Has 8 children: Stephen Craig Martin (b. June 29th 1942), Claudia Martin (b. March 16th 1944 - died 2001 (breast cancer), Barbara Martin (b. April 11th 1945 and Deana Martin (b. August 19th 1948) with first wife Elizabeth McDonald. Dean Paul Martin (b. November 17th 1951 - died March 21st 1987 (plane crash), Ricci Martin (b. September 20th 1953) and Gina Caroline Martin (b. December 20th 1956) with second wife Jeanne Martin and adopted daughter Sasha Martin with third wife Catherine Hawn.
Has a street named after him in San Antonio, Texas.
He and Frank Sinatra were best friends, a fact he held very dear to his heart. The two didn't speak much, in the years after Dean quit the "Rat Pack Reunion" tour, but they did reconcile a few months before his death, over dinner - and a breadroll fight.
He and Jerry Lewis recorded a radio spot promoting their film The Caddy (1953), and noticing the tape was still rolling, decided to improvise additional radio spots, with Jerry slipping profanities into his dialog. The unedited master recording was surreptitiously taken from the studio and made into a "bootleg" record that sold briskly among collectors.
He and former wife Jeanne Martin maintained a friendship after their divorce, and consulted each other on family matters. When his health declined, Jeanne encouraged him not to worry about facing death, and to look at it as the chance he longed for, to be reunited with their son Dean Paul Martin, and with his parents.
He and the other members of the Rat Pack were banned from Marilyn Monroe's funeral by Joe DiMaggio
He declined to participate in the March on Washington in August 1963.
He had a fear of elevators and a love of comic books, which he read his entire life.
He was a close friend of John Wayne and Gary Cooper.
He was a close friend of Montgomery Clift. Martin was always grateful for the help Clift had given him while filming The Young Lions (1958) - Martin's first major dramatic role - and he would accompany him to parties after the rest of Hollywood had disowned him due to his increasing addictions to drugs and alcohol.
He was awarded 3 Stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Motion Pictures at 6519 Hollywood Boulevard, for Recording at 1617 Vine Street, and for Television at 6651 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California.
His career as a boxer was described by him as follows, "I won all but 11 fights." When asked how many he'd fought, he'd reply, "A dozen." In reality, he fought 36 bouts and won 25 of them under the name Dino Crocetti. He reportedly fought under the nickname Kid Crochet, although no records of fights have been found under that name.
His friends often described him as easygoing and good natured, loving to laugh and make others laugh. They also said that he was sometimes quiet and liked to spend time alone, and that they seldom knew what he was thinking.
His parents were Gaetano and Angella Crocetti. Although born in Ohio, he spoke only Italian until age 5.
His son, Dean Paul Martin (Dino), was killed in a plane crash in March 1987.
His style of singing was initially influenced by Harry Mills of The Mills Brothers.
In 1962, Martin left Capitol Records and signed with Reprise, the label started and owned by Frank Sinatra. In 1964, he recorded his blockbuster hit, "Everybody Loves Somebody", which beat the Beatles to become the No. 1 hit in America for one week. It became the theme song for his television variety series, "The Dean Martin Comedy Hour" (1965), which ran on NBC for eight years. Martin followed this with "The Dean Martin Comedy World" (1974), which ran from 1973 to 1974. An indelible part of Martin's television shtick was his comedic portrayal of life as a lush, which many viewers never realized was just an act.
Interred at Westwood Memorial Park, Los Angeles, California, USA.
Is portrayed by Michael Daymond in Power and Beauty (2002) (TV), by Joe Mantegna in The Rat Pack (1998) (TV), by Jeremy Northam in Martin and Lewis (2002) (TV) and by Danny Gans in Sinatra (1992) (TV).
Martin did not party all night with the rest of the "Rat Pack" crew - actually calling themselves "The Clan". He usually went to bed early so he could play golf the next morning. He was obsessed with golf, and once stated in an interview that he would have preferred to be a professional golfer than an entertainer.