Why Dean Martin split with Jerry Lewis, adored Sinatra and pretended to drink

Not everything about “King of Cool” Dean Martin was what it seemed. The dashing playboy and heartthrob was actually a devoted family man to eight children. The legendary drinker — who always had a tumbler in hand —secretly filled his glass with apple cider. And that gleaming grin masked pain.

A new documentary explores the complexities of the beloved crooner, comedian and founding member of the Rat Pack. “Dean Martin: King of Cool,” which premieres Friday on TCM, features never-before-seen archival footage and delves into Martin’s strained relationship with Jerry Lewis, his bromance with Frank Sinatra and the personal tragedy of losing a child.

Born Dino Paul Crocetti in Steubenville, Ohio, in 1917 to Italian immigrant parents, Martin didn’t learn English until age 6 and was considered nearly illiterate. The hardscrabble life in his working-class town couldn’t have been further from the shiny patina of Hollywood, yet Martin’s irrepressible talent was undeniable. His seamstress mother, Angela, proclaimed that if her kid didn’t make it as a singer, nobody could.

Jerry was always annoying.>>>>>>>>>>>

Back in the day every school yard had one like Lewis, or in the army, ever batallion had at least one,

Annoying as all get out.

Martin was always talented enough as a performer to have left Lewis a lot earlier IMHO.

I never liked Lewis much.

“The Rat Pack was an informal group of entertainers, the second iteration of which ultimately made films and appeared together in Las Vegas casino venues. They originated as a group of A-list show business friends who met casually at the Los Angeles home of Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall.[1] In the 1960s, the group featured Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Joey Bishop, and (before falling out with Sinatra in 1962) Peter Lawford, among others. They appeared together on stage and in films in the early 1960s, including the films Ocean’s 11,[2] and Sergeants 3; after Lawford’s expulsion, they filmed Robin and the 7 Hoods with Bing Crosby in what was to be Lawford’s role. Sinatra, Martin, and Davis were regarded as the group’s lead members after Bogart’s death.[3][4]

The name “Rat Pack” was first used to refer to a group of friends in New York,[5][6] and several explanations have been offered for the name. According to one version, Lauren Bacall saw her husband Humphrey Bogart and his friends returning from a night in Las Vegas and said, “You look like a goddamn rat pack.”[5] “Rat Pack” may also be a shortened version of “Holmby Hills Rat Pack”, a reference to the home of Bogart and Bacall[5][6] which served as a regular hangout.

Visiting members included Errol Flynn, Ava Gardner, Nat King Cole, Robert Mitchum, Elizabeth Taylor, Janet Leigh, Tony Curtis, Mickey Rooney, Lena Horne, Jerry Lewis, and Cesar Romero. According to Stephen Bogart, the original members of the Holmby Hills Rat Pack were Frank Sinatra (pack master), Judy Garland (first vice-president), Sid Luft (cage master), Bogart (rat in charge of public relations), Swifty Lazar (recording secretary and treasurer), Nathaniel Benchley (historian), David Niven, Katharine Hepburn, Spencer Tracy, George Cukor, Cary Grant, Rex Harrison, and Jimmy Van Heusen.[5][6]”

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rat_Pack

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