38 Facts About Dean Martin

1. Dean Martin was 17 when he started singing in local nightclubs at his hometown and met Sammy Watkins, the bandleader of Cleveland.

2. Dean Martin was the nephew of famed stand-up comedian Leonard Barr.

3. Dean Martin was a household name in the film and music industry during his time.

4. Dean Martin was drafted into the United States Army in 1944 during World War II, serving a year in Akron, Ohio.

5. Dean Martin was an Italian-American singer, actor, comedian, and film producer.

6. In 1968, Dean Martin signed the biggest contract in the history of show business.

7. Dean Martin was never a heavy reader, but he loved his comic books.

8. Dean Martin was a very complicated man, although he appeared to be very simple.

9. Dean Martin died of acute respiratory failure on Christmas morning in 1995, at the age of 78, in Beverly Hills, California.

10. In 1973, Dean Martin married his third wife, Catherine Mae Hawn, and adopted a daughter named Sasha.

11. Dean Martin was married three times, first to wife Elizabeth Anne McDonald on October 2, 1941.

12. In 1962, Dean Martin left Capitol Records and signed with Reprise.

13. Dean Martin began his show business career at age 17, singing in Ohio nightclubs near his hometown.

14. Dean Martin was the youngest of two sons, the oldest being Bill Crocetti, born to Italian immigrants.

15. Dean Martin died on December 25, 1995, in Beverly Hills, California.

16. Dean Martin was a famous star for he was spotted in TV programs, motions pictures, recordings, nightclubs and concert stages.

17. Dean Martin was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 1997.

18. Dean Martin was born on Dino Paul Crocetti; June 7, 1917—December 25, 1995 and was an American singer, actor, comedian, and producer.

19. In 2010, Dean Martin received a posthumous star on the Italian Walk of Fame in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

20. Dean Martin retired from public life in early 1995 and died of acute respiratory failure resulting from emphysema at his Beverly Hills home on Christmas Day, 1995 at the age of 78.

21. Dean Martin had a minor hit single with "Since I Met You Baby" and made his first music video, which appeared on MTV.

22. Dean Martin was taken by the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino, where he was the featured performer on the hotel's opening night December 23, 1973, and agreed to star in a picture for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios.

23. Dean Martin played a featured role in the 1981 comedy The Cannonball Run and its sequel, both starring Burt Reynolds.

24. Dean Martin starred in and co-produced four Matt Helm superspy comedy adventures during this time, as well as a number of Westerns.

25. In 1965, Dean Martin launched his weekly NBC comedy-variety series, The Dean Martin Show, which ran for 264 episodes until 1974.

26. Dean Martin hosted country performers on his TV show and was named "Man Of the Year" by the Country Music Association in 1966.

27. In 1960, Dean Martin was cast in the film version of the Judy Holliday stage musical comedy Bells Are Ringing.

28. Dean Martin teamed again with Wayne in The Sons of Katie Elder, cast as brothers.

29. Dean Martin was acclaimed as Dude in Rio Bravo, directed by Howard Hawks and starring John Wayne and singer Ricky Nelson.

30. Dean Martin starred alongside Frank Sinatra for the first time in the Vincente Minnelli drama, Some Came Running.

31. Dean Martin replaced Randall and the film turned out to be the beginning of Martin's comeback.

32. Dean Martin wanted to become a dramatic actor, known for more than slapstick comedy films.

33. Dean Martin told his partner he was "nothing to me but a dollar sign".

34. Dean Martin met comic Jerry Lewis at the Glass Hat Club in New York, where both were performing.

35. In October 1941, Dean Martin married Elizabeth "Betty" Anne McDonald in Cleveland, Ohio, and the couple had an apartment in Cleveland Heights for a while.

36. Dean Martin got his break working for the Ernie McKay Orchestra.

37. Dean Martin dropped out of Steubenville High School in the tenth grade because he thought he was smarter than his teachers.

38. Dean Martin had an older brother named William Alfonso Crocetti.