Dean stops, turns around and scans the crowd until he finds… me!

Hey pallies, likes have we gots a powerfully pure piece of prose to begin our sparkly July month of Dino-devotion here at ilovedinomartin.   Likes 'bout a week 'go we went to google image search lookin' for an appropriate image of our Dino to go 'long with a Hollywood centered post  (SEE HERE). Likes our search not only turned up a great Dino-pose for that bit of Dino-devotion, but also one of the most potently powerful personal Dino-remembrances that we have ever come 'cross.

Our Dino-image searchin' sent us to the pad "HOLLYWOOD JOURNAL - soul of the biz" where a little over a year ago Mr. Paul Greenstone scribed the hugely homagin' post "How Dean Martin hooked me up in Hollywood."  Don't wanna takes anythin' 'way from Greenstone's superb scribin' of his connections with our most beloved Dino and how he met our King of Cool in person. so we are simply gonna say that this is a MUST READ for any pallies who digs our Dino....'cause Paul's reverent reflections are some of the deepest, purest, and truest devotion to our Dino that we have ever been privileged to experience.

We don't know why we didn't come 'cross Mr. Greenstone's Dino-encounter before, but we are likes most thankful that our Dino-image searchin' brought it front and center for us to share it with the larger world of Dino-holics to imbibe and drink deeply of.  We salute Mr. Paul Greenstone for sharin' these wonderfully wise words of Dino-testimony, and for the pallies at "THE HOLLYWOOD JOURNAL" for sharin' it at their pad.  To checks this out in it's original source, simply clicks on the tag of this here Dino-gram.  Dino-always, ever, and only, DMP

How Dean Martin hooked me up in Hollywood

by Paul Greenstone

In 1991, at the age of 24, I moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in show business. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do but thought I’d get a great introduction and overview of the entertainment industry by working for a successful agent at a large agency. Four weeks after I arrived, I got a job interview at ICM to be Mort Viner’s 2nd assistant.

Mort, an “old school” agent (his first name gave that away), got his first job working in the mailroom of MCA until Lew Wasserman picked him to become his assistant. Mort learned how to be an agent from one of the greatest Hollywood agents/executives that ever lived.

Mort’s clients and agenting were his life and he never forgot that he worked for his clients and not the other way around. And Mort never used his job/clients to get favors. Mort represented Shirley MacLaine, Jimmy Stewart, Gene Kelly, Michael Crawford and Dean Martin. Look, I’m a NJ native and my parents introduced me to “Old Hollywood” and “The Rat Pack” at a young age, so this was a dream job for me.

ICM’s HR department told me I’d interview with Nina, who had been Mort’s 1st assistant for many years and I would not meet Mort during the process. After my interview, however, Nina had me meet with Mort for an interview that lasted for one question before being awkwardly dismissed.

The next day I found out that I got the job!

So I filed, read scripts and contracts, got Mort’s lunch, filled his Mercedes with gas, picked up dry cleaning and took him to/from the airport. Obviously, answering the phones was a major part of the job. We fielded offers for Mort’s clients, heads of studios would call.

If someone wanted to talk to Dean Martin (and they were not an ex wife, son/daughter or grandchild), they had to go through Nina and me. Tom Hanks was a big Dean fan and would call once in a while to check in on him.

Frank Sinatra called a lot. President Bush even called for Mort. I can still hear that familiar voice of Jimmy Stewart always saying: “Hello, this is James…” But, Shirley MacLaine, Michael Crawford and Dean Martin called every day. I remember Dean once saying: “You kept me on hold so long, I sobered up twice.”

While I could answer the phones, once Mort got on the call, I was not allowed to listen. I knew I was doing a good job and Nina and Mort liked me, but they did not know me. Trust had not been built, yet. I understood. So, Nina listened in on all the calls and I was in the dark. But after Valentine’s Day, everything changed.

My college buddy Susan Sussman (who was a junior agent at ICM) and I agreed that if we didn’t have any dates for Valentine’s Day, we’d go out for a nice dinner. So, I made a reservation at La Famiglia in Beverly Hills. I’d never been there but Dean had dinner there every night and almost always, he’d dine with Mort. La Famiglia’s owner, Joe Patti, and I had good phone banter and always told me to come by for dinner.

Susan and I show up. It’s packed. I greet Joe, who hugs me as if we’re old friends and points to a booth in the corner: “Dean’s over there eating alone. Go say ‘hi’.” I explain that while Dean and I speak several times a day, we hadn’t met yet.

Joe understands, grabs my hand and races me to Dean. Susan follows and suddenly we’re face to face with Dean Martin: Hollywood legend. We’re introduced, Joe leaves and Dean has us sit down with him. How cool is that? A few minutes later our table is ready. Dean kisses Susan on the hand, shakes mine and tells us to have a good night and we’re escorted to our table.

We’re seated next to Sugar Ray Leonard and his wife and the boxing champ excitedly asked me how I knew Mr. Martin. So, I told him.

About 30 minutes later, Dean gets up. It was as if the whole restaurant stopped and watched silently as he made his way to the front door. His style. His smile. The charisma. He still had “it”. But then…

Dean stops, turns around and scans the crowd until he finds… me!

He saunters towards us. After a brief stop for a handshake and a “hello” with Sugar Ray and his wife, he tells Susan again that it was nice to meet her and gives me a little slap on my face and mutters: “Thanks for everything you do for me, kid”. He turns around and leaves. I’ll never forget that moment for as long as I live.

Later, Joe comes by with a grin and proclaims: “The dessert is on me, the meal’s on Mr. Martin.” Dean Martin just bought us dinner!

The next morning, I relay the events from the previous night to Mort, who is grinning from ear to ear, genuinely happy for me.

That day, Mort told Nina to tell me that I could now listen in on all his phone calls. I was now a “made man” and had complete access to Mort Viner, his clients and all the secrets: Secrets that Nina and I will take to our graves, the way Mort Viner took them to his grave, which is right next to his best friend, Dean Martin.