From Suave To Sorrow: The Story of Dean Martin Essay Sample

Known as the King of Cool, Dean Martin was a pioneer of both screen and stage. He took the world by storm with his incredible performances in music, movies, and television, in a career that spanned over half a century. Before his astonishing success, he was Dino Paul Crocetti and was born in the small town of Steubenville, Ohio on June 7th, 1917 (Carter). He was born into an Italian family consisting of his parents Angela and Gaetano Crocetti, and his brother William, who died in 1968 (“Who Was Dean Martin?”). Martin would take on his father’s profession as a barber during his teenage years but wanted to pursue something greater. Eventually, Martin found a calling working as a croupier in casinos. He made his living entertaining guests and running the gambling tables in the 1940s. He played host and gained a following of a few fans who were regulars. With his career spanning 56 years, his lasting impact on the entertainment industry that has stood the test of time undoubtedly gives him the right to the title of “King of Cool.”

Martin was making decent money entertaining guests and playing host at casinos, but he still wanted something bigger. The opportunity came in 1945 when comedian Jerry Lewis approached Martin after seeing him perform. Lewis was adamant to Martin he wanted to work together and create a stage act. The act was held off for about a year, but on July 25th, 1946, the world was introduced to one of the greatest comedy duos to ever walk the Earth (Carter). With Martin’s suave, laidback style and Lewis’ energetic and hyperactive personality, the pair became known as the “sexy and slapstick” duo (Carter). Martin and Lewis would star in several movies together including hits such as My Friend Irma and Living It Up (Carter). Over this time, Martin and Lewis began to argue heavily. Lewis later described himself as a bully and a terrible friend (Carter). Eventually, the two would split, performing one last show on July 25th, 1956 at the Copacabana in New York City. Martin was “tired of playing second fiddle” to Lewis (Berlo). Their careers together would last exactly 10 years. In conclusion, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis left an impact on modern comedy and made the most of their decade-long career together.

Martin is most notably known for his involvement in the Rat Pack, a group that consisted of himself, Sammy Davis Jr., Peter Lawford, Joey Bishop, and Frank Sinatra. Although this highly talented group of 5 made up the most famous version of the Rat Pack, they weren’t the original members. During the mid to late 1950s, the Rat Pack started out by simply being a group of friends who would often hang around actor Humphrey Bogart and his wife Lauren Bacall’s home in Los Angeles. The members consisted of David Niven, Spencer Tracy, and Robert Mitchum. Ladies such as Elizabeth Taylor and Judy Garland were considered honorary members (Puisuo). The group only became famous after Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin split and Humphrey Bogart died, which would cause the formation of one of the most talented vocal groups of all time. The Rat Pack were all talented and their musical prowess is incredibly iconic. Each of their remarkable voices are incredibly distinctive. The group made several albums, mainly consisting of vocal work by Sinatra and Martin. Hits on their Christmas album ‘Christmas with the Rat Pack’ are still played during the holidays. With their growing popularity, however, came immense struggles. One of the biggest issues revolved around Sammy Davis Jr. There were multiple incidents where Davis dealt with hard racism. However, sometimes the racist remarks would come from members of the rat pack themselves with Davis being “involved in racially-themed “‘comedy’” (Puisuo). Sinatra would often get inside his own head and even tried to commit suicide 3 to 4 times over the years. Most were stopped by his wife at the time, Ava Gardner (Puisuo). A big issue surrounding the group was Martin’s lack of motivation to perform. Martin was a natural recluse and getting him on stage, in general, was a challenge. Martin would often sit in the dressing room until the minute he was due on stage. He wasn’t actually the guy who would sit and talk to you at the bar over a glass of bourbon, instead, he preferred quiet time alone and apple juice (“Who Was Dean Martin”). The Rat Pack would slowly disband, especially after the death of Peter Lawford in 1984. However, in 1988, to cheer Martin up after the death of his son Dean Paul the year prior, Sinatra gathered Sammy Davis Jr. to put on a 29 city Rat Pack reunion tour. Martin said he was up for the idea, but after the first night, became extremely uninterested in the whole thing. He would do the show and go back to the hotel and go to bed, often sleeping right before the time of performance. Martin forgot lyrics, would change songs during the middle of one, and even once, flicked a live cigarette into the audience. It was clear Martin was in bad shape and an angry Sinatra called off the rest of the tour dates, citing Martin’s poor health as the excuse. Martin would famously quip “Frank sent me a kidney, but I don’t know whose it was” (Puisuo). The highly anticipated reunion tour lasted all of one week. To conclude, the Rat Pack was an immensely talented group with a shattered history of drugs, depression, racism, and bitter disputes, all ending after the refusal to just be friends.

Martin’s health started to fail after the Rat Pack split, but an event just 8 years before his death, would set Dean Martin on a downward spiral that would eventually kill him. Martin had many children but he most admired one of his sons, Dean Paul. Dean Paul was a pilot, tennis player, musician, and actor, there wasn’t a lot Dean Paul couldn’t do (Meisfjord). His father would say “I'm proud of him. I'd be proud even if he didn't become a jet pilot because he's a good boy. He just doesn't know what he wants to be” (Meisjford). Martin wanted to learn how to fly fighter jets, and just like with everything else, he set his mind to it and started training. Things would take a dark turn when during a routine training drill, Dean Paul crashed an F4-C Phantom fighter jet into the San Bernardino Mountains during a small snowstorm (Meisfjord). Despite the storm, Dean Paul was given the ‘ok’ to fly by air traffic control. He was killed on impact. Dean Paul Martin died on March 21st, 1987 at the age of just 35 (Meisfjord). Martin, upon hearing his son’s death, began using alcohol to cope with the immense loss. This wild behavior started to affect his performances and his mindset towards life. Following the failed reunion tour of 1988, Martin was booked for a series of shows at Bally’s Grand in Las Vegas for July and September of 1991 (“Dean Martin Setlist”). The shows were short, tiring, and hard to watch. Martin would perform at Bally’s Grand on September 7th, 1991. Citing poor health, he canceled the rest of his tour dates. He would never perform again (Oliver). After this point, Martin became a recluse. He was rarely seen in public and spent most of his time alone, but that’s the way he liked it. He wanted the public to retain the image of the Dean Martin they loved and that they knew. In September 1993, he visited Cedars Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles after kidney pain and was diagnosed with Lung Cancer (“Who Was Dean Martin”). He insisted on living his final days in the way he wanted. Martin’s health slowly deteriorated to the point where he was beyond recognition. At around 3:30 AM on Christmas Day 1995, Martin died in his Los Angeles home of acute respiratory failure (Oliver). He was 78. His family learned about his death from the headlines on the Christmas Day morning news, along with the rest of the world. To summarize, Martin’s health slowly deteriorated in the months and weeks prior to his death. Despite the millions he made, he was short of money, and out of a final humiliation, one of history’s greatest icons was now reportedly impotent. 

Dean Martin died in the way he lived. He never complained or used anyone or anything as an excuse. Martin’s suave attitude ended up costing him his life. His days with Jerry Lewis will forever be remembered. The times with the Rat Pack live on tape and are watched on repeat to this day. Unfortunately, the end was just as memorable as the good times. Despite the tragedy of his final months, Dean Martin’s life and career are undoubtedly one of the greatest of all time.