Christmas is Dean Martin’s domain.

 Hey pallies, likes it's Christmas In July here at ilovedinomartin this very Dino-day 'cause we are once 'gain totally totally thrilled to share 'nother absolutely awesome amorin' of our most most most beloved Dino by that swankest of swank scriber Mr. Rosario A. Iaconis (pictured on the right), whose powerfully passionate pontification of his deepest of deep Dino-devotion was shared yester-Dino-day in his perfect prose "OpEd: Martin and Lewis — A Comedy Duo For the Ages" from the "LONG ISLAND PRESS."

As is most often the case here at ilovedinomartin, once we find some delightful Dino-prose from a wise writer who truly "gets Martin" we just have to see if this Dino-proser has shared more Dino-devotion on the ol' world wide web.  So, likes when we typed the noteworthy name of Mr. Rosario A. Iaconis we found that Iaconis had potently posed 'nother OpEd on the pages of the "LONG ISLAND PRESS."  Likes as we reference in the openin' of this Dino-gram, Rosario opined on our Dino's wonderful wintery croons his December 13, 2020 coolest of cool column, "OpEd: Dean Martin’s Christmas Classics Reign Supreme."

Likes we didn't want to wait 'til this Dino-wintery season ('though we may very well share this amazin' affirmation of our Dino's wintery tunes at the end of this Dino-year) to let all youse Dino-holics incredibly imbibe Mr. Iaconis sweet salute to our Dino in this seasonal selection.  So, below are Rosario's rich reflections that include neat nods to not only our Dino's wintery wisdom, but to some awesome adulation of our Dino's actin' abilities on the big screen.

Permit us to briefly share a few of Iaconis' touchin''n tender thoughts......

"Christmas is Dean Martin’s domain."

"As Christmas crooners go, Dino Paul Crocetti evokes the warmth of a hearth fire on a snowy winter’s morn"

"Dean Martin remains evergreen in our hearts."

This trinity of Rosario's raisin' of the Dino-praisin' are just a few of the extremely extraordinary  elegant expressions of this incredible Italiano's awesome adulation of our King of Cool.  Likes we gotta 'fess up that we had only a wee bit of Mr. Iaconis' great gifts for puttin' pen to paper to lovin' lift up our main man in the most marvelous of marvelous wise ways.  We thank him with the hugest of huge, greatest of great gratitude for perfectly purely poetically usin' his great gifts to share his powerful passion for our Dino with his remarkable readership.  To checks this out in it's original source, likes simply clicks on the tag of this Dino-report.

We Remain,

Yours In Dino,

Dino Martin Peters

OpEd: Dean Martin’s Christmas Classics Reign Supreme

ROSARIO. A. IACONIS

DECEMBER 13, 2020

 

 

Original studio publicity photo of Dean Martin for the film Bells Are Ringing (1960)

 

 Make way, Mariah Carey. Hit the road, Jose Feliciano. Bye-bye, Bing Crosby.

Christmas is Dean Martin’s domain.

Yes, winter is coming. But it need not be a season of unremitting gloom and doom. Let’s put aside our political differences and pandemic fears — at least for one day — and celebrate a festive Yuletide Saturnalia with Dean Martin, the King of Cool.

And Long Island, which boasts a bevy of Dean Martin impressionists, is wall-to-wall Dino country.

As Christmas crooners go, Dino Paul Crocetti evokes the warmth of a hearth fire on a snowy winter’s morn. Listening to his mellifluous Italianate baritone has long been a Christmas tradition in households around the world. From “Let It Snow” to “Marshmallow World” to “Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer,” Dean’s wintry melodies embody both the mirth and the majesty of the holiday season.

Social distancing has made it difficult for families to congregate this year, but Dino’s rendition of “I’ll Be Home For Christmas,” will warm the cockles of even the most Scrooge-like relative’s heart. Not to mention Dean’s “Silver Bells.” And his melancholy “Blue Christmas” puts the Elvis Presley platter to shame.

Throughout his fabled career, Dean Martin was no stranger to outperforming other musical stars. In 1964, he topped the Beatles’ “Heart Days Night” on the music charts with his smash single, “Everybody Loves Somebody Sometime.”

In 1977, Dino sang a heartfelt “White Christmas” on his Christmas in California TV special. Afterward, Greg Garrison, Dean’s longtime producer-director, received a telephone call from Irving Berlin, who’d penned the iconic song long ago: “Mr. Garrison, I just want to tell you I just love your (show’s) star, and I want you to know that the White Christmas Dean did on the air was the best version I have ever heard.”

So there, Der Bingle!

And Dean Martin’s “Silent Night” is a reverential ode to the season’s spirituality.

On the cheeky side of Christmas, Dino warbles “Baby It’s Cold Outside,” a saucy take on a snowbound couple’s duet of flirtation and love. Politically correct pundits who rail against this holiday classic are nothing more than modern-day Ebenezers.

Manning a one-horse open sleigh, the Dean of Christmas takes us for a frolicsome trek through a winter wonderland in his jaunty version of “Jingle Bells.”

At the 75th anniversary celebration of the NBC television network, comedian Bob Newhart poignantly praised Dean as “the most talented man” he’d ever known. Along with his films, which throughout the 1960s were never out of the top ten at the box office, Dean Martin hosted a TV variety show for nearly a decade — making him an American icon.

During Apollo 7’s mission in space, Commander Wally Schirra echoed Dean Martin’s bon- homie by holding aloft a sign for all of Earth to see: “Keep those cards and letters coming in, folks.”(It was Dino’s tag line, which he invoked at the end of his hourly variety show every Thursday night.)

In truth, Dean Martin was a multi-threat entertainer whose image as a boozing bon vivant belied an artist of considerable range and diversity. Whether starring with John Wayne or Montgomery Clift in classic Hollywood films, recording smooth romantic ballads, or hosting one of television’s greatest programs, Dino Paul Crocetti achieved international stardom by holding true to his inner creative voice.

When Howard Hawks needed a highly emotive actor to play the drunken deputy to Duke Wayne’s stolid sheriff in “Rio Bravo,” the last person he envisioned was the singing straight man of a disbanded comedy team. Yet Dino’s nuanced Oscar-caliber performance as the fallen lawman who reclaims his honor — and the respect of his peers — wowed the veteran director.

Vincente Minelli, Billy Wilder and George Seaton also found Dean Martin to be a conscientious thespian whose cinematic appeal was equaled by a strong commitment to his craft.

Though not a practitioner of the Stanislavski “Method,” Dean brought an uncommon emotional intensity to his roles. This is especially evident in such dramatic films as “Rio Bravo,” “The Young Lions,” “Some Came Running,” “Ada” and “Career.”

Dino also delivers a powerful performance in the film adaptation of Lillian Hellman’s play, “Toys in the Attic.”

Martin is superb as Captain Vernon Demarest, a debonair, nerves-of-steel airline pilot who must contend with a morose bomber aboard a flight to Rome in “Airport.” This film is as suspenseful today as it was in the movie theaters half a century ago.

And in “Mr. Ricco,” his last starring movie role, Dean Martin plays a principled defense attorney who champions civil liberties and upholds the rule of law while solving a bizarre murder mystery.

After a cozy Yuletide dinner — serenaded by Dino’s dulcet holiday tunes — kick back and relax with a classic Dean Martin film. Though he passed away on Christmas Day twenty-five years ago, Dean Martin remains evergreen in our hearts.

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