Dean Martin

 Dean Martin, born Dino Paul Crocetti (June 7, 1917 – December 25, 1995)

One of the most popular and enduring American entertainers of the mid-20th century, Martin was nicknamed the "King of Cool" for his seemingly effortless charisma and self-assuredness. He and Jerry Lewis were partners in the immensely popular comedy team "Martin and Lewis". He was a member of the "Rat Pack" and a star in concert stage/nightclubs, recordings, motion pictures, and television. He was the host of the television variety program The Dean Martin Show (1965–1974) and The Dean Martin Celebrity Roast (1974–1985). Martin's relaxed, warbling crooning voice earned him dozens of hit singles including his signature songs "Memories Are Made of This", "That's Amore", "Everybody Loves Somebody", "You're Nobody till Somebody Loves You", "Sway", "Volare", and "Ain't That a Kick in the Head?". Martin was drafted into the United States Army in 1944 during World War II, serving a year in Akron, Ohio. He was reclassified as 4-F and discharged (possibly because of a double hernia; Jerry Lewis referred to the surgery Martin needed for this in his autobiography). In 1946 he met a very hard working young up-start named Jerry Lewis. This would mark the beginning of one of Hollywood's greatest teams.

During the next 11 years and 16 films, the team of Martin and Lewis not only brought about super-stardom, but it also brought a lot of personal conflicts. These conflicts not only led to their break-up, but the hurt was felt by the two for a great number of years. After the Martin-Lewis split, 1958-59 brought two films for Dean, "The Young Lions" (1958) and a film entitled "Rio Bravo" (1959). In this film, he was not only starring with another Hollywood icon, John Wayne, but also teen idol Ricky Nelson. A 1960 film, however, added yet another high point in his career. The mega-hit film "Oceans Eleven" would bring with it the ever famous "rat pack" label, when he was teamed with Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., Joey Bishop, and Peter Lawford. This proved to be an enduring bond among these greats. Dean's film career continued until 1965, when he made a venture into the television industry with "The Dean Martin Show." He hosted this show until 1973, and earned a Golden Globe award. His show would change, and by adding a panel of some of Hollywood's biggest names, the "Dean Martin's Celebrity Roast" was formed. hen the show's run ended in 1984, he thought it was a time to relax, but after a short respite, he went on a singing tour with his old friends of the "rat pack."

However, the year 1987 would bring with it a very tragic event, one from which Dean would never recover, when his son, Dean Paul Martin, was killed in a plane crash. Martin immediately left the rat pack tour, never to return, and he resigned to a solitary life. Martin was diagnosed with lung cancer at Cedars Sinai Medical Center in September 1993, and in early 1995 retired from public life. He died of acute respiratory failure resulting from emphysema at his Beverly Hills home on Christmas morning in 1995. Dean Martin is interred at Westwood Memorial Park.