Trivia

Rumors circulated for years that much of the "booze" he drank on stage during his famous "Rat Pack" performances was really apple juice. Son Dean Paul Martin confirmed these rumors after the variety show ended production, stating that his father could not have performed if he had really drank that much liquor.

Was so distraught over the murder of his The Wrecking Crew (1968) co-star Sharon Tate on August 9, 1969, that he abandoned the next already-announced "Matt Helm" motion picture series installment (to be titled "The Ravagers"), and never played the character again.

He and the other members of the Rat Pack were banned from Marilyn Monroe's funeral by Joe DiMaggio.

He and former wife Jeanne Martin maintained a friendship after their divorce, and consulted each other on family matters. When his health declined, Jeanne encouraged him not to worry about facing death, and to look at it as the chance he longed for, to be reunited with their son Dean Paul Martin, and with his parents.

His variety show contract was utterly remarkable in how little he was required to participate. He felt he performed better cold and took notice of Fred MacMurray's long-standing 65-day "on the set" contract for producer Don Fedderson for My Three Sons (1960). He succeeded in reaching a new plateau on that one by only being contractually required to appear on the set during the taping. All guest stars, no matter how "big", were required to rehearse with stand-ins (see Greg Garrison). As a result, Martin would often happily flub his lines, to the delight of his audience. More often than not, he'd leave the stage and be seen driving off the studio lot in his sports car before taping concluded.

Described his career as a boxer as follows: "I won all but 11 fights." When asked how many he had fought, he would reply, "A dozen." In reality he fought 36 bouts and won 25 of them under the name Dino Crocetti. He reportedly fought under the nickname Kid Crochet, although no records of fights have been found under that name.

He and Frank Sinatra were best friends, a fact he held very dear to his heart. The two did not speak much in the years after Dean quit the "Rat Pack Reunion" tour, although they did reconcile a few months before his death over dinner and a bread roll fight.

One of few actors who have received not just one, but three stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame: one for Motion Pictures at 6519 Hollywood Boulevard, one for Television at 6651 Hollywood Boulevard, and a third for his recording career.

Following his diagnosis of lung cancer at Cedars Sinai Medical Center on 9/16/93, he finally quit smoking and even managed to perform briefly, and rather jauntily, at his 77th birthday celebration on 6/7/94. The following year, after the cancer had spread, he declined to have major surgery on his liver and kidneys, which doctors told him was necessary to prolong his life, and succumbed to respiratory failure on Christmas Day 1995.

Had a fear of elevators and a love of comic books, which he read his entire life.

In a telegram sent to his friend Elvis Presley he wrote, "Dear Elvis, if you can't handle The Beatles, I'll do it for us. June 1964".

His son, Dean Paul Martin (born Dino Paul Crocetti Jr.), was killed in a plane crash on March 21, 1987.

In 1962, he left Capitol Records and signed with Reprise, the label started and owned by Frank Sinatra. In 1964, he recorded his blockbuster hit, "Everybody Loves Somebody", which beat The Beatles to become the #1 hit in the United States for one week. It became the theme song for his television variety series, The Dean Martin Show (1965), which ran on NBC for eight years. Martin followed this with The Dean Martin Comedy World (1974), which ran from 1973-74. An indelible part of Martin's television shtick was his comedic portrayal of life as a lush, which many viewers never realized was just an act.

His style of singing was initially influenced by Harry Mills of The Mills Brothers.

Although he was a Republican, he supported Frank Sinatra's campaign to elect John F. Kennedy as President in 1960.

Did not party all night with the rest of the "Rat Pack" crew, actually calling themselves "The Clan". He usually went to bed early so he could play golf the next morning. He was obsessed with golf, and once stated in an interview that he would have preferred to be a professional golfer than an entertainer.

"Everybody Loves Somebody Sometime"--his biggest hit song--is etched on his tombstone.

Underwent rhinoplasty when he was 27 years old.

Once employed as a steelworker.

Although he made out to be a heavy drinker on stage, he mostly used apple juice, but off stage was a Jack Daniels man.

His parents were Gaetano and Angella Crocetti. Although born in Ohio, he spoke only Italian until age 5.

In 1954, he and Jerry Lewis recorded a radio spot promoting "Tuck Tape", then a competing brand of "Scotch Tape" and noticing the recording tape for the commercial was still rolling, decided to improvise additional radio spots, with Jerry and Dean slipping profanities into his dialog. The unedited master recording was surreptitiously taken from the studio and made into a "bootleg" record that sold briskly among collectors.

His friends often described him as easygoing and good natured, loving to laugh and make others laugh. They also said that he was sometimes quiet and liked to spend time alone, and that they seldom knew what he was thinking.

When 20th Century-Fox fired Marilyn Monroe as his co-star in Something's Got to Give (1962) and then attempted to replace her with Lee Remick, he reminded the studio that he had contractual approval of his co-star, and refused to continue the project without Monroe. His act of loyalty eventually got Marilyn rehired, but she died of a drug overdose before shooting on this never-finished film could resume. Nine hours of largely unseen footage from the film remained in the vaults at 20th Century Fox until 1999. The film was then edited to include some of the unseen footage, wherever feasible and digitally restored, as a 37-minute film. After 39 years, it finally premiered on Cable TV's "American Movie Classics", on June 1, 2001. It is available on DVD.

From 1973-84, he was the host of the "Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts". In one of the most classic television series of all time, he and his panel of actors and comics would shower the guest of honor with insults. This series contained the most famous names in the history of entertainment, such as Bob Hope, Frank Sinatra, Lucille Ball, George Burns, James Stewart, Orson Welles, Jack Benny, Phyllis Diller, Milton Berle, Gene Kelly, Don Rickles, Rich Little, John Wayne and Foster Brooks.

Despite the legend that he and comedy partner Jerry Lewis always despised each other, the two were actually quite close friends and the tension between the two began in 1956, when "outside people" (as Lewis called them to Peter Bogdanovich) began to "poison" Martin against Lewis. Frank Sinatra eventually staged a public reunion over 20 years later, during a 1976 MDA telethon that Jerry was hosting. However, they did reunite twice, briefly, during that 20-year hiatus. In 1958 they appeared together as surprise guests on "The Joey Bishop Show" and in 1960 they appeared together on stage at The Sands Hotel in Las Vegas where they did a duet of "Come Back to Me". Over the next ten years, following their 1970s reunion, they became close again.

Although he had almost 40 singles on the Billboard Hot 100 charts between 1951-68, only three went to #1: "That's Amore" (Capitol: 1953), "Memories Are Made of This" (Capitol: 1956), and his theme song, "Everybody Loves Somebody" (Reprise: 1964).

Passed away exactly 29 years to the day (12/25/95) after his mother, Angela Crocetti (12/25/66).

After being drafted into the United States Army and serving a stateside year (1944-45) in Akron, Ohio, during World War II, he was classified 4-F and was discharged.

After his "breakup" with Jerry Lewis in the mid-1950s, he was widely pegged as the likelier of the two to see his career take a serious downturn. Instead, he proved a durable box-office draw throughout the 1960s, continued to have chart-ranking hit songs, and eventually hosted The Dean Martin Show (1965), which was one of NBC's highest rated series.

Has a street named after him in San Antonio, Texas.

Suffered from emphysema for the last 20 years of his life.

Growing up in Steubenville, Ohio, he was childhood friends with famous gambler and sports handicapper, Jimmy 'The Greek' Snyder (the two appeared together onscreen in The Cannonball Run (1981)). Like Snyder, Martin began his early career hanging around Steubenville's notorious gambling dens.

Son-in-law was Carl Wilson of The Beach Boys (married to Dean's daughter Gina Martin).

Had eight children: Stephen Craig Martin (b. June 29, 1942), Claudia Martin (b. March 16, 1944 - died 2001 (breast cancer)), Barbara Martin (b. April 11, 1945) and Deana Martin (b. August 19, 1948) with first wife Elizabeth McDonald. Dean Paul Martin (b. November 17, 1951 - died March 21, 1987 (plane crash)), Ricci Martin (b. September 20, 1953-August 3, 2016,) and Gina Martin (Gina Caroline Martin) (b. December 20, 1956) with second wife Jeanne Martin and adopted daughter Sasha Martin with third wife Catherine Hawn.

Godfather of Tori Spelling.

He has appeared in one film that has been selected for the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically or aesthetically" significant: Rio Bravo (1959).

Although Jerry Lewis was often made out to be the short guy in their act, he was actually the same height as Martin and used to cut the heels off his shoes to achieve the effect.

Suffered from depression through his adult life and was treated for prostate cancer in later life.

He was awarded 3 Stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Motion Pictures at 6519 Hollywood Boulevard; for Recording at 1617 Vine Street; and for Television at 6651 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California.

At age 16, he was a welterweight boxer who compiled a record of 25-11.

Father-in-law of Carole Costello. She was married to Craig Martin, his oldest son, and was the daughter of Lou Costello.

Had a nightclub in North Bay Village, Florida, in the late 1970s and early 1980s called Dino's. This was next to Jilly Rizzo's nightclub called Jilly's.

He and comedy partner Jerry Lewis were in 17 feature films together: My Friend Irma (1949), My Friend Irma Goes West (1950), At War with the Army (1950), That's My Boy (1951), The Stooge (1951), Sailor Beware (1952), Jumping Jacks (1952), Road to Bali (1952), Scared Stiff (1953), The Caddy (1953), Money from Home (1953), Living It Up (1954), 3 Ring Circus (1954), You're Never Too Young (1955), Artists and Models (1955), Pardners (1956), and Hollywood or Bust (1956).

In 1950, his television career began with "The Martin & Lewis Show" on The Colgate Comedy Hour (1950), which ran through 1955. He hosted various other shows before reluctantly taking the 1965 gig which turned into a 19-year success under various names.

He was a lifelong supporter of the Republican Party, although he supported the Kennedy campaign in 1960 in order to show solidarity with the other members of the Rat Pack.

Many critics felt his singing voice steadily deteriorated after the mid-1970s, largely due to his chain smoking. However, he continued to perform until 1991, despite needing oxygen.

Member of the "Rat Pack" with Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., Peter Lawford and Joey Bishop. All appeared in Ocean's Eleven (1960).

On account of his support for the Bergson Group, he was booed and heckled by the audience when he performed with Jerry Lewis at the London Palladium.

Although his official height was 5' 11", many people who knew him said he wore lifts and his real height was either 5' 8" or 5' 9". He once claimed to be 6' 1" in an interview.