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Dean Martin

Singer, actor, comedian, and Rat Pack member Dean Martin is best known for his partnership with comedian Jerry Lewis and his inebriated stage persona. Born Dino Crocetti in Steubenville, Ohio, Martin grew up in a tough neighborhood. He dropped out of school after the tenth grade and worked as a steelworker, gas station attendant, and prizefighter before finding a job in an illegal, backroom, gambling hall. His singing career began in 1940 when his friends encouraged him to get up on stage at a popular nightclub and sing a few numbers. His smooth voice impressed bandleader Ernie McKay, who offered him a job as featured vocalist. He stayed with McKay a few months before signing with Cleveland bandleader Sammy Watkins.

In 1943 Martin moved to New York, where he found steady work but failed to attract much attention. He went on the road in 1944 and slowly began to gain recognition as a singer. In 1946 he was offered a screen test by MGM but was not offered a contract. His big break finally came later that year via good friend Jerry Lewis. Lewis was working in Atlantic City and convinced the club owner to hire Martin. Part of his sales pitch was that he and Martin worked well together and had a funny routine. In actuality the two had never performed as a team, and their first night together on stage was a disaster.

Threatened to improve their act, they could come up with nothing, so they improvised. Lewis went out in the audience dressed as a busboy and disrupted Martin while he was singing. What followed was a three-hour performance in which they wrecked havoc around the club -- eating the patron's dinner, setting fire to the orchestra's sheet music, and squirting each other with seltzer. The audience loved it, and they soon became the hottest act in town. Their popularity grew as they performed across the country and on radio and television. In 1948 they were signed to Capitol Records, and in 1949 they made their first in a string of hit movies, My Friend Irma.

The partnership lasted until 1956, when the two went their separate ways. Martin's film career suffered without Lewis at first. His first few movies failed to excite audiences and critics. His fortunes soon turned around, though, with 1958's The Young Lions, and he went on to star in several successful films, including the Matt Helm spy series, a string of Westerns, and the 1970 blockbuster Airport.

Martin's recording career also got off to a slow start. It wasn't until 1953 that he broke into the Top Ten, with the Italian-style novelty tune ''That's Amore,'' and in 1955 he hit number one for the first time with ''Memories Are Made of This.'' In 1962 he left Capitol for Frank Sinatra's Reprise Records, where his 1964 recording of ''Everybody Loves Somebody'' became the first song to knock the Beatles out of the number one spot.

In 1965 he began hosting his own weekly variety show on NBC. The program was one of the top-rated shows during its nine-year run. During the late 1970s and 1980s he concentrated his career on Las Vegas. In 1987 he joined a Rat Pack reunion tour with Sinatra and Sammy Davis, Jr. but soon withdrew due to health problems. In 1993 it was reported that Dean had lung cancer. He died on Christmas Day in 1995.