New Dinofeature comin' this way....Ed's Epistle......Ramblin's and Ruminations by a Disciple of Dino

Hey pallies, there is a new and regular Dinofeature 'bout to break onto the Dinoscene here at ilovedinomartin. Startin' in a very few will be a guest Dinocolumn tagged "Ed's Epistle....."Ramblin's amd Ruminations by a Disciple of Dino."

Ed is one pallie who is totally and I means totally sold out to our Dino. For some time now, Mr. Ed has been a reader of ilovedinomartin and recently took the plunge to leaves some Dinopatter. Since that time, Ed and I have been in correspondance with each other 'bout all thin's Dino. After readin' some of this Dinoholic's Dinoprose I asked him if he would consider sharin' his Dinopassion with all the pallies at this Dinoblog. I am so very grateful that Ed has consented to do Dinofeatures for this humble little Dinopad of ours.

What will Ed's Dinoprose be 'bout?....stayed tuned to finds out pallies. I am currently in the process of doin' an extensive Dinointerview with Ed so that all us pallies can get to knows him better. But, for the moment, here's a few words from Ed 'bout himself: "Lifelong fan of Dino. I’m a mid-century modern guy. I’m all about spreading the Dino word."

You'll gets to recognize our new Dinocolumnist by his tagg and by the cool pix of Ed walkin' the streets of Steubenville, Ohio which is shared below.

Stay tuned pallies for some of the greatest Dinoprose I have ever read. And, Ed, we offer you a warm ilovedinomartin welcome and looks forward to drinkin' in your Dinothoughts and sharin' in your Dinopassion. Dinoexpectantly, DMP



Ed's Epistle......Ramblin's and Ruminations by a Disciple of Dino

THE AMBUSHERS: PART 5

Hey pallies, likes we are comin' down the home stretch with this six part series by the Nick chick on "The Ambushers." Again, to view this in it's original format, just clicks on the tagg of this Dinogram. Enjoys part 5 pallies... Dinoforever, DMP

THE AMBUSHERS: PART 5

So Sheila is rescued and cured and the only side-effect from her ordeal and treatment is that she under the impression that her and Matt are married, because some time in the past they posed as a married couple whilst undercover and that memory has surfaced and become real in her mind. Now, if you think this quirk is going to manifest itself in any significant way or influence the plot even the slightest, then you haven't been paying attention to anything I've said so far so GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY RECAP!

In the next scene, McDonald and Helm watch a boxing match on a cine projector which then turns into a commercial for a Mexican beer. Two Mexican beauties sing a silly jingle and shake their booties because....and Helm recognises the song as something Sheila has heard. I suspect a missing scene because this makes no sense with what we’ve seen up until now. McDonald says the jingle is a reworking of an old marching song used by a bunch of fanatics so Helm joins the dots and figures the head of the Mexican brewery must be mixed up in the flying saucer theft. See? Sherlock Holmes’ maxim perfectly used there: Once you have eliminated the impossible whatever remains, no matter how ludicrously plotted, must be the truth.



So McDonald’s idea is that Helm goes undercover as a photographer to do a photostory on the brewery way down in Acapulco. Oh, and he’s to take Sheila with him as well with her Komedy (tm) quirk of thinking she’s married to Matt. But enough of that silliness because coming up is McDonald’s explanation as to why Sheila must go on the mission and that she’s the only one who can fly the saucer out.

Ladies and gentlemen; I have bought into a number of bogus scientific concepts in movies in my life. I don’t mind Dr. Who’s “reversing the polarity of the neutron flow”, I can just about accept that the beauty was really within and that the drug crystals were a placebo in “Mudd’s Women” and that unlicenced nuclear accellerators can be used to catch ghosts but what McDonald says next is the most ridiculous, the most bullshit, the most brain dead scientific concept ever to grace a movie anywhere...ever.

You see, gentle readers, only a woman can fly the saucer. McDonald’s lab boys ran tests and found that electromagnetic forces kill men. All over the world, roadies for heavy metal bands take their lives into their own hands whenever they step out on stage to plug in a speaker lead and which is why no man can ever have a CAT scan. I’ve heard some stupid explanations in movies but this one tops them all. Throughout this movie, the writers have been working by the premise that women and men are different species which just happen to be biologically compatible when it comes to sex. And how women are able to survive exposure to electromagnetic forces while men can't is never explained: Maybe the saucer runs on sugar and spice and all things nice power? Maybe it’s in sync with a woman’s monthly cycle? That’s it! It runs by the power of menstruation. From now on, I will refer to the saucer as The Menstrual Cycle.

So it’s off to Acapulco; on the plane, Sheila and Matt banter about having a second honeymoon and his quip, “I can’t wait to get you south of the border” would have James Bond groaning in agony. But all is not smooth sailing, because sitting behind them is a man in sunglasses and a Fez, which was standard 1960s uniform for enemy spies. But Matt doesn’t notice him, even when he then follows them to their hotel in a way out looking car that has an aircraft tailfin bolted onto the back. Once checked in, Matt starts eyeing up a woman by the pool and momentarily forgets what a camera is called. He calls over to the hotel manager and asks what her name is. The manager warns Matt that he must stay away from her and have nothing to do with her. Matt asks why and, boom boom, it’s because she’s the manager’s wife. Matt reacts sulkily and mumbles something bad about the manager; damn, marriage is just so inconvienient when you want poon tang on demand.

So Sheila and Matt head to the brewery and Janice Rule is looking quite the MILF in a white hot pant suit and go go boots. They are met by an equally comely secretary who just gushes when she meets Matt, being a fan of his photographic work but not interested in posing for him: I guess there’s a joke buried in there somehow. So a number of businessmen accompanied by two girls dressed in beer mug costumes walk out for absolutely no reason other than to provide more female flesh on screen before we meet Quintana, the brewery chief, played by Kurt Kaznar from “Land of The Giants”: A good actor who mostly appeared in drek over the years.






And with that "Flip Top" picture, I will pause here...

The Dean Martin Show

Hey pallies, anyone who thinks our Dino is gettin' less and less known ain't got a brain in their head. Here's a wonderful Dinotrib to our Dino's amazin' Dinoshow done by a pallie tagged Mercurie at the blogg "A Shroud of Thoughts A Shroud of Thoughts." Clicks on the tagg of this Dinogram to goes there.

Hopes all you pallie will takes the Dinotime to read each and every work that Mercurie has taken the time to write 'bout our Dino and his amazin' small screen Dinoventure. This piece of Dinoliterature contains so so much wonderful Dinoinfo on the Dinoshow...who, what, when, where, how, and why. I knows that I learned at least a Dinothin' or two...and even more importantly is the Dinodevotion that shines through this Dinotrib.

Thanks Mercurie for usin' your time and talents to lift up the name of our Dino. Hopin' that many of your readers will develop more Dinounderstandin' and Dinodevotion! Dinofocused, DMP

Sunday, November 08, 2009

The Dean Martin Show

Today the variety show format is nearly unknown on American television. Saturday Night Live on NBC remains the sole survivor of the format, although it has traditionally concentrated on skit comedy much more than most variety shows. There was a time when variety shows were plentiful in the prime time line ups of the networks. In fact, there was a time when some of the biggest names of entertainment had their own variety shows. Judy Garland, Danny Kaye, Frank Sinatra, and many others had turns as hosts of their own variety shows. Among the most successful of them all was Dean Martin.

The Dean Martin Show debuted on NBC on September 16, 1965. While the show was often raked over the coals by critics, it proved to be a hit with viewers. Not only did The Dean Martin Show prove to be a hit in its first season, but it performed consistently well in the ratings for every season it was on. The series lasted for nine years, until May 1974. Afterwards the series had a bit of an afterlife in the form of spinoff specials entitled The Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts. The Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts would continue until 1984.

Dean Martin was no stranger to television or to variety shows when The Dean Martin Show debuted in 1965. In fact, with former comedy partner Jerry Lewis, he was one of the guests on the debut show of a variety series called Toast of the Town on June 20, 1948; it would later become better known as The Ed Sullivan Show. Both with and without Jerry Lewis, Dean Martin had appeared on such shows as The Jack Carter Show, The Jack Benny Programme, The Steve Allan Show, The Perry Como Show, and many others. Neither was Dean Martin a stranger to hosting variety shows. Martin and Lewis had served among the rotating hosts on The Colgate Comedy Hour from its debut on NBC on September 10, 1950 to the show's demise in 1955. In 1964 Dean Martin was the guest host of ABC's variety show The Hollywood Palace twice. It was on one of The Hollywood Palace shows which Martin hosted that The Rolling Stones made their first appearance on American television (Martin's jokes at The Stones' expense has since become the stuff of legend).

It might then seem curious to know that in 1965 Dean Martin was not particularly fond of the idea of doing a regularly scheduled television show. The reason was simply that Martin felt that a television series would prevent him from accepting offers for movies and nightclub performances. When NBC then approached Martin about the prospect of doing a variety show, he demanded terms so outrageous that he was sure the network would turn him down. Quite simply, Dean Martin demanded an exorbitantly high salary, that he be required only to show up for the actual taping of the show, and the show be taped on Sundays. Much to Martin's surprise, NBC accepted his terms.

The Dean Martin Show debuted in the fall of 1965 to a strong start. Its original format was very basic. Dean Martin and pianist Ken Lane were the series' only regulars. While Dean acted as host and sang a few songs, much of the show was filled with big name stars. It was very soon that the ratings for The Dean Martin Show began to falter. Having made a very big investment in the success of the series, NBC brought Greg Garrison in as the show's producer and director. Garrison was a television veteran who had directed such series as The Kate Smith Hour, The Milton Berle Show, and Meet Corliss Archer. In conjunction with musical director Lee Hale, Garrison set about revising the format of The Dean Martin Show. Martin's role on the show was increased, while the number of guest was decreased. Both Garrison and Hale worked hard to make Dean Martin more comfortable with the show. In fact, it was not unusual for Garrison to overbook guests should there be a need to replace them. Garrison and Hale's strategy worked. The Dean Martin Show climbed back to the top of the ratings. By 1967 the show was so successful that Dean Martin received from NBC what may have been the most lucrative contract up to that time.

From that time forward the format of The Dean Martin Show would only change a little over the years. Each show would begin with the strains of Dean Martin's 1964 hit "Everybody Loves Somebody." Dean would then enter by stumble down a flight of stairs, which was soon switched to him sliding down a fireman's pole. Dean would sing a song, tell a few jokes, and introduce his guests. For the next hour there would be more songs (if a singer was the guest on that week's show, he or she would usually perform a solo number and later a duet with Dean), skits, and chat. The Dean Martin Show did have a few regular segments. At some point in the show Dean Martin would retire to his music room, whereupon there would be a knock on The Closet door. The individual in The Closet was always a celebrity guest and most of the time Martin had no idea who would be (this was done to keep his reactions spontaneous). Among the guests who emerged from The Closet were Jack Benny, Johnny Carson, Jimmy Durante, Red Skelton, Flip Wilson, and many others. The Closet was conceived when Garrison needed a means for Martin's uncle, comedian Leonard Barr, to make a surprise visit to the show. In another regular segment, drawn from Martin's nighclub act, Dean Martin would start singing a standard which would invariably end in a gag. The show generally ended with a production number with Martin's guests, often in the form of a musical sketch.

For the show Dean Martin adopted the persona he had created after he had parted ways with Jerry Lewis--that of a drunken, slightly lazy, womanising playboy. This worked well with the atmosphere of the show, which was relaxed, affable, and unpretentious. Although the show was always taped, it very much seemed like a live show. Much of this was due to the fact that Dean Martin had demanded that he be present only for the taping of the show. For only two days The Dean Martin Show would occupy Studio 4 at NBC in Burbank. Saturday would be occupied by rehearsals and blocking the camera setups, with musical director Lee Hale standing in for Martin. On Sunday the show was taped. Although Martin memorised his scripts beforehand, he most often read from cue cards. If he flubbed a line, he simply made a joke and went on. There were no retakes, so that every error Martin made when straight onto tape.

As with many variety shows of the era, The Dean Martin Show did not air in the summer. There were no reruns. As a result, over the years the production crew behind the show would produce various summer replacements which would fill the timeslot of The Dean Martin Show. In 1966 The Dean Martin Summer Show (which didn't feature Martin at all) was hosted by comedy team Rowan and Martin, who would go onto host Rowan and Martin's Laugh In. In 1967 The Dean Martin Summer Show was renamed The Dean Martin Summer Show Starring Your Host Vic Damone. It was in during the 1967-1968 that it was decided the summer show should be a salute to the Thirties. The title for the 1968 summer series was inspired by the classic Busby Berkley musical The Golddiggers of 1933--Dean Martin Presents The Golddiggers. It proved successful enough to return for the 1969 summer season. For the 1970 summer season the show was moved to England and entitled The Golddiggers in London. In 1972 the summer replacement starred Bobby Darin in Dean Martin Presents The Bobby Darin Amusement Company. For 1973 the summer replacement series focused on country music, with the title of Dean Martin Presents Music Comedy. During the 1974 summer season, the show's time slot was filled by The Dean Martin Comedy World, which featured comics from all around the world.

The Dean Martin Show only changed a little over the years, but it did change.One of the changes to the show would come about because of its most successful summer replacement series. As mentioned above, it was in during the 1967-1968 that it was decided the summer show should be a tribute to the Thirties, executed as if network television existed at the time. It was Greg Garrison who had initially thought of the Thirties motif. It was Lee Hale who thought of the name The Golddiggers for the troupe of dancers and singers who would star in the show. Garrison and Hale then hired twelve women on the basis of their talent, attractiveness, and wholesomeness who would form the troupe. The Golddiggers made their debut on The Dean Martin Show during the 1967-1968 season. In addition to their own summer replacement series, The Golddiggers continued to appear on The Dean Martin Show and even appeared on other programmes (as well as appearing in Bob Hope's USO shows). In 1970 Greg Garrison and Nathan Hale picked four of The Golddiggers to peform as The Dingaling Sisters on The Dean Martin Show. In 1971 The Golddiggers were spun off into their own weekly syndicated show, Chevrolet Presents The Golddiggers. It ran for two seasons. Afterwards The Golddiggers did not appear on The Dean Martin Show, although The Dingaling Sisters continued to appear on the show until 1973.

It was in 1970, just as The Dingaling Sisters were formed, that a regular stable of comics was developed for The Dean Martin Show to help with its skits. Among the comics who regularly appeared on the series were Charles Nelson Reilly, Dom DeLuise, Nipsey Russell, Rodney Dangerfield, and others.

As hard as it is to believe today, The Dean Martin Show was for a time controversial. As the Sixties became the Seventies, the show increasingly became the target of feminists, who felt that the series promoted attitudes which objectified women. Garrison and Hale toned down many of the more sexist comments. Unfortunately, it was about that time that the ratings began to fall.

It was then in the fall of 1973 that The Dean Martin Show moved from the Thursday night timeslot it had held for its entire history to Friday nights. It also marked a major change in its format. Retitled The Dean Martin Comedy Hour, the show now featured a nearly half hour long "roast" segment patterned after the Friar's Club roasts, in which famous celebrities were roasted. A greater emphasis was placed on skits and a new country music segment was introduced. It was to no avail. The ratings did not improve. After nine years The Dean Martin Show was coming to an end. The roast segments had proven popular enough that they would be spun off into a series of specials, The Dean Martin Celebrity Roast, which would continue until 1974.

Today it is easy to take The Dean Martin Show for granted as another celebrity show. It must be kept in mind, however, that in 1965 Dean Martin was a major star. He had a extraordinarily successful recording career, so much so that his hit "Everybody Loves Somebody" actually knocked The Beatles' "A Hard Day's Night" out of the top spot on the American music charts. As an actor he had appeared in such films as Rio Bravo, Toys in the Attic, and What a Way to Go. As a both a successful movie star and recording star, Martin was then able to attract top flight talent. Many big name guests appeared on the show over the years. Cyd Charisse, Bing Crosby, Van Johnson, Gene Kelly, Donald O'Connor, Mickey Rooney, John Wayne, and Orson Welles all appeared on the show, many of them multiple times. As might be expected, fellow Rat Packers also appeared on the show, including Frank Sinatra, Joey Bishop, and Angie Dickinson.

The Dean Martin Show is part of my fondest childhood memories as one of those shows my family watched regularly. It formed part of our Thursday night ritual. Dad would cook popcorn (in a skillet--this was in the days before microwave ovens were common and he apparently did not believe in Jiffy Pop) and we would settle down to watch The Dean Martin Show. While I know that much of the humour must have went over my head, I did find the show very funny as a child. And even though my tastes ran to The Beatles, The Who, and The Monkees (that much has not changed), even then I enjoyed Dean Martin's singing. He was the first crooner and the first member of the Rat Pack of whom I became a fan. I watched the show until the very end, even though I thought in the final seasons that the roasts took something away from the show has it had been.

Apparently I was not alone in my love of The Dean Martin Show. Other big stars had tried their hands at variety shows before Dean Martin. Judy Garland had made a failed attempt at a variety show. Fellow Rat Packer had tried no less than twice. Dean Martin succeeded. And it must be kept in mind that for the nine years that The Dean Martin Show aired, he continued to appear in movies and in nightclubs, and he continued to record. In the end he proved to be one of the few major stars who actually produced a lasting, classic, television, variety show.
Scribbled by Mercurie at 10:02 PM

THE AMBUSHERS: PART 4

THE AMBUSHERS: PART 4

Lovey doesn’t mess around and she heads straight to where Helm is, which is being massaged by a tall blonde beauty. Hang on, Helm was told Lovey had just arrived, he then went and had a fencing lesson and is now being massaged and this took, what, all of 3 minutes! Just how quick was that fencing lesson? Anyway Lovey is all business, which doesn’t please Helm, and has even brought him his toothbrush and some mouthwash; presumably he’ll drink that later.

They adjourn to have the briefing in the steam room and luckily Helm doesn’t have to read any documents or take notes in there. It’s a pretty crap steam room in that there are only two wafts of kettle steam in a large room but it does allow Lovey and Helm to start making out. He asks her for McDonald’s message and she says she doesn’t have it. Great, so as well as a needless long distance call, they sent a government employee out to a top secret installation with no message. Man, the Johnson administration just pissed money away.



But no, Lovey does have a message, or at least her bra does. Unbeknownst to her, McDonald has recorded a message in her bra which activates as Helm tries to take it off. OK, so let’s just recap here before my brain melts: Lovey wears a lace bra in a steam room and it has a tape recorded message concealed in it which activates when Matt freakin’ Helm takes it off. And they wonder why Apollo got cancelled early. Anyway, Helm is to investigate what happened to Sheila because she’s the key to the greatest crisis the US has ever faced. Yes, because banging Sheila is the only way to get to the bottom of this mystery and they’ve found just the right man for the job.

But before he can work on the greatest crisis the US has ever faced, he’s still following the pattern of this movie so far: Do a bit of training, bang the instructor, do a bit more training, bang another instructor. This time he’s in a fake train compartment with a middle aged man, an old lady with a scowl on her face and a beautiful girl. Yeah, I think what’s going to happen next....anyway, an announcer says that one of the people in the train compartment is an enemy agent with a concealed message and Helm has to work out who it is. So everyone sits still and looks at each other shiftily, then the lights go out to simulate going into a tunnel. When they come back on, everyone has changed places and Helm is asleep. Then this is repeated until at the third time the lights come back on, the beautiful girl has been undressed and Helm is holding the secret message. No explanation is given as to how he figured the girl was the spy, my guess is that Helm just wanted a grope and got lucky with the message.



That bit of training over, everyone leaves the compartment except for the middle aged man who pulls a gun on Helm. He demands to know what Helm knows about the flying saucer craft and Helm says something like “harruw y’know I nggonna divulgshe informabbleubble”. The lights go out, shots are fired and when they go back on, the middle aged guy is dead, Helm is lying next to him (drunk) and McDonald, also drunk, is in the compartment holding a gun and saying “nowww you knowsh why (hic) you’re here”. So let me work this out...McDonald phones from Washington to the base in the desert to say that Lovey has a message for Matt, concealed in her bra, but he’s decided to fly out and meet with Helm anyway and shows up in the nick of time. No wonder Dino’s plastered in order to get through this movie!

McDonald asks Helm if he’s ever seen a flying saucer...sure, they come right before the pink elephants and the millions of crawling spiders. Anyway, McDonald goes on to drawl that the government has built a prototype which is powered by electro-magnetic forshe...I mean, force. It’s been stolen and Sheila, the test pilot, was left as a basket case. Matt, ever the enlightened, can’t believe they put a girl in the craft to fly it but McDonald orders Helm to get close to her and try to find out what happened. “She won’t let a man go near her, but that’s never stopped you” says McDonald...this movie was obviously written before “no means no” came into the language. Helm then suggests to McDonald that there’s a double agent in ICE helping the enemy...well, he would if he understood spy lingo but instead it comes out as “shomebody on our shide.....ishn’t”

Back at the base, Government Issue Gil has done wonders and restored Sheila’s hair and skin colour, but she’s freaking out when an orderly tries to give her a sedative injection. Helm bursts in and knocks him out and so ends the mystery of the double agent. Why waste film footage on building genuine mystery and tension? He cradles Sheila in his arms and hey presto, she’s back to normal. So two plot points solved in one go; that’s efficiency. Actually, it’s a problem this movie has right throughout. Often a potentially interesting plot point begins, only to have it fizzle out by the next scene. The story of “The Ambushers” is one long fizzle so get used to having your hopes for something interesting to happen dashed.

OK, that's enough bandwidth used up for now

Mark Adams on becoming Dean Martin for his new show That’s Amore at the Empire Theatre

Hey pallies, here's more on Dinoemulater Mr. Mark Adams who's Dinotrib will be comin' to the states soon. Woulda loves if it cames anywhere nears this Dinoholic's homepad so I could see Mr. Adam's Dinodevotion for myself.

Thanks to Miss Laura Davis of the Liverpool Daily Post for sharin' this interview of Mark Adams with us. To view this in it's original format, just likes clicks on the tagg of this Dinogram. There are so so many dudes makin' likes our Dino and hopefully each and every one keeps bringin' new pallies to knowin', lovin' and honorin' our Dino! Dinodesirin', DMP



Mark Adams on becoming Dean Martin for his new show That’s Amore at the Empire Theatre

Nov 6 2009 by Laura Davis, Liverpool Daily Post



That’s Amore star Mark Adams tells Laura Davis what it’s like to become Dean Martin

WHEN it came to naming the family dog, Mark Adams’s four children immediately knew what to call him – Deano. As their father has been playing the Ratpack’s Dean Martin since 2002 it seemed a natural choice.

“He’s a black lab with a little white crest so he looks like a negative version of Dean – instead of a black bow tie he’s got a white one,” reveals the 50-year-old performer.

Mark Adams has all of Martin’s charm and, after seven years of acting as him in shows all over the world, also his low vibrato and his mannerisms – picked up from endless hours watching 60s movies.

“The particular way he might hold a cigarette or a Jack Daniels glass. The way he would touch his bow tie. And he had a distinctive walk, almost a stroll,” says Adams.

“I’d say I’m broad shoulded and broad minded like Dean was and I’m a touch over 6ft as he was.

“Actually when I did the first That’s Amore show two years ago I was exactly the same age Dean was when he did his television debut back in 1965.

“He had such a distinctive voice and he was quite self-effacing about it. He’d say ‘look, I’m easy on the ear, I can carry a tune’.

“But every time he sang a song he could absolutely make it his own with the first few bars.”

That’s Amore, based on Martin’s successful TV specials, is coming to the Empire Theatre on November 16 and will then immediately head to America for an 18-city tour.

The Wiltshire-born actor has been to the Liverpool venue before, with his Ratpack show in 2002, which spent several years in the West End.

There is far more than singing in That’s Amore however, demonstrating Martin’s (and Adams’s) versatility as a performer.

“I got to know and love this man and his work and started researching the television shows he had in the 60s and 70s in the States,” says Adams.

“They were absolutely brilliant, akin to Morecambe and Wise in the respect that TV wouldn’t have been TV if it wasn’t for Morecambe and Wise in the 60s and I guess the same could be said for the Americans with Dean.

“He could command an impressive list of guests like James Stewart, Gene Kelly, Orson Welles, Frank Sinatra of course, Ella Fitzgerald, Lena Horne – anybody who was anybody wanted to be on it.”

The weekly Dean Martin Show also helped launch the careers of successful actors and comics including Goldie Hawn and Bill Cosby.

In That’s Amore, the actresses playing his backing singers, the Golddiggers, also double up as guests such as Petula Clark, Peggy Lee and Shelia McClain, while Nat King Cole also puts in an appearance.

“We start with the Dean television intro, where the girls burst onstage and Dean comes on for a couple of well known numbers,” says Adams, who lives in Hertforshire with his wife and four children.

“I have a lot of fun with the band and the audience and introduce these guests, who have their solo spots and do duets and sketches with Dean.”

Martin’s image as a carefree boozer was well cultivated by the time he broke into TV, after starring in comedy films with Jerry Lewis as well as Rio Bravo with John Wayne and Young Lions with Montgomery Cliff and Marlon Brando.

Yet he was dedicated to the show – priding himself on memorising each week’s script rather than reading from an autocue.

There were hiccups however.

“The interesting thing is that he didn’t really want to do it and he made so many outrageous demands, one of which is that he would only show up the day of transmission and he wouldn’t rehearse,” explains Adams.

“The leading guy just turns up on the day at one o’clock and listens to the music and then he would go and watch the football match with the producer.

“Then he’d just have a quick camera rehearsal and bang, off he’d go.

“But the producer knew how brilliant Dean was at coping – if he was put in a corner he could box himself out of it and they used to keep the bloopers in because they were arguably more funny than the script.”

THAT’S Amore is at the Empire Theatre on Nov 16. LDP Weekend has three pairs of tickets to give away. For a chance to win a pair simply answer the following question: What was the name of the Las Vegas hotel where the Ratpack held regular shows? Answers on a postcard by 5pm on November 10 to That’s Amore Competition, Liverpool Daily Post, PO Box 48, Old Hall Street, Liverpool L69 3EB or via email to laura.davis@liverpool.com. Usual terms and conditions apply.

THE AMBUSHERS: PART 3

Hey pallies, here is installment 3 of this Nick chicks sharin' of "The Ambushers." As you read this, sures you know that I don't agree with much of her Dinoperspective....but loves the pixs and loves seein' the name of our Dino bein' lifted up which certainly will make other pallies curiously 'nough to wanna checks out our great man for themselves! Parts 4-6 will follow. Again, to read this in it's original format, just clicks on the tagg of this Dinomessage. Dinosharin', DMP

THE AMBUSHERS: PART 3

We cut to an aerial shot of some defence installation in the desert called the Intelligence Counter Espionage Rehabilitation Centre and it’s staffed by largely comely girls aged 17-25 wearing standard miniskirt, hotpants and go go boots uniforms with little white pom pom berets as any self-respecting government agency did back in those days. There are a few male staff in army khaki uniforms but frankly I had to watch the movie twice before I noticed them. A female instuctor tells an assembled bunch of, I presume trainee agents although they may be visiting students from a Swedish finishing school for all I know, about a device that can dissolve metal electonically. And this is one of the technical concepts in the movie that makes more sense than the rest. She points the device at a male mannequin and its nipples fry, the belt buckle melts and its pants fall down. Another device that’s a hoot at parties.



The students move off and as they pass a window, they can hear Dean Martin singing “Everybody Falls In Love Somehow”. See what they did there? A bit of self-mocking. Yeah well get used to it, there’s more to come. Two of them intone, in a way that indicates they weren’t cast for their acting ability, that “lucky Linda ...yes... imagine... working on a....field problem with....him”. Him being our hero, Matt Helm. And sure enough he’s making out with yet another hot 60s babe. Now when Sean Connery does that in a Bond movie it’s sexy, in this movie it’s just plain eeeeeeww. Remember how wrong the lovemaking scenes looked in the last couple of Roger Moore Bond movies? Remember thinking that it was time Rog moved along? Now quadruple that feeling of nausea and that’s what you get here.

There’s a bang and a puff of smoke and Dino keels over, probably through drink, possibly because he’s ‘acting’ but frankly it’s hard to tell. I’m going with ‘drink’ though because his first line is “howdy’e alike zhat? I dinn’t even get to shqueeze zhe trigger”. This sets up the pattern for all of Dino’s dialogue; slurred, but this time he at least remembered what his lines were...which is more than can be said for a lot of other dialogue in the movie. By the way, the gunshot came from the girls’ bra; a new wonder weapon...the .38 D cup and yes, it is the inspiration for Austin Powers’ Fembots although it’s way funnier when you see it here played straighter. They banter and she’s already up for making out with him again (it’s good to see the CIA likes to recruit girls with low self esteem) when he calls a halt and goes to leave the room: Almost colliding with the door and checking himself at the last second. Me drunk, officer?

The girls outside all hear that Matt Helm’s approach is iminent; probably from the sounds of furniture being crashed into whilst saying “I haven’t had a drink, officer, now where are my pants?” but before they can lie prostrate at his feet, a scream is heard and a woman wearing a white straight jacket and white tights comes running out. Who is responsible for the wardrobe in this movie? I don't know whether to kick them or hug them.

It’s our test pilot from the opening scene, Sheila Sommers, although this time her hair and face are as white as her outfit. She babbles that she needs help and a passing doctor of plot exposition helpfully explains that she was found in a jungle with no memory and babbling that all men are out to kill her. Just as well she decided to run to Matt Helm, a man, to ask for help or is this a dig at Matt because she doesn’t see him as a man? In which case, harsh!

Anyway, Helm’s concerned for Sheila as she’s dragged off to the nuthatch again but before he can do anything about it, he’s almost run over by yet another scantily clad agent on a motor scooter. He hops on board and...oh God, he looks to camera just as he’s about to grab on to her breasts. I’m sure that kind of thing was illegal even in the Swinging Sixties!

Helm’s carted off to receive a phone call from his boss, McDonald, who is James Gregory’s character and together he and Dino have a drunken conversation that goes a little like this:

HELM: “Hurungen shumbee don’t need no refresherrrr courshe”

McDONALD: “Hararge ah-harrgle new emergenshy come up”

Dino stumbles over his lines and almost forgets them so much so that a joke about the Aberdeen Proving Grounds falls flatter than matzo bread. Anyway, the purpose of McDonald’s call is to let Helm know that he hasn’t the time to explain the problem but his secretary has all the details. And this was a long distance call as well. Well, when it comes to implementing government efficiency savings, we’ll start with McDonald.

But seeing that it’s been all of a minute and a half since Helm last flirted, groped or harrassed a beautiful woman, along comes a French fencing instructor in white fishnets and a large white heart on her chest to provide yet another...ahem...romantic interlude. Why she’s French, why she’s wearing neck to toe fishnets and why she needs to instruct Matt Helm in fencing right here and right now isn’t explained. The large heart I assume is to provide even a paralytic Matt Helm with a target he can aim at.

From there, we cut to the I.C.E. base beauty salon. Yes, this top secret high tech intelligence and military installation has it’s own beauty salon complete with its own gay stylist called Gil. The medics from earlier bring in Sheila because when dealing with a top test pilot with amnesia and paranoia the best thing to give them is a complete make-over! Because that’s what you girls all want eh? New shoes and a nice new hair do! Eh girls, am I right?



So while Federal-Funded Gil goes to work on Sheila, we get to meet Matt Helm’s secretary, Lovey Kravezit. You know, a name like that makes Ian Fleming’s Bond girls sound like paragons of feminism. She flirts with the ICE base guards with the result that the men go all slack jawed and have accidents with their coffee mugs: With troops like these defending the nation, I suspect that this could have been a contributing factor to America losing the Vietnam War.

OK, time to take another break. We'll be back after I've had my dinner.

“I was excited when I was nominated. And now, I am thrilled to be hosting with Dean Martin.”

Hey pallies, from the Entertainment Weekly web pad Hollywood Insider comes this funnin' little Dinomention. To read this in it's original format, just clicks on the tagg of this Dinogram.

Did a little 'net searchin' and found out that what Mr. Baldwin was doin' is havin' a bit of fun here....he will actually be hostin' with funny man Steve Martin. For a Dinomoment was hopin' that perhaps our Dino has return from the other side and I had not heard...

Whatever pallies, just so thrilled to see the name of our Dino bein' lifted up and continued to be mentioned in all sorts of places and spaces... Dinofunnin', DMP








Alec Baldwin 'thrilled' to be hosting the Oscars

by Leah Greenblatt

Categories: Awards Shows, News

What do you get the man who has everything — Meryl Streep on speed dial, pockets stuffed with Emmys, the FunCooker prototype? Ah, but of course: A co-hosting gig on the 2010 Oscars telecast! And with his upcoming It’s Complicated co-star, no less.

“I have always enjoyed watching the Oscar telecast,” Baldwin told EW. “I was excited when I was nominated. And now, I am thrilled to be hosting with Dean Martin.”

Wait, that’s…oh never mind.

THE AMBUSHERS: PART 2

Hey pallies, likes here is installement duo of Miss Nick's look at Matt Helm caper numero three, "The Ambushers." Again, per Dinousual, you can clicks on the tagg of this Dinogram to see this at the Agony Booth pad.

Gotta 'fess up that I never listened carefuly to the lyrics of the opennin' song....loves the mixin' of brandy and lemonade....speakin' of how Dinodevotion knows no bounds...brandy for the oldsters...lemondade for the youngsters...Dino for everyone! Dinodelightedly, DMP

THE AMBUSHERS: PART 2


The opening titles set out the tone of this movie in a frank and honest way: It’s chock filled with pretty girls in bikinis on the beach making flirty eyes at the audience. The theme song, not even bothering to try to compete with John Barry and Shirley Bassey, sounds like an unholy alliance between Nancy Sinatra, The Lovin’ Spoonful and Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass. If that combination doesn’t fry your brain, then maybe the lyrics will:

They get you in the sun
They get you in the shade
They get you when you’re sniffing brandy
Or sipping lemonade.

I don’t think Mr. Bond has anything to fear from the competition at this point.





So after a whole load of boob shaking, palm trees and stupid and slightly misogynistic lyrics we see a flying saucer. OK, switching suspension of disbelief on........now! It’s a flying saucer but that’s OK readers; it’s one of ours. A lone pilot gets on board, watched by a team of Air Force officers from mission control. Technicians give the usual “all systems go” malarkey and we are informed this is a test flight; you may turn your papers over......now!

The operation overseen by James Gregory, perhaps the only actor in this movie who slurs his words more than Dean Martin. He announces that if this test is successful, “the planets are next door and the universe is just around the corner!”. Seeing that we’re IN the middle of the universe this is a very dumb statement to make, and from the head of the project as well. Something tells me that with this level of thinking, the mission isn’t going to go well.

The flying saucer glows red and takes off to the sound of a sexy jazz saxophone because that’s just right for a scene like this. The Air Force crew are all happy and take their attention away from their control panels in order to pat each other on the back. As the flying saucer settles into Earth’s orbit, a mysterious truck parks in a fake looking jungle set and starts emitting sparkles from a device mounted on its roof. These sparkles, with a visible range of 3 feet, somehow upset the flying saucer and make it change colour from red to green. The lone astronaut on board looks worried and tries to correct things from its el cheapo control box but to no avail. Mission control, who can see the craft in orbit via some whatever technology, start to panic and cry like little girls as they find all their controls are jammed. Maybe if you hadn’t turned away from your controls in the first place guys, that’s all I’m saying.



The sickly green saucer is forced to land in the fake jungle set and the astronaut takes off their helmet. They’re a...... wooooman! This isn’t an early example of gender equality in movies by the way, oh no never in this movie, but part of a plot point so ludicrous that I just can’t bring myself to mention it now. Later, when I’ve had a few drinks. She is then confronted by a goofy looking man in a safari suit, sunglasses and sporting a Salvador Dali moustache and goatee combination because wardrobe and make up couldn’t decide on one or the other.



Part 3 tomorrow....

" great Blog site that is as ‘Dino’d’ as a site can get"

Hey pallies, our Dinodevoted pallie Mr. Ralph Baker who has recently created a Wordpress blogg tagged: "Wanted – The Dean Martin Show!
Will America's #1 variety program find its way to the Public Domain?"

Mr. Baker has created a Dinolinks page at his padd and very graciously has included a link to this here ilovedinomartin Dinoblog. Below is the cool words that Mr. Baker has used to describe this Dinosite and yours truly. I likes so so appreciate Mr. Baker liftin' up this Dinopad and it's Dinomission...helpin' others hungry and thirsty for our Dino to find Dinorefreshment here at ilovedinomartin.

Thanks pallie, for spreadin' the Dinoword 'bout ilovedinomartin and wishin' you the very Dinobest in your very important Dinowork and Dinomission of gettin' full episodes, full seasons of the Dinoshow into the hands of Dinoholics likes us. Dinodelightedly, DMP btw, pallies, this cool Dinopix is from Mr. Baker's other Dinoenterprise....his Dinodialogue Dinosite at yahoo tagged The Dean Martin TV Show



Now…if you are the kind of person who believes in Dean Martin and all that he represented to the fullest extent, well – someone already beat you to the punchlines! He is Dean Martin Peters, and he owns a great Blog site that is as ‘Dino’d’ as a site can get. I have no idea what he looks like unless he is the modeler in a certain advert for Kent Cigarettes (Dean Martin’s brand!). He is a mystery of sorts; I tried to figure him out – and I failed!! So YOU take a whack at ‘im. He’s at - www.ilovedinomartin.blogspot.com. Good Luck!!!

THE AMBUSHERS (1967)

Hey pallies, likes diggs this, a youngen chick tagged Nick over at a pad tagged Agony Booth has created a six part Dinofeature doin' a stellar job of recappin' "The Ambushers," Dinoflick numero 3 in the Matt Helm quartet of spy capers. To checks this out in it's original format, just clicks on the tagg of this Dinogram.

Will be postin' all 6 count 'em 6 parts of this Dinoseries, but for now sits back and enjoys part one.... I loves seein' today's youth liftin' up the name of our Dino and honorin' him in such a profound Dinoway! Dinodelightedly, DMP

lHere it is...my first promised recap. Yes, it's an old movie and yes it isn't a sci-fi or fantasy stinker but I hope you enjoy it nonetheless. It's by no means an obscure movie; it has an A list star in the lead and was very popular in its day. It probably turned a greater profit at the box office than a lot of offical recapped movies here so without further ado...


THE AMBUSHERS (1967)






DRAMATIS PERSONAE

MATT HELM (Dean Martin). Suave, sophisticated, ruthless, dangerous, loved by women, feared by men, super-spy. All words used to describe James Bond. Matt Helm, on the other hand, makes Austin Powers look like the model of efficiency.

McDONALD (James Gregory). Head of ICE and Matt Helm's boss. Sends his agents on pointless errands that eats up Federal money like there's no tomorrow. Also sounds drunker than Dean Martin, which is saying something.

SHEILA SOMMERS (Janice Rule). Look up MILF on wikipedia. That's Sheila Sommers in a nutshell. She's smart, resourceful, a top pilot and way better qualified to be on the mission than Matt Helm. Talk about the glass ceiling for women...

FRANCESCA MADIEROS (Senta Berger). The other reason to watch this movie. She's a sultry femme fatale who has unfortunately overdone things at the tanning parlour.

JOSE ORTEGA/CASELIUS (Albert Salmi). This movie's attempt at a Bond villain played by Petrocelli's sidekick. His ruthlessness and deviousness is let down by his hiring of the worst security force in movie villain history. I keep telling them, it's alright to pump money into volcano hideouts, death rays and bathysubs but cutting back on hired goons is a false economy...

The trouble with success is that everyone tries to copy you and tap into whatever it was that made you successful. And back in the 1960s everyone wanted to tap into James Bond. Looking back at 60s TV and movies you’d think the only jobs available to men were advertising executive, astronaut and spy; and it was the latter carreer choice that spawned 1001 James Bond imitations.

Some were excellent; like the Michael Caine Harry Palmer movies. Some were fun, like The Man From UNCLE, some were ludicrous but got away with it because the cast seemed to be having fun like James Coburn in the two Derek Flint movies. And some were made in Japan and got dubbed over by Woody Allen. But one 60s spy franchise held its own against 007 with 4 movies being made in 5 years, although for the life of me I can’t think why. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Dean Martin as Matt Helm.

Matt Helm began as a series of gritty, realistic and well plotted spy novels written by Donald Hamilton. In them Helm is tough, analytical, methodical, ruthless and highly competant despite being described as getting on in years and out of condition. For the Matt Helm movies, the producers decided to junk the first 5 character traits and focus on the last 2. And once they’d settled on that, they found their perfect Helm in Dean Martin...although I think that’s probably a co-incidence.

The Matt Helm movies, starting with The Silencers and ending with The Wrecking Crew, tried to out-Bond the Bond movies on a fraction of the budget. They couldn’t compete with large set piece action scenes so instead they crammed the Helm movies with stuff and pretty girls and hoped that would compensate. Bond may have had 2 or 3 gadgets per movie but Helm would have 4 or 6 ordinary looking items from WalMart which would just explode in an Irwin Allen Lost In Space kind of way. And if Bond had one or two sexual encounters, Helm would get jiggy every 10 minutes just to up the ante. In short, a Matt Helm film is about cramming in a lot of cheap tat in its 90 minutes of running time. Even by drug fuelled 60s standards, the Matt Helm movies are pretty ropey but they did well at the box office, for some reason no one can fathom (although I have one theory which I will explain later), and a 5th one was planned and was only stopped because Dean Martin felt too bummed out about the death of his co-star in The Wrecking Crew, Sharon Tate, to continue.

But before we move on to The Ambushers, a word about the star: Dean Martin. We all know his silky smooth style and his love of booze? We do? Good. Because that’s about the alpha and omega of his performances in them. The Silencers has great fun with sending up that image and the next movie Murderer’s Row, actually has some decent action in it to keep Dino on his toes. By The Ambushers, he’s totally paralytic and it shows throughout. He can’t say a line without slurring it or forgetting what comes next and his reaction times are slower than a geological age. And then there’s the sleaze: The central conceit of this movie is that if you’re a middle aged man, pushing 50, permanently sozzled and in desperate need of a cigarette then, natch, you are the greatest gift to womankind ever. Women just barely old enough to sign a consent form just throw themselves at Dean Martin and that is just the way the world works in this movie. After watching The Ambushers, you can’t help feel that Mike Myers wasted everyone’s time with the Austin Powers movies because they are so tame compared with the Helm originals. So a bit of suspension of disbelief is required about the sexual prowess of its leading man...and the plot, the villains, and just about everything that goes on from the opening titles to the blessed relief of THE END.

Dean and the Kid at Paramount after taping You're Never Too Young

Hey pallies, I just don't know where Dinogirl Maria is findin' all these delightful shots of our Dino. Had to grab this Dinopix of our Dino and the jer with bikes to share will all you Dinoholics here at ilovedinomartin. To view this at Maria's padd, just clicks on the tagg of this Dinogram to goes there.

This Dinophoto is one that I have never ever seen before and I loves it so so Dinomuch. Loves how the guys are lookin' out from inside the bikes and how our Dino's is tagged "Boy Singer" and the kid's tagg is "Child Star." This certainly musta drawn millions more to wanna goes to the bigg screen to see 'em in "You're Never Too Young." Knows if I had seen this pix in that era I woulda ran to the box office to see 'em do their magic in this swingin' Dinocaper.

Thanks to our Maria for sharin' this at her great blogg so I coulda pass it on to all Dinolovin' pallies here. Dinodelightedly, DMP btw, no worries, will resume sharin' more cool Dinoclips from "Robin and the 7 Hoods" in a few....

Today's picture : )
Dean and the Kid at Paramount after taping You're Never Too Young

"I can out-dance Dean Martin, but I could never out-sing him," was one of his favorite lines.

Hey pallies, the youngens diggs our Dino, the oldsters diggs our Dino...people of all ages and stages of life, just can't gets 'nough of our great man! The last Dinogram was 'bout a young chick tagged Harley who has become Dino-obsessed. This here Dinogram is 'bout a cetenarian tagged Allen Jackson who has just departed the planet at age 106, who spoke of dancin' with our Dino for the troops durin' WWII.

Mr. Jackson sez of our Dino: "I can out-dance Dean Martin, but I could never out-sing him." We thanks Mr. Brett Prettyman of the Salt Lake Tribune (clicks on tagg of this Dinopost to goes there) for lettin' us know of Mr. Jackson's Dinodevotion.

Just goes to show that pallies of all ages and stages have come to know, love, and honor our Dino....everybody loves our Dino all the times! Let's keep spreadin' the Dinomessage of cool as Dinofar and Dinowide as Dinopossible! Dinoforever, DMP




Cetenarian a beloved source of Utah stories

By Brett Prettyman

The Salt Lake Tribune

Updated: 11/03/2009 06:13:26 PM MST



Jackson kept old newspaper clippings and photographs at... (Chris Detrick/Tribune file photo)«123»Allan Jackson loved to tell stories almost as much as people loved to hear them.

He told one about entertaining injured soldiers at Camp Kearns, the World War II Army facility, by dancing with Shirley Temple and Dean Martin.

"I can out-dance Dean Martin, but I could never out-sing him," was one of his favorite lines.

Jackson, who would have turned 106 later this month, passed away Monday at his home in Rose Park. But the stories from his full life may last forever.

Born in the Bahamas in 1903, Jackson had 15 siblings, including a twin brother, Allen, who is still living in New York. Older brother Joseph, 108, is also still living on the East Coast.

Jackson was married seven times, but divorced only once. He outlived six wives, including his last, Esther, who died in 1994. He had 38 children and more than 50 great-grandchildren.

Jackson grew up in Montgomery, Ala., and enlisted in the Army in 1942. He served two years in China, Burma and India, transferring fuel for U.S. bombers before being sent to Camp Kearns in the Salt Lake Valley in 1944.

Pam Todd met Jackson the day he turned 100. Todd was founder of the Kearns Historical Society and was gathering stories from soldiers who had been stationed at the World War II camp. She was instantly enthralled.

"He had a special way about him. He just really connected with everybody," said Todd. "When he said he was happy to meet you he meant it. You always knew he was glad to see you."

During that first meeting, Todd learned Jackson was the last soldier to leave Camp Kearns in 1946 and had chained and locked the gates. Jackson was also featured in the KUED Ch. 7 documentary "Utah World War II Stories," which aired in 2005.

Jackson talked about the segregation black soldiers faced at Camp Kearns throughout the years, but never in a negative way. In fact, Todd said it was the kindness of locals that made him stay after the war ended.

"He felt accepted in Utah. He loved it here. It was his home," Todd said.

In 2006, Todd and Jackson worked together to get the St. Paul United Methodist Church in Copperton added to the National Historic Register. The building had originally served as the church for Camp Kearns, but Jackson and his fellow black soldiers were not allowed to enter the building. They had to use the theater for their church services.

"He was 103 the first time he walked into that church and he held no bad feelings whatsoever," Todd said. "We were walking arm in arm into the church and he said 'Here I am to save God's house.' He was proud of the things he was doing."

Todd called Jackson a walking history book and her trump card when it came to preserving the history of Kearns.

Wayne Hunting was a more recent acquaintance. As a member of the Utah Patriot Guard Riders motorcycle club, Hunting was supposed to arrange for Jackson to ride in a parade during the Kearns Days Celebration in June. The mayor had also officially declared it Allan Jackson Day, but Jackson fell ill the night before the event and was in the hospital. Hunting and the other riders decided to visit Jackson there and ended up taking him for a ride through his Rose Park neighborhood after he returned home.

"He touched our lives remarkably quick. It is just the type of person he was. He had this people magnetism about him even in his frail state," Hunting said. "There are a bunch of rugged bikers who are crying for his loss."

Funeral services are pending.

Allan Jackson 1903-2009

I <3 Dean

Hey pallies, here are some pixs of our Dino, the jer and Miss Audrey. The pixs come from a blogg tagged "Dreaming In Black And White' modded by a young chick tagged Harley. If you read her info you find she is "at university".....ain't it the coolest to find 'nother youngen' who diggs our Dino?!??!?!

Loves to find more and more of today's youth who loves our great man and willin' to proclaim it to the whole world! To view Miss Harley's blogg, just likes clicks on the tagg of this Dinogram to goes there. Hopes that our Dino willa not only be this lady's "current obsession"....hopin' she will stay Dino-obsessed for Dinoever! Dinodesirin', DMP


Tuesday, November 3, 2009
My Current Obsession

Photos of Audrey w/ Dean Martin & Jerry Lewis. 'nuff said. Take a look cos you can't blame me!!!!!!!!!! I <3 Dean + Audgers too of course, Jerry seemed cool. I go crazy when I see em. Thank you tumblr.



no Jerry; insert Frank, Shirley + William Wyler.



Ok, she was the most adorable thing...ever.





LOL

Our Dino gives testimony in "Mr. Booze" from "Robin and the 7 Hoods"

Hey pallies, here's 'nother great Dinoscene from the swingin' big screen musical "Robin and the 7 Hoods." Listens to our Dino gives testimony durin' the rousin' rendition of "Mr. Booze." Stay tunes for more wonderful Dinomoments from this good times-good feelin's Dinopix. Dinodiggin', DMP