the body. Most cancers that start in lung, known as primary...
at Cedars Sinai Medical Center in September 1993, and in early 1995 retired from public life. He died of acute respiratory failure
Respiratory failure
The term respiratory failure, in medicine, is used to describe inadequate gas exchange by the respiratory system, with the result that arterial oxygen and/or carbon dioxide levels cannot be maintained within their normal ranges. A drop in blood oxygenation is known as hypoxemia; a rise in arterial...
resulting from emphysema
Emphysema
Emphysema is a long-term, progressive disease of the lungs that primarily causes shortness of breath. In people with emphysema, the tissues necessary to support the physical shape and function of the lungs are destroyed. It is included in a group of diseases called chronic obstructive pulmonary...
at his Beverly Hills home on Christmas morning 1995, at age 78. The lights of the Las Vegas Strip
Las Vegas Strip
The Las Vegas Strip is an approximately stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard in Clark County, Nevada; adjacent to, but outside the city limits of Las Vegas proper. The Strip lies within the unincorporated townships of Paradise and Winchester...
were dimmed in his honor.
Tributes and legacy
In 1996, Ohio Rte. 7, through Steubenville, was rededicated as "Dean Martin Boulevard." Road signs bearing an Al HirschfeldAl Hirschfeld
Albert "Al" Hirschfeld was an American caricaturist best known for his simple black and white portraits of celebrities and Broadway stars.-Personal life:Born in St...
caricature of Martin's likeness officially designate the stretch, along with a state historical marker, in the Gazebo Park at Route 7 and North Fourth Street.
An annual "Dean Martin Festival" celebration is held in Steubenville. Impersonators, friends and family of Martin, and various entertainers, many of Italian ancestry, appear.
In 2005, Las Vegas renamed Industrial Road as Dean Martin Drive. A similarly named street was dedicated in 2008 in Rancho Mirage, California.
Martin's family was presented a gold record in 2004 for Dino: The Essential Dean Martin
Dino: The Essential Dean Martin
-2011 Bonus Tracks:...
, his fastest-selling album ever, which also hit the iTunes Top 10. For the week ending December 23, 2006, the Dean Martin and Martina McBride
Martina McBride
Martina McBride is an American country music singer and songwriter. McBride has been called the "Céline Dion of Country Music" for her big-voiced ballads and soprano range....
duet of "Baby, It's Cold Outside
Baby, It's Cold Outside
Baby, It's Cold Outside may refer to:*"Baby, It's Cold Outside", a 1948 song by Frank Loesser*"Cold Outside", a song by country music band Big House from their self-titled debut album*"Baby, It's Cold Outside", a 1991 short story by Isaac Asimov...
" reached #7 on the R&R AC chart. It also went to #36 on the R&R Country chart - the last time Martin had a song this high in the charts was in 1965, with the song "I Will
I Will (Dick Glasser song)
"I Will" is a song by Dick Glasser, a ballad about one of his sister's relationships.The song was a US hit for Vic Dana in 1962, Skeeter Davis in 1963 and a UK one for Billy Fury in 1964. The song was also successful for Dean Martin and Ruby Winters . Christy Moore recorded it on his 2009 album...
", which reached #10 on the Pop chart.
An album of duets, Forever Cool
Forever Cool
Forever Cool is a duets compilation album featuring the vocals of late jazz singer Dean Martin, paired with various artists released in 2007 through Capitol Records....
, was released by Capitol/EMI in 2007. It features Martin's voice with Kevin Spacey
Kevin Spacey
Kevin Spacey, CBE is an American actor, director, screenwriter, producer, and crooner. He grew up in California, and began his career as a stage actor during the 1980s, before being cast in supporting roles in film and television...
, Shelby Lynne
Shelby Lynne
Shelby Lynne is an American singer, songwriter and actress. The success of the 1999 album I Am Shelby Lynne led to her winning the Grammy Award for Best New Artist, even though she had been active in the music industry for some time...
, Joss Stone
Joss Stone
Jocelyn Eve Stoker , better known by her stage name Joss Stone, is an English soul singer-songwriter and actress. Stone rose to fame in late 2003 with her multi-platinum debut album, The Soul Sessions, which made the 2004 Mercury Prize shortlist...
, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy
Big Bad Voodoo Daddy
Big Bad Voodoo Daddy is a contemporary swing revival band from southern California. Their notable singles include "Go Daddy-O", "You & Me & the Bottle Makes 3 Tonight ", and "Mr. Pinstripe Suit". The band played the Super Bowl XXXIII half-time show in 1999.The band was originally formed in Ventura,...
, Robbie Williams
Robbie Williams
Robert Peter "Robbie" Williams is an English singer-songwriter, vocal coach and occasional actor. He is a member of the pop group Take That. Williams rose to fame in the band's first run in the early- to mid-1990s. After many disagreements with the management and certain group members, Williams...
, McBride and others.
His footprints were immortalized at Grauman's Chinese Theater in 1964. Martin has three stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
Hollywood Walk of Fame
The Hollywood Walk of Fame consists of more than 2,400 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along fifteen blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, California...
: one at 6519 Hollywood Boulevard, for movies; one at 1617 Vine, for recordings; and one at 6651 Hollywood Boulevard, for television.
In February 2009, Martin was honored with a posthumous Grammy award for Lifetime Achievement. Four of his surviving children, Gail, Deana, Ricci and Gina, were on hand to accept on his behalf. In 2009, Martin was inducted into the Hit Parade Hall of Fame.
Popular culture
A number of Dean Martin songs have constantly been featured across popular culture for decades. Hit songs such as "Ain't That a Kick in the Head", "Sway","You're Nobody Till Somebody Loves You", "That's Amore", and Martin's signature song "Everybody Loves Somebody" (and many more) have been used in films (such as the Oscar-winning PaybackPayback
Payback may refer to:*Payback period, the period of time required for the return on an investment*Revenge*Operation Payback, an ongoing hacker operation*Payback , a 1999 film, starring Mel Gibson; remake of the 1967 film Point Blank...
, Logorama
Logorama
Logorama is a 16-minute French animated film written and directed by H5/ François Alaux, Hervé de Crécy and Ludovic Houplain, and produced by Autour de Minuit. The film depicts events in a stylized Los Angeles, and is told entirely through the use of more than 2,500 contemporary and historical...
, A Bronx Tale
A Bronx Tale
A Bronx Tale is a 1993 American crime drama film set in The Bronx during the turbulent era of the 1960s. It was the directorial debut of Robert De Niro, and follows a young Italian-American teenager as his path in life is guided by two father figures, played by De Niro and Chazz Palminteri...
, Casino
Casino (film)
Casino is a 1995 crime drama film directed by Martin Scorsese. It is based on the non-fiction book of the same name by Nicholas Pileggi, who also co-wrote the screenplay for the film with Scorsese...
, Goodfellas
Goodfellas
Goodfellas is a 1990 American crime film directed by Martin Scorsese. It is a film adaptation of the 1986 non-fiction book Wiseguy by Nicholas Pileggi, who co-wrote the screenplay with Scorsese...
, and Return to Me
Return to Me
Return to Me is a romantic movie rated PG. Return to Me was directed by Bonnie Hunt and starred David Duchovny as Bob and Minnie Driver as Grace...
), television series (such as American Dad!
American Dad!
American Dad! is an American animated television series created by Seth MacFarlane and owned by Underdog Productions and Fuzzy Door Productions. It is produced in association with 20th Century Fox Television...
, Friends
Friends
Friends is an American sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994 to May 6, 2004. The series revolves around a group of friends in Manhattan. The series was produced by Bright/Kauffman/Crane Productions, in association with Warner Bros. Television...
, and House MD
House (TV series)
House is an American television medical drama that debuted on the Fox network on November 16, 2004. The show's central character is Dr. Gregory House , an unconventional and misanthropic medical genius who heads a team of diagnosticians at the fictional Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital in...
), video games (such as The Godfather: The Game
The Godfather: The Game
The Godfather: The Game is an action-adventure video game developed and published by Electronic Arts. It is the second video game in the Godfather series and based upon the 1972 film of the same name. Originally released in March 2006 for the PlayStation 2, Xbox and Microsoft Windows, The Godfather...
, The Godfather II
The Godfather II (video game)
The Godfather II is a 2009 video game based on The Godfather Part II, a 1974 crime drama film directed by Francis Ford Coppola and co-written by Coppola and Mario Puzo. The game is published by Electronic Arts and was released on the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Microsoft Windows...
, Fallout: New Vegas
Fallout: New Vegas
Fallout: New Vegas is a first person action role-playing video game in the Fallout series developed by Obsidian Entertainment, and published by Bethesda Softworks. The game is based in a post-apocalyptic environment in and around Las Vegas, Nevada...
, and Mafia II
Mafia II
Mafia II is a third-person action-adventure video game, the sequel to Mafia: The City of Lost Heaven. It is developed by 2K Czech, previously known as Illusion Softworks, and is published by 2K Games...
), and even fashion shows (such as the Victoria's Secret
Victoria's Secret
Victoria's Secret is an American retailer of women's wear, lingerie and beauty products. It is the largest segment of publicly-traded Limited Brands with sales of over US$5 billion and an operating income of $1 billion in 2006...
Fashion Show 2008).
In film and television
- In a 1996 episode of the NBCNBCThe National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
-TV series Boston CommonBoston Common (TV series)Boston Common is a television sitcom that ran on NBC from 1996–1997. It starred Anthony Clark and took place in the city of Boston. It was one of the 10 highest rated shows in its first season as it ranked 8th in the yearly ratings and was viewed by an average of 14.96 million households per episode...
, actor Anthony ClarkAnthony ClarkAnthony Clark or Tony Clark may refer to:*Anthony Clark , American actor and comedian*Anthony Clark , English badminton player*Tony Clark , first baseman for the Arizona Diamondbacks...
pantomimes and dances a routine to Martin's 1960 song, "Ain't That A Kick In The Head?" - In That '70s show episode, S-6/E-2 "Join Together." When the Forman's were throwing away all of their bad foods and drinks, because of Red's Heart Attack. Red's beloved beer and his meats were taken away and Red's Fresh mouth son, Eric said,"Whoa look at this, it looks like Dean Martin exploded!"
- In the movie A Bronx TaleA Bronx TaleA Bronx Tale is a 1993 American crime drama film set in The Bronx during the turbulent era of the 1960s. It was the directorial debut of Robert De Niro, and follows a young Italian-American teenager as his path in life is guided by two father figures, played by De Niro and Chazz Palminteri...
, Martin's song, "Ain't That A Kick In The Head?", was featured during the scene when C was playing dice. - A BudweiserBudweiserBudweiser is a German adjective describing something or someone from the city of České Budějovice in Southern Bohemia, Czech Republic.Beer brewing in České Budějovice dates back to the 13th century...
TV commercial that premiered during Super Bowl XLISuper Bowl XLISuper Bowl XLI was an American football game that featured the American Football Conference champion Indianapolis Colts and the National Football Conference champion Chicago Bears to decide the National Football League champion for the 2006 season...
featured Martin's "Ain't That A Kick In The Head?". - British actor Jeremy NorthamJeremy NorthamJeremy Philip Northam is an English actor. He is best known for his roles as Ivor Novello in the 2001 film Gosford Park, as Dean Martin in the 2002 television movie Martin and Lewis, and as Thomas More on the Showtime series The Tudors...
portrayed the entertainer in a made-for-TV movie called, Martin and LewisMartin and Lewis (film)Martin and Lewis is a 2002 CBS TV film written and directed by John Gray, portraying the lives of the comedy team of Martin and Lewis.The film featured Jeremy Northam as Dean Martin and Sean Hayes as Jerry Lewis....
, alongside Will & GraceWill & GraceWill & Grace was an American television sitcom that was originally broadcast on NBC from September 21, 1998 to May 18, 2006 for a total of eight seasons. Will & Grace remains the most successful television series with gay principal characters...
's Sean HayesSean Hayes (actor)Sean Patrick Hayes is an American actor and comedian. He is widely known for his role as Jack McFarland in the NBC sitcom Will & Grace, for which he won an Emmy Award, four SAG Awards, one American Comedy Award, and six Golden Globes nominations.He also portrayed comedian Jerry Lewis in the...
as Jerry Lewis. - Martin was portrayed by Joe MantegnaJoe MantegnaJoseph Anthony "Joe" Mantegna, Jr. is an American actor, producer, writer,director, and voice actor. He is best known for his roles in box office hits such as Three Amigos , The Godfather Part III , Forget Paris , and Up Close & Personal...
in an HBO movie about Sinatra and Martin titled The Rat PackThe Rat Pack (film)The Rat Pack is a 1998 HBO TV movie about the Rat Pack. The movie stars Ray Liotta as Frank Sinatra, Joe Mantegna as Dean Martin, Don Cheadle as Sammy Davis, Jr., and Angus Macfadyen as Peter Lawford....
. Mantegna was nominated for both an Emmy AwardEmmy AwardAn Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
and a Golden Globe AwardGolden Globe AwardThe Golden Globe Award is an accolade bestowed by the 93 members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association recognizing excellence in film and television, both domestic and foreign...
for the role. - In the movie Return to MeReturn to MeReturn to Me is a romantic movie rated PG. Return to Me was directed by Bonnie Hunt and starred David Duchovny as Bob and Minnie Driver as Grace...
, three of his recordings are featured: "Good Morning, Life," "Buona Sera" and "Return to Me". - Danny GansDanny GansDaniel Davies Gans was an American singer and comedian who found regional success as a vocal impressionist.-Career:...
portrayed Martin in the miniseries SinatraSinatra (TV miniseries)Sinatra is a 1992 award-winning CBS miniseries. Directed by James Steven Sadwith and written by William Mastrosimone and Abby Mann and produced by Tina Sinatra and Richard M. Rosenbloom...
. - In the pilot episode of White CollarWhite Collar (TV series)White Collar is a USA Network television series created by Jeff Eastin, starring Matt Bomer as con-man Neal Caffrey and Tim DeKay as Special Agent Peter Burke. It premiered on October 23, 2009. In December 2009, White Collar was renewed for a second season that began on July 13, 2010...
, Peter refers to Neal as "Dino", referencing the newly-found Sy Devore suits that Neal now wears – made famous by the "Rat Pack". - In the movie Pulp FictionPulp fictionPulp fiction may refer to:* pulp magazines, short stories presented in a magazine format, printed on cheaply made wood-pulp paper* Pulp Fiction, a 1994 film directed by Quentin Tarantino...
, Mia Wallace and Vincent Vega go out to dinner at "Jack Rabbit Slim's" – she chooses "Martin and Lewis", and a $5 milkshake shows up. - In the movie MoonstruckMoonstruckMoonstruck is a 1987 American romantic comedy film directed by Norman Jewison. It stars Cher, Nicolas Cage, Danny Aiello, Vincent Gardenia, and Olympia Dukakis....
, Martin's recording of "That's Amore" plays over both the opening and closing credits. - In the HBO television series, The SopranosThe SopranosThe Sopranos is an American television drama series created by David Chase that revolves around the New Jersey-based Italian-American mobster Tony Soprano and the difficulties he faces as he tries to balance the often conflicting requirements of his home life and the criminal organization he heads...
, in season 6 episode "Johnny Cakes", "That's Amore" is heard when Vito SpataforeVito SpataforeVito Spatafore, Sr., played by Joseph R. Gannascoli, is a fictional character on the HBO TV series The Sopranos. He was a member of the DiMeo Crime Family and a subordinate of Tony Soprano. He was married to Marie Spatafore with two children, Francesca and Vito, Jr., and was a closeted homosexual...
is cooking. - In the Wong Kar-Wai movie 20462046 (film)2046 is a 2004 Hong Kong film written and directed by Wong Kar-wai. It is a loose sequel to the 1991 Hong Kong film Days of Being Wild and the 2000 Hong Kong film In the Mood for Love...
, Martin's recording of "Sway" is played extensively. - In a Royal Automobile ClubRoyal Automobile ClubThe Royal Automobile Club is a private club and is not to be confused with RAC plc, a motorists' organisation, which it formerly owned.It has two club houses, one in London at 89-91 Pall Mall, and the other in the countryside at Woodcote Park, Surrey, next to the City of London Freemen's School...
commercial, "Memories are Made of ThisMemories Are Made of This"Memories Are Made of This" is a popular song written by Terry Gilkyson, Richard Dehr, and Frank Miller in 1955.-History:The most popular version of the song was recorded by Dean Martin. It reached #1 on the Billboard chart for six weeks in 1956, and became his biggest hit...
" is sung. - In the 2009, 60's-era French parody film, "OSS 117: Rio Ne Répond Plus... (Lost in Rio)" starring Jean Dujardin, Martin's "Gentle On My Mind" plays during the opening credits scene
In games and gambling
- Martin is the subject of "Dean Martin's Wild Party", a video slot machine found in some casinos. The game features songs sung by Martin during the bonus game and the count-up of a player's winnings.
- The 2010 video game, Fallout: New VegasFallout: New VegasFallout: New Vegas is a first person action role-playing video game in the Fallout series developed by Obsidian Entertainment, and published by Bethesda Softworks. The game is based in a post-apocalyptic environment in and around Las Vegas, Nevada...
, features Martin's "Ain't that a Kick in the Head?" throughout the game. It can be listened to on the "New Vegas" radio channel and heard on the loud speakers when entering the Vegas Strip. The first quest of the game is also ironically named after the same song, as the player character is afflicted with a headshot wound. - Dean Martin's music is featured on the radios in the game Mafia II and Godfather II.
In music
- A compilation album called, Amore!, debuted at Number One on Billboard magazines Top Pop Catalog AlbumsTop Pop Catalog AlbumsTop Pop Catalog Albums is a fifty-position weekly albums chart produced by Billboard magazine which ranks the best selling catalog titles, regardless of genre. Billboard defines a catalog title as one that is more than eighteen months old and that has fallen below position 100 on the Billboard 200...
chart in its February 21, 20092009 in musicThe following is a list of notable events and releases in 2009 in music. Susan Boyle's album I Dreamed a Dream became the biggest selling album in the world for 2009, selling 8.3 million copies in five weeks; more than any other artist's in the whole year...
issue.
Other
- In the Victoria's SecretVictoria's SecretVictoria's Secret is an American retailer of women's wear, lingerie and beauty products. It is the largest segment of publicly-traded Limited Brands with sales of over US$5 billion and an operating income of $1 billion in 2006...
Fashion Show 2008, "Ain't That A Kick In The Head?" was the opening song from the show.
Filmography
Features:| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1946 | Film Vodvil: Art Mooney and Orchestra | Short | |
| 1949 | My Friend Irma My Friend Irma (film) My Friend Irma is a comedy film directed by George Marshall and is most notable as the film debut of comedy team Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis... |
Steve Laird | |
| 1950 | My Friend Irma Goes West My Friend Irma Goes West My Friend Irma Goes West is a 1950 film based on the radio show My Friend Irma and featuring the comedy team of Martin and Lewis... |
Steve Laird | |
| At War with the Army At War With The Army At War with the Army is a 1950 musical comedy film directed by Hal Walker and starring the comedy team of Martin and Lewis. It was filmed from July through August 1949, and released on December 30, 1950 by Paramount... |
1st Sgt. Vic Puccinelli | ||
| Screen Snapshots: Thirtieth Anniversary Special | Short | ||
| 1951 | That's My Boy | Bill Baker | |
| 1952 | Sailor Beware | Al Crowthers | |
| Jumping Jacks Jumping Jacks Jumping Jacks is a 1952 film starring the comedy team of Martin and Lewis. The movie was released by Paramount Pictures.-Plot:Chick Allen is a paratrooper. He invites his former partner, Hap Smith , to help out with a show that he and the other soldiers are preparing... |
Corp. Chick Allen | ||
| Road to Bali Road to Bali Road to Bali is a 1952 comedy film starring Bing Crosby, Bob Hope and Dorothy Lamour. It was released by Paramount Pictures and is the sixth of the seven Road to … movies... |
Man in Lala's dream | Cameo (uncredited) | |
| The Stooge The Stooge The Stooge is a 1952 American comedy film starring the comedy team of Martin and Lewis. The film was released on December 31, 1952 by Paramount.-Plot:... |
Bill Miller | ||
| 1953 | Scared Stiff | Larry Todd | |
| The Caddy The Caddy The Caddy is a 1953 American film starring the comedy team of Martin and Lewis. It was filmed from November 24, 1952 through February 23, 1953. It was released by Paramount Pictures on August 10, 1953... |
Joe Anthony | ||
| Money from Home Money From Home Money From Home is a 1953 film starring Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis. The comedy was the first for the Martin and Lewis team to be shot in color and was their only film in 3-D. The picture was premiered as a special preview screening across the U.S... |
Herman 'Honey Talk' Nelson | ||
| 1954 | Living It Up Living It Up Living It Up is a 1954 film comedy starring the team of Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis and released by Paramount Pictures.The film was directed by Norman Taurog and produced by Paul Jones. The screenplay by Jack Rose and Melville Shavelson was based on the 1953 musical Hazel Flagg by Ben Hecht, in... |
Dr. Steve Harris | |
| 3 Ring Circus 3 Ring Circus 3 Ring Circus is a 1954 film comedy starring Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis. It was shot from February 17 to March 31, 1954 and released on December 25 by Paramount Pictures.The film was the first starring Martin and Lewis to be shot in VistaVision... |
Peter 'Pete' Nelson | ||
| 1955 | You're Never Too Young You're Never Too Young You're Never Too Young is a comedy film starring the team of Martin and Lewis, released on August 25, 1955 by Paramount Pictures, and co-starring Diana Lynn, Nina Foch, and Raymond Burr.-Plot:... |
Bob Miles | |
| Artists and Models Artists and Models Artists and Models is a 1955 Paramount musical comedy in VistaVision and marked Martin and Lewis's fourteenth feature together as a team. The film co-stars Dorothy Malone, Eva Gabor, Anita Ekberg, and Shirley MacLaine.-Plot:... |
Rick Todd | ||
| 1956 | Screen Snapshots: Hollywood, City of Stars | Short | |
| Pardners Pardners Pardners is a movie starring the comedy team of Martin and Lewis and was released on July 25, 1956 by Paramount Pictures.-Plot:The storyline involves two ranch partners who are killed by the 'Masked Raiders' defending their land. Their infant sons are separated, one being raised on the farm and... |
Slim Mosely Jr. / Slim Mosely Sr. | ||
| Hollywood or Bust Hollywood Or Bust Hollywood or Bust is a 1956 film comedy starring the team of Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis. The picture was filmed from April 16 to June 19, 1956 and released on December 6, 1956 by Paramount Pictures, almost five months after the Martin and Lewis partnership split up.-Plot:Malcolm Smith wins a... |
Steve Wiley | ||
| 1957 | Ten Thousand Bedrooms Ten Thousand Bedrooms Ten Thousand Bedrooms was Dean Martin's first movie in the wake of the dissolution of his partnership with Jerry Lewis in the team of Martin and Lewis.... |
Ray Hunter | |
| 1958 | The Young Lions The Young Lions The Young Lions is a 1958 war drama film directed by Edward Dmytryk, based upon the 1949 novel of the same name by Irwin Shaw, and starring Marlon Brando, Montgomery Clift, and Dean Martin.-Outline:... |
Michael Whiteacre | |
| Some Came Running Some Came Running Some Came Running is a novel by James Jones, published in 1957. It is the story of a war veteran with literary aspirations who returns in 1948 to his hometown of Parkman, Indiana, after a failed writing career... |
Bama Dillert (professional gambler) | ||
| 1959 | Rio Bravo | Dude ('Borachón') | |
| Career Career (1959 film) Career is a 1959 blacklist film drama co-written by Dalton Trumbo and starring Dean Martin, Tony Franciosa, and Shirley MacLaine. The movie involves actor Sam Lawson , bent on breaking into the big time at any cost, braving World War II, the Korean War and even the more recent blacklist, something... |
Maurice 'Maury' Novak | ||
| 1960 | Who Was That Lady? Who Was That Lady? Who Was That Lady? is a 1960 comedy film starring Tony Curtis, Dean Martin, and Janet Leigh. The movie was made by Ansark-Sidney, distributed by Columbia Pictures, directed by George Sidney, and produced by Norman Krasna, who also wrote the screenplay based on his successful Broadway play Who Was... |
Michael Haney | Nominated – Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy |
| Bells Are Ringing Bells Are Ringing (film) Bells Are Ringing is a 1960 romantic comedy-musical film directed by Vincente Minnelli. It stars Judy Holliday and Dean Martin.-Synopsis:Based on the successful 1956 Broadway production of the same name by Betty Comden, Adolph Green, and Jule Styne, the film focuses on Ella Peterson, who works in... |
Jeffrey Moss | ||
| Ocean's Eleven Ocean's Eleven (1960 film) Ocean's 11 is a 1960 heist film directed by Lewis Milestone and starring five Rat Packers: Peter Lawford, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Jr., and Joey Bishop.... |
Sam Harmon | ||
| Pepe Pepe (film) Pepe is a 1960 film starring Mario "Cantinflas" Moreno in the title role, directed by George Sidney. A multitude of cameo appearances attempted to replicate the success of Mario Moreno's American debut, notably Around the World in Eighty Days, produced by Mike Todd in 1956.The film failed to... |
Cameo | ||
| 1961 | All in a Night's Work All in a Night's Work (film) All in a Night's Work is a 1961 romantic screwball comedy starring Dean Martin and Shirley MacLaine, and directed by Joseph Anthony.-Plot:Tony Ryder's uncle, the wealthy owner of a newspaper, has just died... |
Tony Ryder | |
| Ada Ada (film) Ada is a 1961 political drama film made by Avon Productions and distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was directed by Daniel Mann and produced by... |
Bo Gillis | ||
| 1962 | Something's Got to Give Something's Got to Give Something's Got to Give is an unfinished 1962 American feature film, directed by George Cukor and starring Marilyn Monroe, Dean Martin and Cyd Charisse... |
Nicholas 'Nick' Arden | (unfinished) |
| Sergeants 3 | Sgt. Chip Deal | ||
| The Road to Hong Kong The Road to Hong Kong The Road to Hong Kong starring Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, and Joan Collins, was the last in the long-running Road to … series and the only episode not produced by Paramount Pictures, though reference to the other films in the series are shown in Maurice Binder's opening title sequence... |
The 'Grape' on plutonium | Cameo (uncredited) | |
| Who's Got the Action? Who's Got the Action? Who's Got the Action? is a comedy film about a man suffering from an addiction to gambling starring Dean Martin, Lana Turner, Eddie Albert, and Walter Matthau... |
Steve Flood | ||
| 1963 | 38-24-36 | Self | |
| Come Blow Your Horn Come Blow Your Horn (film) Come Blow Your Horn is a 1963 comedy film directed by Bud Yorkin and based on the play of the same name.-Cast:* Frank Sinatra - Alan Baker* Lee J. Cobb - Harry R. Baker* Molly Picon - Mrs. Sophie Baker* Barbara Rush - Connie... |
The Bum | (uncredited) | |
| Toys in the Attic Toys in the Attic (film) Toys in the Attic is a 1963 American drama film starring Dean Martin, Geraldine Page, Yvette Mimieux, Gene Tierney and Wendy Hiller. The film was directed by George Roy Hill and is based on a Tony Award-winning play by Lillian Hellman... |
Julian Berniers | ||
| 4 for Texas 4 for Texas 4 for Texas is a 1963 American western comedy starring Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Anita Ekberg, Ursula Andress, and featuring screen thugs Charles Bronson and Mike Mazurki, with a cameo appearance by the Three Stooges... |
Joe Jarrett | ||
| Who's Been Sleeping in My Bed? Who's Been Sleeping in My Bed? Who's Been Sleeping in My Bed? is a 1963 movie comedy starring Dean Martin, Elizabeth Montgomery, and Carol Burnett, and directed by Daniel Mann.-Plot:... |
Jason Steel | ||
| 1964 | What a Way to Go! What a Way to Go! What a Way to Go! is a 1964 American comedy film directed by J. Lee Thompson and starring Shirley MacLaine, Paul Newman, Robert Mitchum, Dean Martin, Gene Kelly, Margaret Dumont, Bob Cummings and Dick Van Dyke.-Plot:... |
Leonard 'Lennie' Crawley | |
| Robin and the 7 Hoods Robin and the 7 Hoods Robin and the 7 Hoods is a 1964 American musical film that transplants the Robin Hood legend to a 1930s Chicago gangster setting. Directed by Gordon Douglas and produced by Frank Sinatra, with a screenplay by David R. Schwartz, the movie stars members of the Rat Pack as well as Bing Crosby, Peter... |
Little John | ||
| Kiss Me, Stupid Kiss Me, Stupid Kiss Me, Stupid is a 1964 American comedy film directed by Billy Wilder and starring Dean Martin, Kim Novak, and Ray Walston.The screenplay by Wilder and I.A.L. Diamond is based on Wife For a Night , an Italian film starring Gina Lollobrigida -- which was itself taken from a play by Anna Bonacci... |
Dino | ||
| 1965 | The Sons of Katie Elder The Sons of Katie Elder The Sons of Katie Elder is a 1965 Technicolor western film directed by Henry Hathaway and starring John Wayne and Dean Martin. The movie was filmed principally in Mexico.... |
Tom Elder | |
| Marriage on the Rocks Marriage on the Rocks Marriage on the Rocks is a 1965 film comedy with Frank Sinatra, Deborah Kerr, and Dean Martin about a businessman's wife who ends up divorced by mistake and then married to his best friend by an even bigger mistake. The film was written by Cy Howard and directed by Jack Donohue.Marriage on the... |
Ernie Brewer | ||
| 1966 | The Silencers The Silencers (film) The Silencers is the title of an American spy film spoof motion picture produced in 1966 and starring Dean Martin as agent Matt Helm. It is only loosely based upon the novel The Silencers by Donald Hamilton, as well as another of Hamilton's Helm novels, Death of a Citizen.The film was the first of... |
Matt Helm | |
| Texas Across the River Texas Across the River Texas Across The River is a 1966 western film comedy with Dean Martin and Joey Bishop. The film was directed by Michael Gordon.-Plot:Phoebe Ann Naylor is about to be wed to Don Andrea Baldazar, El Duce de la Casala in Louisiana. The festivities are broken up with the arrival of Yancey Cottle ... |
Sam Hollis | ||
| Murderers' Row Murderers' Row (film) Murderers' Row is a 1966 American comedy-spy-fi film starring Dean Martin and very loosely based upon the Matt Helm spy novel Murderers' Row by Donald Hamilton, which was published in 1962.... |
Matt Helm | ||
| 1967 | Rough Night in Jericho Rough Night in Jericho (film) Rough Night in Jericho is a 1967 western film starring George Peppard, Dean Martin, and Jean Simmons, and directed by Arnold Laven. The supporting cast includes John McIntire and Slim Pickens. This is the only film where Dean Martin portrayed the villain.... |
Alex Flood | |
| The Ambushers The Ambushers (film) The Ambushers is a 1967 spy comedy film filmed in Acapulco starring Dean Martin, Senta Berger and Janice Rule. It is loosely based upon the novel of the same title by Donald Hamilton.... |
Matt Helm | ||
| 1968 | How to Save a Marriage and Ruin Your Life How to Save a Marriage and Ruin Your Life How to Save a Marriage and Ruin Your Life is a 1968 film directed by Fielder Cook. It stars Dean Martin and Stella Stevens.-Cast:*Dean Martin as David Sloane*Stella Stevens as Carol Corman*Eli Wallach as Harry Hunter*Anne Jackson as Muriel Laszlo... |
David Sloane | |
| Bandolero! Bandolero! Bandolero! is a 1968 western directed by Andrew V. McLaglen starring James Stewart, Dean Martin, Raquel Welch and George Kennedy.-Plot:Posing as a hangman, Mace Bishop arrives in town with the intention of freeing his brother Dee from the gallows. Dee and his gang have been arrested for a bank... |
Dee Bishop | ||
| Rowan & Martin at the Movies | Short | ||
| 5 Card Stud 5 Card Stud 5 Card Stud is a 1968 Western, released by Paramount Pictures. Directed by Henry Hathaway, the script, based on a novel by Ray Gaulden, was written by Marguerite Roberts, who also wrote the screenplay of True Grit for Hathaway the following year... |
Van Morgan | ||
| 1969 | The Wrecking Crew The Wrecking Crew (1969 film) The Wrecking Crew, released in 1969 and starring Dean Martin, Elke Sommer, and Sharon Tate is the fourth and final film in a series of American comedy-spy-fi theatrical releases featuring Martin as secret agent Matt Helm.... |
Matt Helm | |
| 1970 | Airport | Capt. Vernon Demerest | |
| 1971 | Something Big Something Big Something Big is a 1971 American motion picture produced by Andrew V. McLaglen and James Lee Barrett . The film stars Dean Martin and Brian Keith.-Description:... |
Joe Baker | |
| 1973 | Showdown Showdown (1973 film) Showdown is a 1972 American Western film directed by George Seaton and starring Rock Hudson, Dean Martin and Susan Clark.It was the final film for Seaton, who three years earlier had directed Martin and an all-star cast in the blockbuster hit Airport.... |
Billy Massey | |
| 1975 | Mr. Ricco Mr. Ricco Mr. Ricco is a 1975 crime drama film directed by Paul Bogart. It stars Dean Martin in his last leading film role, along with Eugene Roche, Denise Nicholas and Cindy Williams.-Plot:... |
Joe Ricco | |
| 1981 | The Cannonball Run | Jamie Blake | |
| 1984 | Cannonball Run II Cannonball Run II See also Cannonball Baker Sea-To-Shining-Sea Memorial Trophy DashCannonball Run II comedy film featuring Burt Reynolds and an all-star cast, released by Warner Bros. and Golden Harvest... |
Jamie Blake | |
| Terror in the Aisles Terror in the Aisles Terror in the Aisles is a 1984 documentary film about horror films featuring clips from Friday the 13th I and/or II, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, Halloween I and II, Jaws 1 and 2, Alien, John Carpenter's The Thing, The Shining and Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho and The Birds. The film is hosted by... |
archival footage |
Further reading
- Arthur MarxArthur MarxArthur Julius Marx was an American author, a former ranked amateur tennis player, and son of entertainer Groucho Marx and his first wife, Ruth Johnson....
. Everybody Loves Somebody Sometime (Especially Himself): The story of Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, New York, NY: Hawthorn Books, 1974, ISBN 978-0801524301 - Lewis, JerryJerry LewisJerry Lewis is an American comedian, actor, singer, film producer, screenwriter and film director. He is best known for his slapstick humor in film, television, stage and radio. He was originally paired up with Dean Martin in 1946, forming the famed comedy team of Martin and Lewis...
and James KaplanJames KaplanJames Kaplan is an American novelist, journalist, and biographer. He was born in New York City and grew up in rural Pennsylvania and suburban New Jersey. He matriculated at New York University and graduated from Wesleyan University in 1973 with a degree in studio art...
. Dean & Me (A Love Story). Doubleday, New York, 2005. ISBN 0-7679-2086-4 - Tosches, NickNick ToschesNick Tosches is an American journalist, novelist, biographer, and poet of Albanian and Italian descent.- Life :After different odd-jobs, Tosches started writing with poetry and rock-'n'-roll magazines, including Creem, Fusion, and Rolling Stone.Tosches' second book, a biography of Jerry Lee Lewis...
. Dino: Living High in the Dirty Business of Dreams. Delta Trade Paperbacks, New York, 1992 (1st edition). ISBN 0-385-33429-X - Smith, John L. The Animal in Hollywood: Anthony Fiato's Life in the Mafia. Barricade Books, New York, 1998. ISBN 1-56980-126-6
External links
- Dean Martin at The Biography ChannelThe Biography ChannelThe Biography Channel is an American digital cable television channel owned by A&E and based on the television series of the same name. A version of the channel also airs on ONO and Telefónica in Spain and on Sky Digital and cable television in the United Kingdom, a version of the channel also...
- Cleveland.com: Homegrown Heroes: Dean Martin Timeline
- Dean Works the room at the Sands
- Jerry Lewis interview for the Archive of American TelevisionArchive of American TelevisionThe Archive of American Television is a division of the non-profit Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation that films interviews with notable people from all aspects of the television industry....
- Dean Martin biography/discography on The Interlude Era site
- Radio interview with Deana Martin WSLR
- Dean Martin Roasts Johnny Carson
- Dean Martin Roast Frank Sinatra
- Dean Martin Roasts Don Rickles
