Dina MartinPhoto: Courtesy of HOT8
Somewhere in the 50s, when the singer Dina Martin There was a girl, her father, the revered Hollywood star Dean Martin He took her on a tour of Paramount Studios, where he filmed one of his films. “I was standing in front of Dad’s locker room and I saw a man with a bicycle,” Dina recalls in a zoom interview with her this week. “When the man approached me I realized it was B.C.Elvis Presley. My God, Elvis Presley! He got off the bike, introduced himself and then said, ‘Dina, I’m called the King of Rock’n’Roll – but your father is the King of the Voice. ”
The nickname “Cool, Not Voice” stuck with Martin over the years until his death at Christmas 1995 at the age of 78. It is also the name of a fascinating and moving documentary, directed by Tom Donahue, about his exciting life and glorious career (50 albums, 250 million copies) of Martin, who arrives tomorrow (Tuesday) for HOT8, and for yes docu and VOD. “What makes Dad the voice king?”, Dina wonders. “There was just something special about him. A cool vibe. Dad was a captivating, charming, kind-hearted and sweet person and of course funny.”
The legend of Dean Martin began in Ohio, where he was born under the name Dino Paul Crocetti. A son of Italian immigrants, who did not speak English until the age of 6 and was ridiculed at school for his heavy and foreign look. “His mother was a seamstress and Dad inherited his style from her,” says Martin. At the age of 16 he left school, also working in clubs as a card dealer and playing roulette. Among his many works over the years are boxing and work in a steel plant. In the early 1940s he worked as a singer in clubs and casinos, and in 1941 he married a young woman of Irish descent – Elizabeth Ann (Betty) McDonald, whom he met while performing in a hotel. The couple had four children, including Dina, the youngest daughter. “The second Mom met Dad – tall, handsome and charming – she fell in love. They got married quickly. Mom was an amazing, smart, elegant, caring woman who also had a good education.”
Elizabeth was also responsible for designing Dean Martin’s improved character. “Mom supported and encouraged him and also taught Dad how to speak correctly in terms of pronunciation and spelling of words. She also persuaded him to do plastic surgery, to fix his nose. At first he resisted, but in the end he heard her voice. It turned out nicely,” says Martin with a smile. “Look how handsome he was. Dad was handsome even before the surgery, but the surgery upgraded him.”
A legend still alive. Dean MartinPhoto: Gettyimage
After World War II, Martin felt his career was stuck. In 1946, a chance encounter with the wild Jewish comedian Jerry Lewis At a club in Atlantic City, he changed his life. The two began performing together and performed slapstick sketches. While Martin was a singer, Lewis would intervene, do his deeds, make amusing and witty remarks about the songs and even break plates on Martin’s head. The spontaneous Martin was incredibly responsive and the duo became the hottest thing in American show business and conquered Hollywood – but the success took a toll on Martin’s married life. While Martin was on the road, Elizabeth had a hard time dealing with the burden of raising children and her absence. “She was very unhappy and started drinking more. It was hard for Dad,” Dina recalls.
When Martin put an end to his wife’s addiction, he divorced her in 1949, in favor of mistress Ginny Bigger, whom he met at a charity event in Florida. The two married and had three children. “My mom’s story is sad,” says Dina, who grew up in Los Angeles. “The divorce was a terrible thing, especially for me as a little girl. The separation was difficult for the mother, because she was left alone and carried four children on her back, and what she did with us was amazing: mother took us everywhere and took care of our education – dance lessons, piano and everything else “That we would just like.”
With all due respect to the education Elizabeth gave and her dedication as a mother, in the end, her addiction affected the family, to the point that “mother decided she just could no longer take care of us properly”. Martin transferred to his residence his four children from his first marriage. “Ginny – my stepmother who I still call ‘Mom’ – since I lived with her from the age of 9, was amazing. Suddenly she is raising seven children, who have to get along with each other.”
And how did you really manage?
“At first it was hard to get used to a big house and the one you suddenly have new brothers and sisters – but she took care of us all in a phenomenal way. We all had chores and everyone cleaned their room. We did what was expected of us. We loved each other and had fun together. A positive and magical experience. We had a lot of fun and everyone wanted to come to our house. We had a tennis court, a pool and a pool table and in the evenings we played all kinds of games. Imagine seven children in one space and if everyone brings a friend, here you already have 14 people at home. I do not know how the parents kept sanity”.
How did Dean Martin manage to combine his busy career with his functioning as a father?
“Dad didn’t pick me up from school and do homework with me, but he was always present in the background. Dad was great looking to do fun things with us. When he wasn’t working, he loved being home or playing golf.”
“There was an excellent connection between them.” Martin with Jerry LewisPhoto: Gettyimage
“The King of the Voice” deals, among other things, with the special and complex relationship that existed between Martin and Lewis, who died five years ago. Between 1949-1956 they made 16 films together (in which Martin was the romantic and sane man and Lewis was the wild guy) and also ran a popular TV show. “They both had a great sense of humor and had a great connection between them. There is something similar between Jewish and Italian families – lots of food and a huge family. They were wonderful together. Some kind of magic.”
When disagreements developed over the years and Martin felt that Lewis was in control of matters and that he was living in his shadow, he decided it was time for them to split up. Since then, Martin’s name has not been mentioned in Lewis’ home. “Jerry and Dad worked together for a decade and they were the funniest comedy duo of all time, but in the end Jerry drove Dad crazy too much. Once the water got to the soul, it’s time to split up. They broke off the relationship and Dad did not discuss the matter again. For him this part of life was over – so he did not think about it anymore. Dad was not angry and did not harbor resentment – when it was over it was over, and he went on with his life. It also stressed him a lot, because That he was going to perform for the first time in Vegas alone. ”
Lewis and Martin did not speak for twenty years, until the reconciliation he organized Frank Sinatra In a television charity fundraiser, which Lewis directed in 1976. Sinatra brought Martin with him. It was a surprise and Lewis knew nothing of it.
Stay in touch with Jerry Lewis, even during the years of disconnection from your father?
“I kept in touch with Jerry, and it was a great relationship. I loved him and he would call me regularly.”
Recently three actresses who worked with Lewis claimed he harassed and sexually assaulted them. What do you think about it?
“I saw the interviews with these women, but I’ve never experienced such things with Jerry. He’s always been Uncle Jerry to me and has always been nice to me. He may have behaved properly towards me – out of respect for Dad. “It’s very unfortunate. I hope it’s not true.”
The Great Reconciliation. Frank Sinatra with Lewis and MartinPhoto: Gettyimage
After breaking up with Lewis, Martin has appeared in several reputed films: “Lion Infidels,” “Some Came in a Race” and “Rio Bravo” and demonstrated dramatic skills. In the early 1960s Martin was a member of the Rat Pak – the gang that included Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr. And dominated the American entertainment industry. “To me they were Uncle Frank and Uncle Sammy. They were all guys like Cedar.”
In 1973, Martin divorced his second wife after 23 years of marriage in favor of establishing a relationship with 26-year-old mistress Catherine Hoon. But this marriage lasted only three years. Until his death, Martin maintained a good relationship with Ginny.
In 1987 Martin experienced a tragedy when his son Dean Paul was killed when the fighter jet he was flying collided during a snowstorm on a mountain east of Los Angeles, as part of his service in the National Guard. The severe loss broke Martin and caused him to sink. Martin retired from performing at age 72 and shut himself off. He suffered from lung disease and later and rarely showed in public.
In “The King of Sound” it is said that Martin suffered from depression and became addicted to pills in his last years. But his daughter Dina insists that “Dad was not depressed. True, he had some medical problems because of age, and he needed medication. We used to go out to dinner together in restaurants and celebrate Christmas and Thanksgiving together. Abra was no longer interested in working, since he had achieved so much. Lots of life and also was exhausted. After one stop on his tour with Frank and Sammy, he realized he did not want to attend it anymore. He felt he had exhausted everything. He broke down from the entertainment business and did not want to go out to parties or events. “Others, but not to chat them. He preferred to sit at home and watch westerns. Dad managed to do so many things in his life, and in every field he dealt with he reached heights, that he had nothing left to prove to others.”
The film claims that he was a mysterious, distant and enigmatic man. And that even his wife Ginny thought she did not really know him. is that so?
“It was strange for me to find out that quite a few people felt they did not know him, because he was supposedly enigmatic and mysterious. For me it was an open book. It was planned and organized and I knew when he would return home. I actually knew him well and could guess what he wanted to do.”
The most exciting moment for me in “The King of Voice” is that you tell how you made Daddy Pasta Puzzol, which he especially loved, to make him happy and encourage him in his old age.
“It’s fantastic pasta! My grandmother, Angela after whom I am named, my full name is Dina Angela Martin – she would make it for us every Sunday, and when I was ten, Grandma said to me: ‘Dina, I want to teach you this dish “Make it for your father after I’m no longer here, and it’s the second thread between me, you and him. Make sure you know the recipe and do not tell your sisters about it, and do not write it. Remember it orally and one day it will be the connection between the three of us.” Many, at Christmas time, I wondered what gift I was going to give Dad. Another money frame? Another cashmere sweater? Suddenly I dropped the token: I’ll make him a pasta pie. Even though I had not made this pasta for many years, I remembered every detail.
“I put the pasta in a glass container decorated with a red ribbon and brought it to Dad. He looked at the pasta, and said, ‘Is that what I think it is?’. I have chills just at the thought of that moment. “A week later, he called and asked, ‘Do you think you can cook me the pasta puzzle again?’ ‘I told him of course.
The “Rat Fuck”. Sinatra, Martin and Sammy Davis Jr.Photo: Gettyimage
Martin currently lives in Missouri, but is often on the road. “I’ve been singing all my life. I released my first album when I was 17 and it included country music. I released five albums and by the time the Corona started I was on the road 280 days a year. This month I’m performing in New York to make people happy. I have a YouTube show called ‘Dina Martin Live’ and there I also have a radio show. These days I’m working on recordings of new arrangements. I plan to go on a tour, which will include the Pyramids and Rome, and as part of that I plan to come to Israel. I would really love to perform in Israel. My husband John is now planning this tour – he is the director, the producer And my director. The love of my life. ”
Is it hard to be the daughter of a legend? To live in the shadow of such a giant?
“It’s not hard to be the daughter of a legend. It’s actually fantastic to be the daughter of Dean Martin. I really do not feel like I live in his shadow, mainly because he taught me well how not to feel that way.”
What else did you learn from him?
“Dad always said, ‘Dina, if you’re not early – you’re late. So do not be late.’ “Dad said I had to behave like that so people would like me.