Martini Man: The Life of Dean Martin

by William Schoell

Martini Man goes beyond the simple caricature of the boozy lounge singer with a penchant for racy humor to reveal the substantive man behind that mask. Although Martin's movie roles receive in-depth attention in this incisive biography, as does his career-defining partnership with Jerry Lewis, details of Dino's personal life also abound, such as how Shierly MacLaine dropped by his house "to tell Dean she was in love with him-even though his wife was in the other room." William Schoell's chronicle is a sympathetic portrait that recreates the life and times of one of America's favorite entertainers.

Genres: Biography, Music, Nonfiction

352 pages, Paperback

First published September 25, 1999

About the author

WILLIAM SCHOELL was born in Manhattan where he resides. He is the author of over thirty-five books in various genres, including celebrity biographies (some written with co-author Lawrence J. Quirk); horror-suspense novels; biographies of such people as Edgar Allan Poe and Giuseppe Verdi for young people; and books on the performing arts and pop culture. He has been a radio producer and talk show host, worked for Columbia pictures, and is a blogger, playwright, and activist.

Reviews

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Who was the real Dean Martin? A skirt-chasing, heavy drinking, wholly insensitive, minimally talented philanderer and mob pal who dropped friends and wives as casually as he'd discard a candy bar wrapper? Or an underrated, highly amiable, top-flight singer and actor who was loyal to his pals and remained friends with wives even after divorce, and who much preferred an evening at home watching [TV] than a night out drinking with the boys?" -- from the intro

Spoiler alert: the reading audience will find out that actor/singer Dean Martin was perhaps equal parts of both of the above descriptions in author Schoell's Martini Man. Raised in an Ohio industrial town just after WWI, the speakeasy blackjack dealer and amateur boxer found (somewhat unlikely) fame by becoming a crooner in the style of Bing Crosby and then as one-half of a nightclub comedy duo with Jerry Lewis in the mid-1940's. Although it seemed like Martin's career would go bust after the dissolution of the partnership - the twosome's early 50's film career is discussed in much detail, but was not the most interesting part of this book - he, almost unexpectedly, roared back into the public consciousness and then had a good twenty-five year stretch of continued success in the movies (Rio Bravo, Ocean's 11, Airport, etc.), music (countless breezy pop singles, such as Memories Are Made of This and Ain't That a Kick in the Head?), and a long-running NBC-TV variety series that regularly showcased his light comedy style and carefree attitude. But this being a show biz bio there was also the dark side - his shady business dealings early in his recording career, two ex-wives and distant relationships with the children, the passing of both of his parents and only sibling all within the same ten-month period (!), and then the accidental death of his son in a military jet crash. This was a thorough and detailed biography, but not necessarily always much fun to read . . . which is sort of odd, in a way, since Martin had a dependable charisma and personality (at least what he is best remembered for) as being the life of the party, but yet was really a private and reserved person.

[GoldGato · Rating 3 out of 5]

He was the coolest of the Cool...the Deanster. Even my Generation X remember the dude who sauntered his way through a song and life itself. This book is the first biography written about Dean Martin after his death, and the author uses firm sources (listed fully in the notes section) for the recollections.

The King of Cool's life unfolds chronologically, so it's easy for the reader to follow along. We learn about his first wife and first set of children, his days in debt, literally, to just about everyone, and then the Jerry Lewis years, his second family, and the Rat Pack time. There's nothing too astonishing here, which is rather nice given the usual outrageousness most celebrity bios highlight. Sometimes the author tries to create his own thoughts for Dino, without real verification. Still, Schoell doesn't go overboard and seems to respect his subject.

Dean Martin was a simple guy who loved wine, women, golf, and song. The essence of what makes a man cool, I suppose. Perhaps if you read DINO, Nick Tosches' extreme take on Martin, followed by this book and then the books by Dean's kids, you might find the truth somewhere in between. I enjoyed the life of a real entertainer and it even made me go out and purchase some downloads of Mr. Cool's songs. Them was the days.

Book Season = Summer (good book for beach time reading)

[Jenna · Rating 4 out of 5]

A solid biography of Dean Martin that, for once, focuses more on his post Martin and Lewis life. It baffles me how often his films are dismissed, so I appreciated his rundowns of each movie (even if I didn't always agree with his tastes). I wish the book had more anecdotes and interviews... the ones that are there are legit great, but I wanted more. I also think Schoell glosses over the true nature of Dean's relationship with Jerry, which I believe was much more complex in many ways. (And Schoell sometimes seems overly dismissive towards certain women but whatever, I guess this was published 20 years ago.)

That said, this was certainly a breeze to read and had a good amount of new information. I also appreciated that Schoell makes several digs at Tosches throughout because boy howdy is that deserved. If you're on the fence between which to read, this or Tosches book, please go for this.

[Pam · Rating 3 out of 5]

i just finished the book minutes ago, and it's still settling in. The author was much kinder to Dean at the end of the book, but that may simply be due to the fact that he was covering the end of Dean's life.

I don't know that there were many surprises for those of us who loved Dean Martin, but then again, the author failed to give much detail to Dean's career or personal life throughout the entire book. Instead, he simply filled pages by going through the movies Dean made in chronological order. He would spend a ridiculous amount of time explaining the plot of each movie - and continually interrupted himself to write about the director, the producer, other actors/actresses involved - I found myself getting completely lost!

There was no depth to Dean's life, the people in it, or the times he was writing about - for instance the 40's, the 60's, etc. i would say i was about 1/3 of the way through the book when i got the distinct impression that the author disliked Dean Martin. So why did I read the whole book? Honestly, I have no idea.

[Lynn Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fascinating insight in to the man behind the mask of the Dean Martin persona. Not an always attractive one I must admit. A very distant father, a bad husband in regard to fidelity and often emotionally distant, a good friend and man's man who is clearly comfortable with other men. A hard controlled drinker, a man of complexity and who could at times be quite ruthless in his interactions. It explores his careers in music and film, his partnership with Jerry Lewis, the Rat Pack friendships, and his marriages and many affairs during and after his marriages. Throughout it all is this senses of aloneness - of his own making. Yet throughout it all is the enduring friendship/relationship of his second wife Jeanne who after their divorce remains a constant in his life despite the 3rd marriage and girlfriends (who continue to be so much younger than him). Lastly the impact of the death of his favourite son Dino Jr is well explored.

[Chris Hoffman · Rating 4 out of 5]

So much information about Dean Martin. I learned a lot about how Dean Martin worked himself to where he was in life. He earned his way , but early on, he used a lot of people and thier financial assets to become the ladies man. He was born with so much talent but was always unaware of how to use it until much later in his life. Good book. Entertaining, informative and enlightening about one of favorite entertainers.

[Phillip Hatfield · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dean Martin

A very readable and entertaining biography of the great Dean Martin.
Well written and appears to be well researched.
The author also appears quite fair in his writing on Martin.
The book is unique in that it also serves as a film critique of Martin’s films (and other films as well) and music critique of many of Martin’s songs.
The author is sometimes smarmy as a critic, especially as a film critic, but I still enjoyed his reviews.
A must read for Dean Martin fans.

[Dave Goldman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good.

[Gary Myers · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wound up skimming nearly all of this book as it mostly covers Martin's films, with the author freely expressing his opinions of all of it. That was not of real interest to me.

[Dan Fielder · Rating 1 out of 5]

I’m a big fan of Dean Martin as a singer and pop culture figure. I read this book with the intent of learning more about his life, career and the impact he had on society. I’d say 80% of the book is about the movies he acted in. I understand that was a part of his fame but this book was pretty dismissive of his singing career and his time with the Rat Pack which I would’ve loved to hear more about. It took me a long time to push through this as the author endlessly listed details about movie plots and other actors/actresses Dean worked with that had no relevance to Dean Martin and his life/career. Would not recommend to anyone, this book BLOWS.

[Damian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dino Crochetti portrayed a cool, suave, fun, boozing, crooning, womanizing Rat-Packer that women wanted to be with and men wanted to be like.

But against my wishes, William Schoell does a great job delving deeper into the lonely man behind the man. I really wanted to believe that one of the most talented entertainers of our time - the man behind the music, the movies and the TV shows - was really THAT man. But you get a sense that Dean was so engulfed in performing and portraying a man with THE LIFE, he really didn't have one. Yeah you have to take into account the deep depression and seclusion he went into after his son died. But even before that, he was so consumed in keeping an "image", eventually the image consumed him, and life (as WE know it) just sorta passed him by. You bet your ass he lived it with no regrets.

Still, the reason we like the celebrities that we do, shouldn't be because of what they do, or how they act in their off time. It's what they do in the spotlight...when the cameras are on. That is what should really matter. The reason to read Martini Man? To go behind the scenes of his "public life"...complete with great stories of galavanting around with Frank and Sammy, the olden days of Vegas, and being on the set of one of his many films.

I challenge you to find another entertainer (yesterday and today) as versatile as Dean, and has the accolades that Dean had. He was a jack of all trades, and a master of most.

Here's to you, pally.

[Lauren⁷ 💜 · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author claims that this book is the first biography, written after the Dean's death in 1995, however there is another book, written by a different author in 1996. This is a well written book, but much of it is devoted all the films he made, and it tells you about the plot of the movie, Dean's performance in the movie, etc. The book however is quite lacking in pictures, just one rather short section in the middle. Also there's not much in the book about his family. It does tell about who he was married to and/or dating at the time, and when his children where born. It does a passable job of documenting his life and times Perfect, if you want a book, that focuses heavily on Dean's film career.

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I enjoyed reading and learning some things about the man, Dean Martin, it wasn't among my favored biographies. Sometimes the writing is a bit drab, and makes for boring reading (like the many film bios), and seems unnecessarily laggy at times. However, the life of Dean Martin is an interesting one.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

If it won't taint your ideal of Dean Martin to find out what kind of man he really was, go ahead and read this book. It was interesting. But I wish I hadn't read it.

[Don · Rating 3 out of 5]

Writing style bothered me.