In the early 1940s, Dean was trying to make his way as a singer when he first met Frank Sinatra. The star offered to help him get a leg up in the industry, but Martin told him he wanted to do it himself, though he made sure to let him know how appreciative he was for the invite.
Their friendship started to blossom several years later when they made Some Came Running together in 1958.
Three Stars
In order for a celebrity to get a star on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame, there’s an entire (lengthy) process they have to go through. The first step is being nominated in one of several categories, and then it has to go through a number of other people, including the celebrity and their representation, along with the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce.
Most celebrities only ever go through this process once, occurring in a single star along the famed path. Dean Martin, however, earned himself three throughout his career.
Looking Up to Jimmy the Greek
Jimmy “The Greek” Snyder was a famous sports commentator and Las Vegas bookie. He would eventually be canned from CBS for his unsavory remarks, but when Martin was younger, he looked up to him.
Snyder was a regular commentator on The NFL Today and has been parodied in a number of TV shows, including The Simpsons and Saturday Night Live.
Family Fame
Martin wasn’t the only person in his family to have gotten his fair share of the spotlight. His daughter, Gina, married Beach Boys guitarist/singer, Carl Wilson. The two were together for a couple of years before ultimately deciding to break things off. At one point, Dean married Olympic gold medal skater, Dorothy Hamill.
She was Martin’s second wife, though the two called it quits in the mid-1980s. His son Dean married actress Olivia Hussey, and his other son, Craig, married the daughter of a famous comedian.
Not So Fast
Although Martin and his longtime partner in comedy, Jerry Lewis, were a dream team for many years, they didn’t exactly start out as such. In fact, their first performance together was actually bad – very, very bad. The club owner where they were performing told them after their first act that they needed to think of something else and fast because otherwise, they were out.
They rearranged some things within their act and were able to pull it together.