Dean Martin

His son, Dean Paul Martin (Dino), was killed in a plane crash in March 1987.

Member of the "Rat Pack" with Frank Sinatra , Sammy Davis Jr. , Peter Lawford and Joey Bishop. All appeared in Oceans Eleven .

Father of Gail Martin , Craig Martin , Claudia Martin , Deana Martin , Gina Martin , Ricci Martin and Dean Paul Martin.

Grandfather of Alexander Martin.

Born at 11:55pm-CST

Interred at Westwood Memorial Park, Los Angeles, California, USA.

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

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

His career as a boxer was described by him as follows, "I won all but 11 fights." When asked how many hed fought, hed 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.

Died exactly 29 years to the day (25 December 1995) after his mother, Angela Crocetti (25 December 1966).

Nephew of actor/comedian Leonard Barr.

Much of the "booze" that he drank on stage during his famous "Rat Pack" performances was really apple juice. (Son Dean Paul Martin spilled this secret, after the variety show ended production, stating that his father couldnt have performed if hed really drunk that much liquor.)

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

From 1973 to 1984, he was the host of the "Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts." In one of the most classic television series of all time, Dean 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.

Deans TV career began in 1950 with The Martin & Lewis Show on The Colgate Comedy Hour, 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.

Dean is 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 Blvd., one for Television at 6651 Hollywood Blvd, and a third for his recording career.

Underwent rhinoplasty when he was 27. The procedure was rumored to have been paid for by Lou Costello among others.

Son-in-law was the late Carl Wilson of The Beach Boys (married to Deans daughter Gina).

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

"Everybody Loves Somebody Sometime" - words written on his tombstone, after his signature hit.

Starred (with Jerry Lewis ) on NBC Radios "The Martin and Lewis Show" (1949-1953).

He and Frank Sinatra were best friends, a fact he held very dear to his heart. The two didnt speak much, in the years after Dean quit the "Rat Pack Reunion" tour, but they did reconcile a few months before his death, over dinner - and a breadroll fight.

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.

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

When 20th Century-Fox fired Marilyn Monroe as his co-star in Somethings Got to Give 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 re-hired, 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, The film finally premiered on Cable TVs "American Movie Classics", on June 1, 2001. It is available on DVD.

Although he had almost 40 singles on the Billboard Hot 100 charts between 1951 and 1968, only three went to number one: "Thats Amore" (Capitol: 1953), "Memories Are Made of This" (Capitol: 1956), and his theme song, "Everybody Loves Somebody" (Reprise: 1964).

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 after, 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" in Las Vegas where they did a duet of "Come Back To Me". Over the next 10 years, following their 70s reunion, they became close again.

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

Following his diagnosis of lung cancer at Cedars Sinai Medical Center on 16 September 1993, Martin finally quit smoking and even managed to perform briefly, and rather jauntily, at his 77th birthday celebration in June 1994. 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.

He and Jerry Lewis , in1954, 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.

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

Had a night-club in North Bay Village, Florida in the late 1970s and early 1980s called Dinos. It was next to Jilly Rizzo s club, Jillys.

He declined to participate in the March on Washington in August 1963.

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

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

Martin 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.

He was a close friend of John Wayne and Gary Cooper.

At 16, Dean Martin was a welterweight boxer who compiled a record of 25-11.

In 1962, Martin 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 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. Martin followed this with "The Dean Martin Comedy World" , which ran from 1973 to 1974. An indelible part of Martins television shtick was his comedic portrayal of life as a lush, which many viewers never realized was just an act.

After being drafted into the United States Army and serving a stateside year (1944-1945) in Akron, Ohio, during World War II, Martin was classified 4-F and was discharged.

Has 8 children: Stephen Craig Martin (b. June 29th 1942), Claudia Martin (b. March 16th 1944 - died 2001 (breast cancer)), Barbara Martin (b. April 11th 1945) and Deana Martin (b. August 19th 1948) with first wife Elizabeth McDonald. Dean Paul Martin (b. November 17th 1951 - died March 21st 1987 (plane crash)), Ricci Martin (b. September 20th 1953) and Gina Martin (Gina Caroline Martin) (b. December 20th 1956) with second wife Jeanne Martin and adopted daughter Sasha Martin with third wife Catherine Hawn.

He was a close friend of Montgomery Clift. Martin was always grateful for the help Clift had given him while filming The Young Lions - Martins first major dramatic role - and he would accompany him to parties after the rest of Hollywood had disowned him due to his increasing addictions to drugs and alcohol.

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 heel off of his shoe to achieve the effect.

Martins variety show contract was utterly remarkable in how little he was required to participate. Martin 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. He succeeded in reaching a new plateau on that one by only be 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, hed leave the stage and be seen driving off the studio lot in his sports car before taping concluded.

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.

Godfather of Tori Spelling.

Once employed as a steelworker.

Was a close friend of Julie London.

Inducted into the Lou Holtz/Upper Ohio Valley Hall of Fame in 2001.

Although Martins official height was 511", many people who knew him said he wore lifts and his real height was either 58" or 59".

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

His third wife Cathy was the daughter of Major League Baseball Player Jim Baxes , and sister of James Coleman.

In a telegram sent to his friend Elvis Presley he wrote: Dear Elvis, if you cant handle The Beatles , Ill do it for us. June 1964.

Was also a newspaper carrier in his younger days.

In his 1995 autobiography "In the Arena" Charlton Heston wrote that Frank Sinatra would not allow Martin to perform at the inaugural ball for Ronald Reagan s first inauguration as President of the United States, because Martin was too drunk.

He usually wore lifts in films and on his television show.

In 1962, he recorded an American version of the French song "Cest si bon" which was written in 1947 by Henri Betti (music) and Andr Hornez. The musical arrangements were done by Neal Hefti and the English lyrics were written by Jerry Seelen in 1950.

A major supporter of the state of Israel, Martin performed concerts to raise funds for the Bergson Group.

Had emphysema for the last 20 years of his life.

Martin and comedy partner Jerry Lewis were in 17 feature films together: My Friend Irma , My Friend Irma Goes West , At War with the Army , Thats My Boy , The Stooge , Sailor Beware (1952) , Jumping Jacks (1952) , Road to Bali (1952) , Scared Stiff , The Caddy , Money from Home , Living It Up , 3 Ring Circus , Youre Never Too Young , Artists and Models , Pardners , and Hollywood or Bust .

Motivation is a lotta crap.

Someday soon, the world will wake up, down two aspirin with a glass of,tomato juice, and wonder what the hell all the fuss was all about.

I would rather have a free bottle in front of me than a pre-frontal lobotomy,You are not drunk if you can lie on the floor without holding on.