Martin became one of the most popular acts in Las Vegas and was known for his friendship with fellow artists Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr., who together with several others formed the Rat Pack.

[7] Martin gave up boxing to work as a roulette stickman and croupier in an illegal casino behind a tobacco shop, where he had started as a stock boy.

Huddling in the alley behind the club, Lewis and Martin agreed to "go for broke", they divided their act between songs, skits, and ad-libbed material.

The team made its television debut on the first broadcast of CBS-TV network's The Ed Sullivan Show (then called The Toast Of The Town) on June 20, 1948, with composers Rodgers and Hammerstein also appearing.

Hoping to improve their act, the two hired young comedy writers Norman Lear and Ed Simmons to write their bits.

[22] A radio series began in 1949, the year Martin and Lewis signed with Paramount producer Hal B. Wallis as comedy relief for the movie My Friend Irma.

The team's publicity manager, Jack Keller, remembered Martin walking on the set "with a copy of Look and he threw it right in my face and called me every vile name he could think of.

Though offered a fraction of his former salary to co-star in a war drama, The Young Lions (1958), Martin's part would be with Marlon Brando and Montgomery Clift.

[36] He won a Golden Globe nomination for his performance in the 1960 film comedy Who Was That Lady?,[37][38] but continued to seek dramatic roles, portraying a Southern politician in 1961's Ada,[39] and starring in 1963's screen adaptation of an intense stage drama, Toys in the Attic, opposite Geraldine Page,[40] as well as in 1970's drama Airport with Burt Lancaster, a huge box-office success.

[45] Martin also co-starred with Shirley MacLaine in a number of films, including Some Came Running, Artists and Models, Career, All in a Night's Work, and What a Way to Go!

[46] He played a satiric variation of his own womanizing persona as Las Vegas singer "Dino" in Billy Wilder's comedy Kiss Me, Stupid (1964) with Kim Novak,[47] and Martin poked fun at his image in films such as the Matt Helm spy spoofs of the 1960s,[48] in which he was a co-producer.

Martin's daughter, Gail, also sang in Vegas and on many TV shows including his, co-hosting his summer replacement series on NBC.

[55] Though thought of as promiscuous, Martin spent much time with his family; as second wife Jeanne put it, prior to the couple's divorce, "He was home every night for dinner.

The men made films together, formed part of the Hollywood social scene, and were politically influential (through Lawford's marriage to Patricia Kennedy, sister of President John F.

Martin capitalized on his laid-back persona of the half-drunk crooner, inappropriately hitting on women, and making snappy if slurred remarks about fellow celebrities during his roasts.

During an interview on the British TV documentary Wine, Women and Song, aired in 1983, Martin stated, perhaps tongue-in-cheek, that he had someone record them on cassette tape so he could listen to them.

[62] Martin borrowed the lovable-drunk shtick from Joe E. Lewis, but his convincing portrayals of heavy boozers in Some Came Running and Howard Hawks' Rio Bravo led to unsubstantiated claims of alcoholism.

By the early 1970s, The Dean Martin Show was still earning solid ratings, and although he was no longer a Top 40 hitmaker, his record albums continued to sell.

A week later, his business partnership with the Riviera hotel in Las Vegas dissolved amid reports of the casino's refusal to agree to Martin's request to perform only once a night.

[citation needed] Martin also made a public reconciliation with Lewis on his partner's Labor Day telethon, benefiting the Muscular Dystrophy Association, in September 1976.

Sinatra shocked Lewis by bringing Martin out on stage and as the two men embraced, the audience gave them a standing ovation and the phones lit up, resulting in one of the telethon's most profitable years up to that time.

[66][67] He also had a minor hit single with "Since I Met You Baby" and made his first music video, which appeared on MTV and was created by Martin's youngest son, Ricci.

The couple had four children:[70] Martin then married Dorothy Jean "Jeanne" Biegger (March 27, 1927 – August 24, 2016), a former Orange Bowl queen from Coral Gables, Florida.

[77] In the 1960s and early 1970s Martin lived at 363 Copa De Oro Road in Bel Air, Los Angeles,[78] before selling it to Tom Jones for $500,000 in June 1976.

[82] Dean Martin bred Andalusian horses at his Hidden Valley Ranch, Thousand Oaks, Ventura County, California.

Martin retired from public life in early 1995 and died of acute respiratory failure resulting from emphysema at his Beverly Hills home on Christmas Day, 1995, at the age of 78.

It features Martin's voice with Kevin Spacey, Shelby Lynne, Joss Stone, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, Robbie Williams, McBride and others.

Hits such as "Ain't That a Kick in the Head", "Sway", "You're Nobody Till Somebody Loves You", "That's Amore", and Martin's signature song "Everybody Loves Somebody" have been in films (such as the Oscar-winning Logorama, A Bronx Tale, Casino, Goodfellas, Payback, Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, Sexy Beast, Moonstruck, Vegas Vacation, Swingers, and Return to Me), television series (such as American Dad!, Friends, The Sopranos, Mad Men, House MD, Samurai Jack, and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air), video games (such as The Godfather: The Game, The Godfather II, Fallout: New Vegas, and Mafia II), and fashion shows (such as the 2008 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show).

The Rat Pack: Live from Las Vegas has been a successful tribute show, featuring Martin impersonators, on stage in Europe and North America since 2000.

The popular Las Vegas show, "The Rat Pack is Back" has played The Copa Room at the Tuscany Suites Casino for several years.