PROFILE OF A MAN’S MAN: DEAN MARTIN

One night Dean Martin held a gathering at his home. Guests ate, drank, and listened to music. Everyone was having a great time. Among the invited guests was Dean’s best friend and fellow member of the Rat Pack, old blue eyes himself, Frank Sinatra. Frank noticed that Dean was absent from the party for a fairly extended period of time but he brushed it off. For those guys, I imagine disappearing during a party was a fairly common occurrence given how much you could do in a dark coat check closet. Even still, as time wore on, Frank began to wonder where he was. Suddenly there was a knock at the door, it was the police. Frank answered and the cops asked for Dean. Frank went to look for him and found him upstairs in his bedroom. He was lying on his bed, reading the paper, looking completely calm and content, the way a man looks when there’s nobody in his house but him. Frank was a little frazzled and told him the cops were looking for him downstairs. Dean, barely looking up from whatever he was doing, told Frank, “They ate; they drank; now it’s time for them to go home.” When Sinatra realized that Dean had called the cops on his own guests he began laughing uncontrollably, hysterically. Who would do such a thing? Dean Martin would.

Dean was born Dino Paul Crocetti in Steubenville, Ohio in 1917. He dropped out of high school and earned a living bootlegging liquor, working at a speakeasy, dealing blackjack, working at a steel mill, and fighting as a welterweight boxer. He went by the name “Kid Crochet” and had 12 fights about which he often joked, “I won all but 11.” Dean was actually a pretty good fighter and had some talent.  He sang with local bands under the name Dino Martini but got his first break when he was invited to sing with the Ernie McKay Orchestra. Later on, he sang with bandleader Sammy Watkins, the man credited with giving him the name Dean Martin. Dean was a local success and performed in small clubs drawing good sized crowds. The real money started to roll in and his star began to rise when he teamed up with Jerry Lewis and they formed the music-comedy act Martin and Lewis. He acted in films such as The Young Lions, Some Came Running, Rio Bravo, Kiss Me, Stupid and many more. Dean was also a member of the Rat Pack with Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., Joey Bishop, and Peter Lawford. He had hit record after hit record with songs like Volare and Mambo Italiano. Nicknamed “The King of Cool”, (Has there ever been a cooler nickname?) Dean used his suave and laid back personality to his advantage cultivating a drunk, womanizing playboy type of character. It served him well. He was a massive success as a singer, actor, and comedian for decades, the definition of an entertainer and one of the biggest stars in the world. The Rat Pack was the most powerful group of entertainers in American history. Their influence knew no bounds and that is not an exaggeration by any means. Dean lived a life that more than 99.9% of us can only dream of and lived to the ripe old age of 78. There will never be another Dean Martin. He was a true gentleman and the definition of a man’s man.

Article By: Jon DaBove