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Dean Martin: Jerry Lewis
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Between 1949 and 1956, Dean Martin made 16 films as the singing straight man to his comedy partner Jerry Lewis; the two were one of the hottest entertainment acts of the era. After their bitter (and much-publicized) breakup, Martin continued making movies, including both comedy and dramatic roles and the spoofy Matt Helm spy movies of the 1960s. A nightclub singer and solid member of Frank Sinatra's "rat pack," Martin ... had hit records, most notably "That's Amore" and "Everybody Loves Somebody." Martin's easygoing attitude helped make him a hit on television, where he hosted a comedy and variety show from 1965-74.
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Before Elvis assaulted the senses of 1950s culture, Dean Martin had enjoyed incredible success as a singer and actor. As an indication of his popularity, when Martin and his then partner, Jerry Lewis appeared at the 4,000 seat Paramount Theatre in New York in 1952, 75,000 fans created pandemonium in an attempt to get to their heroes. Such adulation had only previously been seen following the death of Rudolph Valentino.
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Nothing short of a mirth quake, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis romped onto stages, into radios, televisions, and movies, grasping a joyous, adoring public by farce. Together for 10 years, the most successful comedy team ever, and on their way to becoming THE ACT of the 20th century, but unbridled bitterness stopped the magic. Then, they did it again, resurging as singular phenomenons.
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Martin's world began to crumble on March 21, 1987, when his son Dean Paul was killed when his jet fighter crashed while flying with the Air National Guard. A much-touted tour with Davis and Sinatra in 1988 sputtered, with Martin's heart just not into it. On one occasion, he infuriated Sinatra when he turned to him and muttered "Frank, what the hell are we doing up here?" Martin, who always responded best to a club audience, felt lost in the huge stadiums they were performing in (at Sinatra's insistence), and he was not the least bit interested in drinking until dawn after their performances. His final Vegas shows were at the Bally's Hotel in 1989. It was there he had his famous final reunion with Jerry Lewis on his 72nd birthday. His last television appearance was in 1990 on the Sammy Davis Jr 60th Anniversary Celebration special (... Sammy's last TV appearance.) By 1991, Martin had unofficially retired from performing.
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In 1965, Martin launched Dean Martin's weekly NBC comedy-variety series, The Dean Martin Show, which exploited Dean Martin's public image as a lazy, carefree boozer, even though few entertainers worked as hard to make what they were doing look so easy. It's ... no secret that Martin was sipping apple juice, not booze, most of the time onstage. Dean Martin stole the lovable-drunk shtick from Joe E. Lewis; and Dean Martin's convincing portrayals of heavy boozers in Some Came Running (1958) and Howard Hawk's Rio Bravo (1959) led to unsubstantiated claims of alcoholism. In the late 1970s, Martin concentrated on club dates, recordings, and an occasional film, and even made a surprise appearance, thanks to Frank Sinatra, on the Jerry Lewis Muscular Dystrophy Association telethon in 1976. (Talk of a complete reconciliation and possible re-teaming of their old act, however, was dissipated when it was clear that, to paraphrase Lewis, the men made each other but didn't like each other).
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Though best known for the 51 films he made, Martin was a prize-fighter, steel mill laborer, gas station attendant and card shark before seeing the first glimmer of fame. It came when he teamed up with comedian Jerry Lewis in 1946. Films such as "At War with the Army" sent the team toward superstardom. After teaming with Lewis, Martin born Dino Paul Crocetti, became a dramatic actor and the star of a long-running television variety show. Personality conflicts broke up the comedy duo in 1957. Few thought that Martin would go one to achieve solo success, but he did, winning critical acclaim for his role in "The Young Lions" with Marlon Brando and Montgomery Clift.
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