Martin was born on June 7, 1917, in Steubenville, Ohio, to an Italian father, Gaetano Alfonso Crocetti, and an Italian-American mother, Angela Crocetti. They were married in 1914. His father, who was a barber, was originally from Montesilvano, in Abruzzo, and his maternal grandparents' origins are believed to be also from Abruzzo, although they are not clearly known. Martin had an older brother named William Alfonso Crocetti.
Education
He attended Grant Elementary School in Steubenville, where he was bullied for his broken English. He later took up the drums as a hobby as a teenager. Martin then dropped out of Steubenville High School in the 10th grade because he thought he was smarter than his teachers.
After dropping out of Steubenville High School, Martin worked odd jobs, including a part-time job as an amateur welterweight boxer under the name "Kid Crochet." Martin also dabbled in illegal activities, including driving liquor across state lines during prohibition, selling lottery tickets, acting as a bookie and working as a card dealer and croupier in local gambling joints.
Martin began his show business career at age 17, singing in Ohio nightclubs near his hometown. During a stint with the Ernie McKay band, he was noticed by Cleveland bandleader Sammy Watkins, who hired him as the band's featured vocalist. He began touring with Watkins in 1938, and in 1940, changed his name to Dean Martin.
In September 1943, Martin signed an exclusive contract with MCA to sing at the Riobamba Room in New York, and in 1944, he was given his own 15-minute radio program entitled Songs by Dean Martin, which was broadcast from New York City. In 1946, he signed a contract and recorded four songs with Diamond Records.
During a club engagement in 1946, Martin met Jerry Lewis and the two began joking around with each other during their respective acts. They teamed up in 1947, with Martin playing the straight man to Lewis's clown. NBC broadcast a regular 30-minute radio program featuring the pair in 1949, and they made their television debut in the Colgate Comedy Hour in 1950. The immensely popular Martin and Lewis team made 16 films together between 1949 and 1956.
Martin and Lewis last performed together at the Copacabana in New York, on July 24, 1956. After 10 years as a team, they split up due to creative differences. According to biographical writer Neil Daniels, fans of the famous comedy duo "looked at them as being a married couple almost. When the breakup occurred, it was, it was like a sudden divorce, and I think it really, really shocked people. Because they thought Martin and Lewis would go on forever."
After striking out on his own, Martin resumed his singing career, recording such hit records for Capitol as "That's Amore," "Memories are Made of This," "When You're Smiling" and "Oh Marie." He also resumed acting in films, and in 1958, Martin received critical acclaim after appearing with Montgomery Clift and Marlon Brando in The Young Lions.
It was around this time that Martin began performing in Las Vegas with a group of close friends who were members of the legendary Hollywood clique known as the Rat Pack. The group, which included Martin, Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., Joey Bishop and Peter Lawford, epitomized the highlife, booze, women and the bright lights of Vegas, but soon branched out from Vegas to the movies. The Rat Pack starred as an ensemble cast in the caper film Ocean's Eleven (1960), followed by Sergeants Three (1962) and Robin and the Seven Hoods (1964).
Martin appeared in a total of 51 films in his lifetime, including Some Came Running (1958) with Shirley MacLaine and Frank Sinatra, Bells Are Ringing (1960) with Judy Holliday, Rio Bravo (1959) with John Wayne, Toys in the Attic, (1963), Airport (1970), Cannonball Run (1981) and Cannonball Run II (1984).
In 1962, Martin left Capitol Records and signed with Reprise. In 1964, he recorded his blockbuster hit, "Everybody Loves Somebody," which beat the Beatles to become the No. 1 hit in America for one week. It became the theme song for his television variety series, The Dean Martin Show, which ran on NBC for eight years, beginning in 1965.
Martin followed the series with The Dean Martin Comedy Hour, which ran from 1973 to '74. An indelible part of Martin's TV "schtick" was his comedic portrayal of life as an alcoholic lush, which many people never realized was just an act.
Martin, a heavy smoker, was diagnosed with lung cancer at Cedars Sinai Medical Center in September 1993, and was told that he would require surgery to prolong his life, but he rejected it. He retired from public life in early 1995 and died of acute respiratory failure resulting from emphysema at his Beverly Hills home on Christmas Day, 1995 at the age of 78. The lights of the Las Vegas Strip were dimmed in his honor. Martin's body was interred at the Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles. The crypt features the epitaph "Everybody Loves Somebody Sometime", the title of his signature song.
Martin was raised an authentic Italian Catholic, but didn't speak about his faith and appears to have been largely non-religious.
Politics
Dean Martin wasn’t too political either. While he supported John F. Kennedy, a Democrat, in 1960, Martin identified as a Republican. Probably the only reason Martin backed Kennedy was because his pal and fellow member of the rat pack, Frank Sinatra, threw every ounce of star power he had behind JFK, including his relationship with Martin.
Views
Quotations:
"I'd hate to be a teetotaller. Imagine getting up in the morning and knowing that's as good as you're going to feel all day."
"You're not drunk if you can lie on the floor without holding on."
"I feel sorry for people who don't drink. When they wake up in the morning, that's as good as they're going to feel all day."
"If you drink, don't drive. Don't even putt."
"I once shook hands with Pat Boone and my whole right side sobered up."
Personality
He was a heavy smoker. Despite Martin's reputation as a drinker – perpetuated via his vanity license plate "DRUNKY" – his alcohol use was quite disciplined. 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.
Physical Characteristics:
He had dark brown eyes.
Quotes from others about the person
Jerry Lewis: "Dean could never ever sing and do it with a full heart because he wasn’t clear about his worth. He would kid the singing and never allow it ever to get serious. He did not have self-esteem of any kind."
Peter Bogdanovich: "That Dean Martin died on Christmas Day was the kind of black joke he might have made. It didn’t seem real to me until I heard that all the casinos on the Vegas Strip had turned off their lights for one minute to commemorate Dino’s passing. You could almost hear Dean saying, in amazement, 'One whole minute? I must have been a big shot.'"
Interests
Sport & Clubs
boxing
Music & Bands
country music
Connections
Martin was married three times, first to wife Elizabeth Anne McDonald on October 2, 1941. The couple had four children: Stephen (Craig), born on June 29, 1942; Claudia, born on March 16, 1944; Barbara (Gail), born on April 11, 1945; and Deana (Dina), born on August 19, 1948. He married his second wife, Jeanne Biegger, on September 1, 1949, and they had three children together: Dino Paul Jr., born on November 17, 1951; Ricci James, born on September 20, 1953; and Gina Caroline, born on December 20, 1956. In 1973, Martin married his third wife, Catherine Mae Hawn, and adopted a daughter named Sasha. His marriage to Hawn ended in 1976.