Hey pallies, likes we've not 'nother profoundly provocative Dino-post for all you Dino-philes 'gain this very Dino-day. From the on-line presence of "The Village Voice" by pontificater Mr. Michael Musto comes the Dino-quiry, "Were Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis In Love?
Seems that Musto has got his hands on the Dino and Jerry remembrance, "Everybody Loves Somebody (Especailly Himself)" by Mr. Arthur Marx and Michael quotes Marx sayin' that our Dino and Jerry had "the kind of chemistry that makes for a real love affair."
The Marx publication is one that I have long desired to gets my hands on and read, and this here Dino-prose is goin' get me movin' on that action. Musto's is not the first and will not be the last pallie to ponder the personal relationship between Martin and Lewis and the pages of ilovedinomartin have presented such thoughts before.Woulda be interested in hearin' your thoughts on this Dino-topic pallies. Thanks to Mr. Michael Musto and the pallies at "The Village Voice" for continuin' to keep the life and times of our Dino before the public. To view this in it's original format, likes just clicks on the tag of this Dino-message. In our Dino, DMP
Were Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis In Love?
By Michael Musto Thu., Apr. 19 2012
Way before Adam Sandler did wacky comedy movies opposite himself, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis were the reigning goofball team of 1950s cinema.
Well, I just dug up a book about the singer/shticker duo by Arthur Marx (son of Groucho), and it points to some real affection that lurked beneath the animosity that ultimately broke them up.
Martin and Lewis, asserts Marx, had "the kind of chemistry that makes for a real love affair."
"The feelings the two of them had for each other during the early days of their romance," he writes, "no doubt stemmed from nothing more than the usual 'latent homosexuality' that psychiatrists claim exists between all close friends of the same sex."
But Marx quotes a source close to the duo saying that this partnership was based on a real infatuation.
"Everything Jerry did was either to amuse or please Dean," he swears. He adds that Jerry craved a laugh from Dean even more than he wanted it from the audience.
The source also says that some of the sketches Jerry wrote for the duo to perform "had a mild homosexual flavor to them"--like one in which Jerry was hurt when, after he cooked a big meal for Dino, the crooner dissed him to go play golf.
"Jerry was always the 'wife' or 'girlfriend' in those situations," writes Marx.
It's so sweet that a Jew and an Italian with fake names could be so deeply, intricately bonded.
Unfortunately, there was one person Jerry Lewis loved even more than Dean Martin, and that was Jerry Lewis!
End of relationship!
I see their relationship this way....Jerry worshiped our Dino, much as a teenage girl gets a crush on a movie star. But I highly doubt that Jerry is gay; see this. He'd have to be "seriously" latent to have used that word in reference to homosexuals.
ReplyDeleteOur Dino liked Jerry, but could never quite regard him as a son because Jerry gushed too much in our Dino's presence.
Was latent homosexuality involved in the partnership of Martin and Lewis? I don't think so.
They did work the laughs with their satires of homosexuality. See this video compilation.
Charles Nelson Reilly, a regular on our Dino's TV shows was openly gay. But our Dino's interactions with Reilly never gave off a gay aura.
Our Dino did befriend Montgomery Clift, particularly when they were working on The Young Lions. About their friendship:
...Too [sic] what extent Montgomery and Martin were friends off-screen has not been fully documented. I can imagine that at least on an intuitive level, Dean Martin understood that like himself, Montgomery Clift's screen persona was not that of the same person away from the camera....
I think that our Dino accepted people for who and what they are -- warts and all.
I didn't read Jerry's book, DEAN AND ME, but I've read good reviews of it and heard good things about it. One female reviewer said Jerry truly understood the complications, problems, and intimacies that are involved in male friendships and that sometimes these things break up the friendship. I have to read that book!
ReplyDeleteI do not believe that they loved each other in a romantic way, but rather as brothers, or in the case of Jerry, as a son loves his father. Their love for each other was genuine, and very sweet, but it didn't mean that it was a romantic kind of love. I guess it was what the 21st century would call a "bromance".
ReplyDeleteHey pallie, likes Miss AOW, thanks for sharin' your thoughts on the relationship between our Dino and Jerry...and thanks for the time and effort you took to put your Dino-reflections together for all us pallies. Keeps lovin' our Dino!
ReplyDeleteHey pallie, likes Miss Carol, gotta tell you that my whole outlook on Jerry Lewis changed when I read his book 'bout their 10years together.....truly, truly Mr. Lewis loved and loves our most beloved Dino hugely and most sincerely. Yeah, you simply gotta gets yourself a copy of this book.
ReplyDeleteKeeps lovin' our Dino!
Hey pallie, likes thanks Miss RC for stoppin' by to share your perspectives on this Dino-topic...it is great to read each and every persons reflections on the relationship between our Dino and Jerry. Keeps lovin' our Dino!
ReplyDeleteI think it's a sad story. I have always believed Jerry and Dino had a love relationship and it is something that many gay people know of - falling in love with someone (whether they reciprocated or not) and having to live in a dangerous world of haters. I think the intensity of this relationship is what caused such strong feelings and it's very very sad to me.
ReplyDeleteMr. Doe, thanks for taking the time to share your thoughtful reflections on this topic.
ReplyDeleteThey shared a love of show business and comedy. Yes, there is no way this team could have done what they did for the world without a passionate feeling for each other, but that feeling transcends sexuality for they both were confirmed to making the world happy... Something the average person will never understand. I am this ole lady's husband. Keith Anthony Singleton
ReplyDeleteI read your comments, I read the comments on the story of the two boys and their alleged homosexual relationship and I ask myself a question that for me, as a simple heterosexual, is also quite obvious: have you ever heard of bisexuality? It would be enough NOT to be blind and NOT to be homophobic to understand that between those two there was something that transcended the normal relationship of friendship. Have you ever seen the Colgate episodes? It's all there in front of your eyes. Their bitter breakup confirms this. There were STRONG PERSONAL FEELINGS behind that breakup from which BOTH never recovered. Nick's comment is the most accurate: it's a sad story, a very sad one.
ReplyDeleteDear Paul and Jer, thanks for reading the original prose, the comments, and then making your own personal observations. As the moderator of the blog, I tend not to state a personal position on the relationship between Dino and Jerry, but with that said, I want you to know that I appreciate very much your comments, and if you would read more posts like this one, the blog has never shied away from sharing all perspectives on the personal relationship that Dino and Jerry shared. You are perhaps aware that there are pictures circulating on the internet that would perhaps verify your personal position on Martin and Lewis.
ReplyDelete@dino martin peters I think those two loved each other. As father and son, as older brother and younger brother, as I know nothing else ... there was real affection between those two, also confirmed by Deana Martin. I have read both his book and that of his brother (which I like less because it is too superficial even as his father describes it), I am reading all the books I find about Dean and Jerry. If there had been a simple friendship between those two, their breakup, I repeat, would not have been so tragic. Net of the mistakes of Jerry that there have been (they are more fans of Jerry than of Dean when separated), net of the critics who always put Dean in the background, of that idiot Hall Wallis ... they were divided by whom he would put things like "Leave Jerry, you can do it yourself" in their head and vice versa. They have had great careers as separates, their success continued at the highest level for about ten years, but when they were together they were more fun. Their magic was absolute and if we still talk about them today, after more than 70 years since they got together as a team (but Jerry knew Dean from before his nose surgery), it means that even today that current of love / affection that was between them, continues to fascinate those who look at them. I get excited to tears every time I watch their YouTube videos, they were special together. And even if they had really loved each other, I don't see anything wrong with that. They were soul mates.
ReplyDeleteDear Paul and Jer, Thank you for more of your insights into the remarkable relationship between our Dino and Mr. Lewis. I appreciate the powerful passion you have for these two remarkable entertainers and the beautiful bond they had both on the stage and off. I developed a deeper appreciation for Jerry's love for Dino upon reading his tome "Dean And Me: A Love Story" and Dean's love for Jerry when the watch that Dino gave to Jerry went up for sale some time ago with the inscription on the watch "JERRY MY BUDDY MY PAL I LOVE YOU DINO."
ReplyDeleteFeel free to continue to share your thoughts and feelings on our Dino and Mr. Lewis. It is truly wonderful to hear from another person who loves our Dino and Jerry.
Paul and Jer, might we inquire how your found our Dino-focused blog and how long you have been reading posts? We are always eager to get feedback from fellow lovers of our Dino.
ReplyDelete