Dean Martin biography

The Rat Pack

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).

'The Dean Martin Show'

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. Among his comedic quotes about alcohol, Martin is remembered for saying, "I feel sorry for people who don't drink. They wake up in the morning and that's the best they're going to feel all day."

Personal Life

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.

Death and Legacy

Martin suffered a tragic loss when his son, Dino Jr., was killed in a plane crash during a military training exercise in 1987. He retired from show business after a 1988-89 concert tour with fellow Rat Packers Sammy Davis Jr. and Frank Sinatra, which ended for Martin after he became ill and was replaced by Liza Minelli for the remainder of the tour.

Dean Martin died of acute respiratory failure on Christmas morning in 1995, at the age of 78, in Beverly Hills, California. Today, Martin is regarded as a legendary screen and stage performer, and is best known for his comedic partnership with Jerry Lewis, as well as for his participation in the iconic Rat Pack.

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