While Dean Martin may have been quite the star, he didn’t always act like a diva. Sure, he loved to drink with his friends, but he actually hated parties. Another thing he hated: elevators. Yep, he would go out of his way and take his time to hike several flights of stairs before he’d jump in an elevator.
Apparently, he was pretty afraid of them, referring to them as “coffins.” He once walked 18 flights of stairs to avoid an elevator ride!
Dean’s Daughter - Not Credited
Deana Martin was born to the star and her mother, Dean’s first wife, Elizabeth, in 1948. She followed along in dad’s footsteps as far as going into the entertainment industry. First, she trained in the U.K at the Dartington College of Arts.
She made her TV debut on dad’s show in 1966 and started frequenting it after. Deana has appeared on a number of other shows as well and even hosted her own for an impressive four seasons.
Ocean’s 11
In 1960, the original Ocean’s 11 hit the scene, and people were not disappointed. Martin filmed the hit with four other members of the Rat Pack, including Frank Sinatra, Peter Lawford, Joey Bishop, and Sammy Davis Jr.
The film is both based and filmed in Las Vegas and even inspired the almost equally popular remake (and a few sequels) which stars George Clooney, Brad Pitt, and Matt Damon.
Calling the Cops
Martin loved spending time with his friends and drinking and partying with them. But he didn’t feel the same way about large parties full of people he didn’t know. There was one time that his wife threw a party, to which a large number of people showed up.
Dean was not happy with the volume of noise around the house. He pretended to be a neighbor and placed an anonymous call to the police to complain. The police then showed up and broke up the party. Mission accomplished!
Ten Thousand Bedrooms
Dean Martin’s first film performance was in the 1957 rom-com, Ten Thousand Bedrooms. Martin plays a hotel mogul who falls in love with a young woman while he’s in Rome buying a new property. But, in order to marry her, he must first help her three older sisters get married. Unfortunately, the film was a flop.
Some reviews are pretty harsh, others empathize with the future star, saying something like, “poor guy, it’s his first time with a chance to go solo and he winds up with…this.” Luckily, he was able to turn it all around.