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Mar 29 2013
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dean Martin
One of the most popular and enduring American entertainers of the mid-20th Century, Martin was nicknamed the “King of Cool”[1][2] due to his seemingly effortless charisma and self-assuredness. A member of the “Rat Pack,” Martin was a major star in four areas of show business: concert stage/nightclubs, recordings, motion pictures, and television. He was the host of the successful television variety program The Dean Martin Show (1965–1974), and subsequently The Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts (1974–1985).
Martin’s relaxed, warbling crooning voice earned him dozens of hit singles including his signature songs “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?”.
Contents
■1 Early life
■2 Alleged Mafia connections
■3 Career
■3.1 Teaming with Jerry Lewis
■3.2 Solo career
■3.3 The Rat Pack
■3.4 The Dean Martin Celebrity Roast
■4 Personal life
■5 Later years and death
■6 Tributes and legacy
■7 Popular culture
■7.1 In film and television
■7.2 In games and gambling
■7.3 In music
■7.4 Other
■8 Discography
■9 Filmography
■10 References
■11 Further reading
■12 External links
Early life
Martin was born in Steubenville, Ohio, to an Italian father, Gaetano, and an Italian-American mother, Angela Crocetti (née Barra). His father was from Montesilvano, Pescara, Abruzzo, Italy, and his mother was of Neapolitan and Sicilian ancestry. Martin had an older brother 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.[3] He delivered bootleg liquor, served as a speakeasy croupier, was a blackjack dealer, worked in a steel mill and boxed as a 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, bruised body (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.”[4] 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. Martin knocked out King in the first round of an amateur boxing match.[5]
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 he change his name to Dean Martin.
In October 1941, Martin married Elizabeth Anne McDonald. During their marriage they had four children. The marriage ended in divorce in 1949. 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,[6] 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 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.
Alleged Mafia connections
A biography of Martin titled Dean Martin: King of the Road, by Michael Freedland, alleged that he had links to the Mafia early in his career. According to this book, Martin received help with his singing career from members of 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 Accardo and Sam Giancana. Freedland suggests that Martin felt little sympathy for the Mafia and did small favors for them 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 John Roselli, Luca Cosentino, and Anthony Fiato. Smith suggested that Fiato did many favors for Martin, such as recovering money from two swindlers who had cheated his ex-wife Betty out of thousands of dollars of her alimony.[7]
Career
Teaming with Jerry Lewis
Main article: Martin and Lewis
Martin attracted the attention of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer 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 each other.
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 and Hammerstein appearing on this same inaugural telecast on 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.[8] 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.
Solo career
Never being 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 Lions (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, television, 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 satyric 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. Indeed, in the second Matt Helm film Murderers’ Row (1966), Helm, about to be executed, receives a last cigarette, and tells the provider, “I’ll remember you from the great beyond,” continuing sotto voce, “somewhere around Steubenville, I hope.”
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 such as 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 11 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.”
The Rat Pack
Main article: 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 Bishop, 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 Strip 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 appearances were unprecedentedly valuable because the city would always become flooded with high rollers, wealthy gamblers who would routinely leave substantial fortunes in the casinos’ coffers. 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. The Rat Pack was largely responsible for the integration of Las Vegas. Sinatra and Martin were active supporters of the Civil Rights Movement and refused to perform in clubs that would not allow African-American or Jewish performers.[9]
Posthumously, the Rat Pack has experienced a popular revival, inspiring the George Clooney/Brad Pitt “Ocean’s” trilogy.
The Dean Martin Celebrity Roast
In 1965, Martin launched his weekly NBC 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 roasts. 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. The show’s loose format prompted quick-witted improvisation from Martin and the cast. 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 NBCUniversal.
Despite Martin’s reputation as a heavy drinker – a reputation perpetuated via his vanity license plates reading “DRUNKY” – he was remarkably self-disciplined.[10] 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 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.
Martin starred in and co-produced a series of four Matt Helm superspy comedy adventures.
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.
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 follow-up single “L.A. Is My Home” / “Drinking Champagne” came in 1985. The 1975 film Mr. Ricco marked Martin’s final starring role.
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, 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.[11]
Personal life
Martin was married three times. Subsequent to the divorce of his first wife, Elizabeth Anne “Betty” McDonald, Martin gained custody of their children; Betty lived out her life in quiet obscurity in San Francisco. Their children were Stephen Craig Martin (born 1942), Claudia Dean Martin (born March 16, 1944, died 2001 of breast cancer), Barbara Gail Martin (born 1945) and Deana Martin (born 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 1953) and Gina Caroline (born 1956), whose marriage made Martin the father-in-law of The Beach Boys’ Carl Wilson.
Martin’s third marriage, to Catherine Hawn, lasted three years. Martin would initiated divorce proceedings. One of Martin’s managers spotted her at the reception desk of a hair salon on Rodeo Drive, then arranged a meeting. Martin adopted Hawn’s daughter Sasha. Martin’s uncle was Leonard Barr, who appeared in several of his shows.[12]
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 Jersey 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, The 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.[13] The lights of the Las Vegas Strip were dimmed in his honor. His tombstone features the epitaph “Everybody Loves Somebody Sometime”, the name of his signature song.
Martin is buried at the Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles.
Tributes and legacy
In 1996, Ohio Rte. 7, through Steubenville, was rededicated as Dean Martin Boulevard. Road signs bearing an Al Hirschfeld caricature of Martin’s likeness officially designate the stretch, along with a state historical marker bearing a small picture and brief biography of Martin, 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, Clark County, Nevada 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; the second at 1617 Vine, for recordings; and third at 6651 Hollywood Boulevard, for television.
In February 2009, Martin was honored with a posthumous Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. Four of his surviving children, Gail, Deana, Ricci and Gina, were on hand to accept it on his behalf.
Martin remains to this day one of only two performers to be major stars, and hugely successful, in the four major areas of show business: the concert stage, recordings, motion pictures and television. Doris Day is the other.
Popular culture
A number of 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 Logorama, A Bronx Tale, Casino, Goodfellas, Payback, Vegas Vacation 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).
In film and television
■The voice of the Ant from DePatie-Freleng’s The Ant and the Aardvark cartoons is an impression of Dean Martin performed by John Byner.
■In a 1996 episode of the NBC-TV series Boston Common, actor Anthony Clark pantomimes and dances a routine to Martin’s 1960 song “Ain’t That a Kick in the Head?”
■In the “Join Together” episode (S-6/E-2) of That ’70s Show, when the Formans 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 television series The Golden Girls, the character Sophia Petrillo calls her pillow “Dino”.
■In the movie A Bronx Tale, Martin’s song “Ain’t That a Kick in the Head?” was featured during the scene when C was playing dice.
■A Budweiser TV commercial that premiered during Super Bowl XLI featured Martin’s “Ain’t That a Kick in the Head?”
■British actor Jeremy Northam portrayed the entertainer in a made-for-TV movie called Martin and Lewis, alongside Will & Grace’s Sean Hayes as Jerry Lewis.
■Martin was portrayed by Joe Mantegna in an HBO movie about Sinatra and Martin titled The Rat Pack. Mantegna was nominated for both an Emmy Award and a Golden Globe Award for the role.
■In the movie Return to Me, three of his recordings are featured: “Good Morning, Life,” “Buona Sera” and “Return to Me”.
■Danny Gans portrayed Martin in the miniseries Sinatra.
■In the pilot episode of White Collar, 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 Fiction, 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 Moonstruck, Martin’s recording of “That’s Amore” plays over both the opening and closing credits.
■In the HBO television series The Sopranos, in season 6 episode “Johnny Cakes”, “That’s Amore” is heard when Vito Spatafore is cooking.
■In the Wong Kar-Wai movie 2046, Martin’s recording of “Sway” is played extensively.
■In a Royal Automobile Club commercial, “Memories Are Made of This” 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 the 2011 film Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, Martin’s song “Ain’t That a Kick in the Head?” is used by the IMF team to alert Tom Cruise’s character, Ethan Hunt, that he is about to be sprung from prison.
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.
■Dean Martin’s music is featured on the radios in the video games Mafia II and Godfather II.
■His music is featured in the 2008 rhythm game Samba de Amigo, published by SEGA, for the Wii.
■His music is featured in the 2010 game, Fallout: New Vegas. The song is called “Ain’t That A Kick In The Head”. It is a quest and a song in the radio broadcasts found throughout the game.
In music
■A compilation album called Amore! debuted at Number One on Billboard magazine’s Top Pop Catalog Albums chart in its February 21, 2009 issue.
Other
■In the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show 2008, “Ain’t That A Kick In The Head?” was the opening song from the show.
Discography
Main article: Dean Martin discography
Filmography
Year Film Role Notes
1946 Film Vodvil: Art Mooney and Orchestra Short
1949 My Friend Irma Steve Laird
1950 My Friend Irma Goes West Steve Laird
At War with the Army 1st Sgt. Vic Puccinelli
Screen Snapshots: Thirtieth Anniversary Special Short
1951 That’s My Boy Bill Baker
1952 Sailor Beware Al Crowthers
Jumping Jacks Corp. Chick Allen
Road to Bali Man in Lala’s dream Cameo (uncredited)
The Stooge Bill Miller
1953 Scared Stiff Larry Todd
The Caddy Joe Anthony
Money from Home Herman ‘Honey Talk’ Nelson
1954 Living It Up Dr. Steve Harris
3 Ring Circus Peter ‘Pete’ Nelson
1955 You’re Never Too Young Bob Miles
Artists and Models Rick Todd
1956 Screen Snapshots: Hollywood, City of Stars Short
Pardners Slim Mosely Jr. / Slim Mosely Sr.
Hollywood or Bust Steve Wiley
1957 Ten Thousand Bedrooms Ray Hunter
1958 The Young Lions Michael Whiteacre
Some Came Running Bama Dillert (professional gambler)
1959 Rio Bravo Dude (‘Borachón’)
Career Maurice ‘Maury’ Novak
1960 Who Was That Lady? Michael Haney Nominated – Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
Bells Are Ringing Jeffrey Moss
Ocean’s 11 Sam Harmon
Pepe Cameo
1961 All in a Night’s Work Tony Ryder
Ada Bo Gillis
1962 Something’s Got to Give Nicholas ‘Nick’ Arden (unfinished)
Sergeants 3 Sgt. Chip Deal
The Road to Hong Kong The ‘Grape’ on plutonium Cameo (uncredited)
Who’s Got the Action? Steve Flood
1963 38-24-36 Self
Come Blow Your Horn The Bum (uncredited)
Toys in the Attic Julian Berniers
4 for Texas Joe Jarrett
Who’s Been Sleeping in My Bed? Jason Steel
1964 What a Way to Go! Leonard ‘Lennie’ Crawley
Robin and the 7 Hoods Little John
Kiss Me, Stupid Dino
1965 The Sons of Katie Elder Tom Elder
Marriage on the Rocks Ernie Brewer
1966 The Silencers Matt Helm
Texas Across the River Sam Hollis
Murderers’ Row Matt Helm
1967 Rough Night in Jericho Alex Flood
The Ambushers Matt Helm
1968 How to Save a Marriage and Ruin Your Life David Sloane
Bandolero! Dee Bishop
Rowan & Martin at the Movies Short
5 Card Stud Van Morgan
1968 The Wrecking Crew Matt Helm
1970 Airport Capt. Vernon Demerest
1971 Something Big Joe Baker
1973 Showdown Billy Massey
1975 Mr. Ricco Joe Ricco
1981 The Cannonball Run Jamie Blake
1984 Cannonball Run II Jamie Blake
Terror in the Aisles archival footage
References
1.^ mike says: (2009-07-23). “Dean Martin’s Diva Daughter: Elvis Called My Dad ‘The King of Cool’”. Blog.blogtalkradio.com. Retrieved 2012-11-04.
2.^ “Dean Martin ‘just a golfer’ to his kids”, thestar.com
3.^ Parish, James Robert (2003). Hollywood Songsters: Singers Who ACT and Actors Who Sing: A Biographical Dictionary Volume 2. Routledge. p. 533. ISBN 978-0-415-94333-8.
4.^ Tosches, Nick. Dino: Living High in the Dirty Business of Dreams. Vintage, London, 1999, page 57. ISBN 0-7493-9897-3
5.^ “Dean Martin Amateur Boxing Record”. Boxing-Scoop.com. 1917-06-07. Retrieved 2012-04-15.
6.^ “Two New to Biz Take Over Riobamba.” The Billboard, New York, New York, September 16, 1944, page 24. Link to scanned copy online.
7.^ Smith, John L. The Animal in Hollywood: Anthony Fiato’s Life in the Mafia. Barricade Books, New York, 1998. ISBN 1-56980-126-6
8.^ Lewis, Jerry (2005). Dean and Me: (A Love Story). Doubleday. p. 223. ISBN 978-0-7679-2086-5.
9.^ Sinatra, nancy (1998). Frank Sinatra: an American legend. Readers Digest Assn. p. 156. ISBN 978-0-7621-0134-4.
10.^ Metzger, Richard (July 8, 2011), “Richard Metzger: The time I met Dean Martin”, Dangerous Minds, retrieved July 11, 2011.
11.^ Talevski, Nick (2006). Knocking on Heaven’s Door: Rock Obituaries. Omnibus Press. p. 399. ISBN 978-1-84609-091-2.
12.^ “Famous Epitaph on Dean Martin tomb stone”. Famousquotes.me.uk. Retrieved 2012-11-04.
13.^ Holden, Stephen. Dean Martin, Pop Crooner And Comic Actor, Dies at 78, The New York Times, December 26,
Wow! What comprehensive information!
ReplyDeleteOur Dino is an international star -- and always will be. People recognize quality!
Hey pallie, likes Miss AOW, indeed I likes totally digs this massive prose of fabulous Dino-devotion. Dino-devotion likes knows no bounds! Keeps lovin' our most beloved Dino!
ReplyDeleteGreat info! I remember when The Mills Brothers guest-starred on The Dean Martin Show. Dean looked so happy and proud to sing with them. He was just tickled to have his idols there on stage with him.
ReplyDeleteHey pallie, likes right on Miss Carol....this post is just chocked full of great Dino-details...and yes, our Dino certainly was proud as punch to have Harry Mills and his bros on the Dino-show. Keeps lovin' our Dino!
ReplyDelete