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Dean Martin (June 7, 1917 - December 25, 1995) was an American film actor and singer, crooner.
Biography
Born Dino Paul Crocetti into an Italian-American family in Steubenville, Ohio, he left school at age sixteen and had a variety of jobs including that of prizefighter before changing his name and achieving moderate success as a singer in the New York nightclub scene. He first teamed up with Jerry Lewis July 25, 1946 at Club 500 in Atlantic City, New Jersey and the two created a successful stage comedy routine. The duo made their first film together in 1949 with My Friend Irma and in 1951 they starred in the hit At War with the Army, which established the formula for their thirteen following films. On television, the duo debuted on June 20, 1948 on Ed Sullivan's Toast Of The Town variety program. They later appeared on The Colgate Comedy Hour, a variety show that they would occasionally host from 1950-1955. The partnership with Lewis broke up on July 24, 1956 and Martin surprised many when he went on to further success on his own.
In the 1960s, he was part of the Rat Pack and made a number of successful films with them. He also starred in a series of four films as secret agent Matt Helm (1966–1969), including The Wrecking Crew (1969). From 1965 until 1974, he hosted the weekly variety show, The Dean Martin Show on NBC, but in the 1970s, his poor health and declining popularity generally restricted him to the stage. In 1976 Frank Sinatra brought Martin along as a surprise guest on Jerry Lewis' Labor Day Telethon. The reunion of the duo was their first public appearance together in twenty years. Martin finally retired completely in 1988 when he became ill during a concert tour with surviving Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis, Jr. He appeared in fifty-one films in all.
He was married three times and had eight children, one by adoption. Tragedy struck on March 21, 1987 when his 35-year-old son, Dean Paul Martin, an actor, singer (in the group Dino, Desi, & Billy), and former tennis pro, was killed when the National Guard jet he was piloting crashed. Martin was devastated by the loss, which led to further deterioration of his health.
Dean Martin died Christmas Day, 1995 and was interred in the Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in Westwood, California.
Selected filmography
See Also
External links
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