"Dean didn't say much usually, but was unfailingly kind to fans when coming and going outside the restaurant."

Hey pallies, likes the dude's tag is Steve Cox and his claim to fame is that he is expert on all thin's 3 Stooges, but in a recent interview with Examiner.com Pop Culture proser Jeremy Roberts, Cox shares some lovin' Dino-memories of precious encounters with our great man at the Hamburger Hamlet.

On this fourth day of Dino-amore-month, ilovedinomartin is pleased to share the Dino-related portions of Roberts' interview with Cox tagged, "Only Fools Are Positive: In Conversation With Three Stooges' Author Steve Cox."

As I read Cox's Dino-remembrances it likes makes me likes so desirin' to have made the pilgrimage to Beverly Hills in the early 90's to have hung out at the Hamlet just waitin' to catch a glimpse of our beloved Dino. Doubt that I woulda ever have had the courage to say even a word to our great man...but likes just to have had the op to have been in his presence for a moment woulda filled me with such Dino-delight!

How blessed dudes likes Steve Cox are to have meet and interacted with our King of Cool. So enjoys readin' Mr. Cox's Dino-reflections...so so full of Dino-amore for Dino-sure! And, likes it thrills me to no Dino-end when Cox sez..... "Dean didn't say much usually, but was unfailingly kind to fans when coming and going outside the restaurant." "Unfailingly kind to fans"...what a wonderful way of payin' tribute to our beloved Dino who was so so lovin' to his fans.

ilovedinomartin sez our thanks to Mr. Jeremy Roberts and the pallies at Examiner.com for sharin' this with the wider Dino-world. To view this in it's original format, just clicks on the tagg of this Dino-gram. And, a big Dino-thanks as well to our pallie Danny G. who saw this first and sent it the ilovedinoamrtin way! Dino-devotedly, DMP

Name a few of those autographs you especially treasure.

Unusual things like that intrigue me. It’s difficult to pin down my favorites after thirty years of collecting. I have a really nice Dean Martin shot of he and I outside Hamburger Hamlet in Beverly Hills, and he signed it “Cheers! Dean Martin.” Simple and signed beautifully. It’s one of the few photos of myself I don’t mind glancing at once in a while.

How did you meet Dean Martin? Seems he had virtually retired from the public eye…

I met Dean Martin many times in the early 1990s because he would frequent the restaurant, Hamburger Hamlet in Beverly Hills as a regular thing for dinner on Sunday nights. Keep in mind, Hamburger Hamlet is not some hamburger joint, it's a really nice place to eat with a terrific bar with a beautiful, comfortable atmosphere.

He seemed to like the place immensely because he went there every Sunday night, almost religiously. I'd say hello sometimes in the restaurant and it was a common thing to see him sitting in the bar and having his usual angel hair pasta dinner and a drink, usually alone.

Most people did not bother him, but there were times when some fans overstayed their hello and the bartender would intercede. I saw that happen a few times. Or a celebrity would stop by and say hello.

I noticed Jerry Seinfeld very respectfully approaching him one evening and talking with him briefly. Also, Elizabeth Montgomery was having dinner there one evening and as she left she said hello and gave him a kiss on the cheek. (I realized later they'd made a movie together in the early ‘60s.)

Dean was not in good condition at that time, unfortunately. He moved very slowly like a 99 year old man with that old man shuffle and his body had just begun to deteriorate. But there he was on Sunday nights.

Dean didn't say much usually, but was unfailingly kind to fans when coming and going outside the restaurant. It was a treat to meet such a legend and talented guy like that.

One time I spoke with him about the Three Stooges and asked him to sign a photo I had of him with the Stooges from the 1963 western 4 For Texas, costarring Frank Sinatra, where he delivers the triple-slap to the guys. Dean said, "I was just givin' them what they gave everybody else."