Dean Martin

Dean Martin (born June 7, 1917, Steubenville, Ohio, U.S.—died December 25, 1995, Beverly Hills, California) was an American singer and actor who was a member, with Jerry Lewis, of one of the most popular comedy teams on stage and television and in motion pictures for 10 years. Martin then moved on to a successful solo career as a singer, an actor, and a television variety show host.

During his younger days Martin worked locally in steel mills, delivered bootleg liquor, was a prizefighter, and had a job in a casino. After appearing in local nightspots as a pop singer, he was hired by bandleader Sammy Watkins and began to tour. During an engagement in Atlantic City, New Jersey, in 1946, he and another performer, comedian Jerry Lewis, began clowning around during each other’s acts. This led to an immensely successful comedy partnership that featured Martin as a suave straight man and Lewis as an immature clown. Before long the two left New York for Hollywood. They made 16 motion pictures together, beginning with My Friend Irma (1949) and ending with Hollywood or Bust (1956).

Despite predictions that Martin would fail as a solo act, his career prospered after he ended the partnership with Lewis. Martin struck gold with hit songs such as “That’s Amore” (1953), “Memories Are Made of This” (1955), and “Everybody Loves Somebody” (1964). Simultaneously, he kept his acting career alive, beginning with the World War II drama The Young Lions (1958), in which he starred with Marlon Brando and Montgomery Clift. That same year he released another hit single, “Volare.” His first film appearance with Frank Sinatra was in Some Came Running (1958). Martin also won praise for his performances in Rio Bravo (1959), Bells Are Ringing (1960), Toys in the Attic (1963), and Airport (1970). In addition, he performed with fellow “Rat Pack” members Sinatra and Sammy Davis, Jr. in the heist film Ocean’s Eleven (1960), the comedy western Sergeants 3 (1962), and the musical comedy Robin and the Seven Hoods (1964). Martin also starred as Matt Helm in a popular series of spy spoof films: The Silencers (1966), Murderers’ Row (1966), The Ambushers (1967), and The Wrecking Crew (1968).

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Martin was a staple on television for many years. His television variety show, The Dean Martin Show, began an eight-year run in 1965 and was followed by The Dean Martin Comedy Hour (1973–74), the latter a series of celebrity “roasts.” He continued to host celebrity roasts occasionally through 1984. Although Martin often seemed to be intoxicated during his television and nightclub performances—an impression aided by his easygoing manner, ever-present glass, and slurred singing style—he and his friends insisted it was part of his act.