Dean Martin's Drunk Act

A perfect example of the danger sing averages

 

Can not even imagine the pain he must have been in to say that. That's very sad.

 

Yes,Musselman's Apple Juice was poured into a Whiskey Decanter while He was in the Dressing Room in Las Vegas,sometimes having Wine with His Spaghetti & Meatballs.

 

It was reported He'd went into His Fave Italian Bistro,ordered his fav dish,Spaghetti & Meatballs,and then never ate it,always played with it but couldn't eat one bite,a sad sight.

 

When Dino Died doing a Secret Fly-Over over the Desert,it devastated Him-Some said when Dino Died,Dean Died along with Him,Soul-Wise.

 

Did anybody ever go to dinner at Dino's Lodge on Sunset Strip back in the day?

 

I've been watching 77 Sunset Strip and love the scenes inside Dino's. I would give anything to be able to go back in time and hang out there.

 

This stuck with me all these years. I recall this from an afternoon TV talk show interview around the time of his NBC Specials.
When the topic of his drinking came up, Dean asked the interviewer if he thought NBC would pay a drunk $4 million dollars a year.

 

Sadly, my prized Dino's Lodge ashtray met it's end when it hit the concrete last year. My dad visited way back when. You can find them on eBay though.

 

One of his stock jokes was that his wife never knew he drank until one night he came home sober.

 

Over the weekend, I snagged an unopened vinyl copy of You Can't Love Them All for $4. Sweet. I need to find a mint copy of This Time I'm Swinging. The drunkard game helped his act, I suppose, but I wonder what would have happened for his artistic career if he had dropped it. He might have sold fewer LPs but they might have been worth more.

 

It was a big source of humor that I think he needed to be more than just a singer.

 

Was it Paul Anka who found Dean in the bar and asked him what he was up to and Dean said "Just waiting to die, buddy."?

 

Tosches uses stream of consciousness style in attempting to “get” a guy who by most accounts was unfathomable. As Jeanne said of him, “...there is either nothing there or too much there...”. My guess is the latter. He suffered despite his success. Lost his brother Bill (whom he counted on) when Bill was barely 50, then within a year of each other, his mother and father. And finally, his son.

Tosches does the best he can to try and capture Deans true persona, a challenging endeavor and though imperfect, it’s a noble effort. A careful reading will show he presents Dean as a man who used a veneer of “uncaring” to protect himself from the fact that he may have cared too much. It presents Dean flaws and all, as a decent, likeable and honest guy surviving in a cesspool of phoniness and sharks with his integrity intact.

 

Dean Martin's talents were considerable...but his Original Sin as a performer and artist was making everything he did look easy. Dean never looked as if he suffered for his art (like Sinatra) or never looked like he never broke a sweat (like Sammy), but the man had the goods, no question.

...and yeah, Dean was more than a singer. Sure, Dean coasted through comedies, Rat Pack vehicles and the Matt Helm movies but he held his own in classics like Rio Bravo and the Sons of Katie Elder (westerns, of all things!)

Did Dean care? I think he did - Dean was an excellent judge of his own material, for example - but he was also wise enough to put some distance between himself and success, avoiding substances heavier than scotch and the shady circles Sinatra traveled in. The drunk act was an entertaining gimmick, but it also gave Dean the freedom to call things like he saw them and get away with it (immune to the man crushes Sinatra would have for guys like Jack Kennedy and Sam Giancana, Dean wasn't afraid to make a wise ass-yet- telling comment). There's a live Rat Pack album recorded at a club Giancana owned where Dean exclaims "Quiet! There's a gangster sleeping upstairs!"

 

I heard a story related to the JFK campaign. Can't recall where but....Sinatra was a big booster of John Kennnedy. Did a lot of fundraisers for him. Both Dean and Sammy were involved intially. At some point Joe Kennedy wanted Sammy out. Sinatra had to tell Sammy who agreed for the greater good I suppose. Dean basically said F' You and took a walk because of that. I really hope that's true as I got a greater respect for Dino for doing that.

 

that was Dean: a great singer and actor...he was the best!
all fake and he played them to perfection.

 

Dean loved Sammy so I believe it...

 

Dean met JFK when he was teaming with Jerry in the mid 50's. Dean did not like him from the beginning. When JFK ran for President and was enamored by Mr. S, Dean did very little (if any) as far as publicly supporting JFK for President. He stood his ground when Mr. S was asked to produce the Inaugural Gala in 1961 by refusing to participate in it saying he was busy filming in L.A.

 

Ok not quite what I thought but Dino still gets my respect.

 

Yes. Sad.

 

It's a very entertaining read. We'll never get another book on Dean, cause no one else would even want to try.

 

And I seem to remember he told Sinatra that JFK was not his kind of people, the Kennedy's would flock him over as fast as look at him. Frank told Dean f you and gee, who was right on in that discussion?

 

Bobby Kennedy was so intent on taking down the mob that he told JFK that he shouldn't stay at Sinatra's house in Palm Springs in the spring of 1962 due to Sinatra's relationship with some men of ill repute. So at the last minute, JFK decided to spend the weekend at Bing Crosby's house. Sinatra was livid and.. well, read the whole story here.

Sinatra's High Hopes dashed by JFK -- Bing Crosby Internet Museum

 

Don Rickles has said Dean did drink. But at what level? Remember the social norm back then was drinking was "ok". I was a kid then & every time my parents had visitors a drink would be offered. Along with a smoke. Not weed.