Dean Martin

Dino Paul Crocetii was born into a typical Italian-American community. The son of Gaetano and Angela Crocetti, he had an early passion for show business, especially the music that came from jazz and swing big bands. The shameless hunk air about him, which later made him so popular in movies and on TV, helped him keep going and take advantage of every situation. He dropped out of school before graduating and dedicated himself to different trades: from shoe shine to working in a supermarket, to being a boxing fighter. He was fond of poker games and in one of them, by chance, he decided to go on stage and sing a ballad, thus displaying his enviable and powerful voice. Soon after he was a singer leading the swing orchestra Ernie McKay Band. And so, in 1940, singer Dino Paul Crocetti adopts the stage name of Dean Martin. Months later he married his first wife, Elizabeth Anne McDonald, with whom he would have four children. He would later remarry two other times attesting that his womanizing personality was more than just a role in the movies.

Dean Martin’s musical career had only just begun. In 1943 he signed an exclusive contract with the MCA company, and sang livening up the evenings at the Riobamba Room, an elegant New York dance hall where Frank Sinatra , Martin’s future friend, had already achieved success. A year later, his songs were heard on the radio, definitely popularizing the singer’s voice.

It was around this time that Dean Martin met and befriended a young comedian named Jerry Lewis . Together they premiered a show in March 1946. The stage where it took place very soon became the focus of the most popular attention. In 1949, the radio program The Martin and Lewis Show was broadcast for the first time on NBC.

Martin and Lewis came to make a disproportionate number of 16 feature films as a comic duo. Some of them, such as Qué par de golfantes (1953 ), The Crazy Rider (1953 ), A Fresco in Trouble (1955) and Together in the Face of Danger (1956 ) are clear examples of very simple films that told nonsense stories in a fun and funny way. in which both comedians were involved. The profile of Latin lover helped the credibility of the role of hooligan and womanizer that Martin played. Together they also presented in 1950 The Colgate Comedy Hour,a program that achieved great success on American television. However, the 1950s marked the distancing of the popular duo, Loco por Anita (1956) being the last work they recorded together. After the shock of Ten Thousand Bedrooms (1957) , his first solo work, the actor had the opportunity to work in excellent films such as Como un torrente (1958) and El baile de los malditos (1958) , proving that comedy is not it was his only forte. Also unforgettable is his performance as John Wayne ‘s drunk but faithful companion in the most notable western film Río Bravo .(1959) . Especially memorable is that scene in which she launched into singing “My rifle pony and me” while the young Ricky Nelson accompanied her on the guitar.

Soon a new stage would begin in which he would star in all kinds of movies with a group of renowned Hollywood actors and actresses. Already in 1960 , the gang of 11 shared a cast with Frank Sinatra , Peter Lawford and Sammy Davis Jr. , three of the main members of the group that was to be called the Rat Pack. Dean belonged to this group of American actors and musicians during the 1960s, all participating together in several successful films, including 4 Chicago Gangsters (1963) or Three Sergeants (1962). Also worthy of a special mention are films from his extensive filmography such asKiss me, silly (1964), an entertaining comedy with which Billy Wilder gave the actor the opportunity to shine in a fun role, or the Matt Helm saga, 007-style action movies but with a parody tone.

After a prodigious musical career and with more than 30 feature films behind him, it can be said that Dean Martin was a most complete artist. The popular and beloved “latin lover” passed away on Christmas Day of the year 1995.