A rifle is a firearm designed to be fired from the shoulder, with a barrel that has a helical groove or pattern of grooves ("rifling") cut into the barrel walls. The raised areas of the rifling are called "lands," which make contact with the projectile (for small arms usage, called a bullet), imparting spin around an axis corresponding to the orientation of the weapon. When the projectile leaves the barrel, the spin averages out curve from imperfections improving accuracy and prevents tumbling which improves range, in the same way that a properly thrown American football or rugby ball behaves. The word "rifle" originally referred to the grooving, and a rifle was called a "rifled gun." Rifles are used in warfare, hunting and shooting sports.

Typically, a bullet is propelled by the contained deflagration of an explosive compound (originally black powder, later cordite, and now nitrocellulose), although other means such as compressed air are used in air rifles, which are popular for vermin control, hunting small game, formal target shooting and casual shooting ("plinking").

In most armed forces the term "gun" is incorrect when referring to small arms; in the military, the word "gun" means an artillery piece or crew-served machine gun. Furthermore, in many works of fiction a rifle refers to any weapon that has a stock and is shouldered before firing, even if the weapon is not rifled or does not fire solid projectiles (e.g. a "laser rifle").

Formerly, rifles only fired a single projectile with each squeeze of the trigger. Modern assault rifles are capable of firing more than one round per trigger squeeze; some fire in a fully automatic mode and others are limited to bursts of three to five rounds per squeeze. Thus, modern assault rifles overlap somewhat with machine guns. In fact, many light machine guns (such as the Russian RPK) are adaptations of existing assault rifle designs. Generally, the difference between an automatic rifle and a machine gun comes down to weight and feed system; rifles, with their relatively light components (which overheat quickly) and small magazines, are incapable of sustained automatic fire in the way that machine guns are. While machine guns may require more than one operator, the rifle is an individual weapon.

Historical overview

microgroove rifled barrel.]] , mid-19th century.]] The origins of rifling are difficult to trace, but some of the earliest practical experiments seem to have occurred in Europe during the 15th century. Archers had long realized that a twist added to the tail feathers of their arrows gave them greater accuracy. Early muskets produced large quantities of smoke and soot, which had to be cleaned from the action and bore of the musket frequently, either through the action of repeated bore scrubbing, or a deliberate attempt to create "soot grooves" that would allow for more shots to be fired from the firearm. This might also have led to a perceived increase in accuracy, although no one knows for sure. True rifling dates from the mid-15th century, although military commanders preferred smooth bore weapons for infantry use because rifles were much more prone to problems due to powder fouling the barrel.

Rifles were created as an improvement to smooth bore muskets. In the early 18th century, Benjamin Robins, an English mathematician, realized that an elongated bullet would retain the momentum and kinetic energy of a musket ball, but would slice through the air with greater ease. The black powder used in early muzzle loading rifles quickly fouled the barrel, making loading slower and more difficult. Their greater range was also considered to be of little practical use, since the smoke from black powder quickly obscured the battlefield and made it almost impossible to target the enemy from a distance. Since musketeers could not afford to take the time to stop and clean their barrels in the middle of a battle, rifles were limited to use by sharpshooters and non-military uses like hunting.

Muskets were smoothbore, large caliber weapons using ball-shaped ammunition fired at relatively low velocity. Due to the high cost and great difficulty of precision manufacturing, and the need to load readily from the muzzle, the musket ball was a loose fit in the barrel. Consequently on firing the ball bounced off the sides of the barrel when fired and the final direction on leaving the muzzle was unpredictable. Muskets had to be long so the muzzles of the rear rank’s muskets projected well forward of the faces of the front rank.

The performance of early muskets was sufficient for the styles of warfare at the time, whereby soldiers tended to stand in long, stationary lines and fire at the opposing forces. Aiming and accuracy were not necessary to hit an opponent. Muskets were used for comparatively rapid, unaimed volley fire, and the average conscripted soldier could be easily trained to use them. The (muzzle-loaded) rifle was originally a sharpshooter's weapon used for targets of opportunity and deliberate aimed fire, first gaining notoriety in warfare during the Seven Years War and American War for Independence through their use by American frontiersmen. Later during the Napoleonic Wars, the British 95th Regiment (Green Jackets) and 60th Regiment, (Royal American), as well as American sharpshooters and riflemen during the War of 1812, used the rifle to great effect during skirmishing. Because of a slower loading time than a musket, they were not adopted by the whole army. Since rifles were used by sharpshooters who didn't routinely fire over other men’s shoulders they didn’t need to be long, which made for a handier weapon and also meant that the tight-fitting balls didn’t have too long a distance to be rammed down the barrel.

The invention of the minie balls in the 1840s solved the slow loading problem, and in the 1850s and 1860s rifles quickly replaced muskets on the battlefield. Many rifles, often referred to as rifled muskets, were very similar to the muskets they replaced, but the military also experimented with other designs. Breech loading weapons proved to have a much faster rate of fire than muzzle loaders, causing military forces to abandon muzzle loaders in favor of breech loading designs in the late 1860s. In the later part of the 19th century, rifles were generally single-shot, breech-loading — designed for aimed, discretionary fire by individual soldiers. Then, as now, rifles had a stock, either fixed or folding, to be braced against the shoulder when firing. The adoption of cartridges and breech-loading in the 19th century was concurrent with the general adoption of rifles. In the early part of the 20th century, soldiers were trained to shoot accurately over long ranges with high-powered cartridges. World War I Lee-Enfields rifles (among others) were equipped with long-range 'volley sights' for massed firing at ranges of up to 1.6 km (1.0 mile). Individual shots were unlikely to hit, but a platoon firing repeatedly could produce a 'beaten ground' effect similar to light artillery or machine guns; but experience in World War I showed that long-range fire was best left to the machine gun.

Currently, rifles are the most common firearm in general use for hunting purposes (with the exception of bird hunting where shotguns are favored). Rifles derived from military designs have long been popular with civilian shooters.

19th century

During the Napoleonic Wars the British army created several experimental units known as "Rifles", armed with the Baker rifle. These Rifle Regiments were deployed as skirmishers during the Peninsular war in Spain and Portugal, and were more effective than skirmishers armed with muskets due to their accuracy and long range.

Muzzle loading

Gradually, rifles appeared with cylindrical barrels cut with helical grooves, the surfaces between the grooves being "lands". The innovation shortly preceded the mass adoption of breech-loading weapons, as it was not practical to push an overbore bullet down through a rifled barrel, only to then (try to) fire it back out. The dirt and grime from prior shots was pushed down ahead of a tight bullet or ball (which may have been a loose fit in the clean barrel before the first shot), and, of course, loading was far more difficult, as the lead had to be deformed to go down in the first place, reducing the accuracy due to deformation. Several systems were tried to deal with the problem, usually by resorting to an under-bore bullet that expanded upon firing.

for his rifles, with the lead bullet being supported by a wooden sabot at its base.]] The original muzzle-loading rifle, with a closely fitting ball to take the rifling grooves, was loaded with difficulty, particularly when foul, and for this reason was not generally used for military purposes. Even with the advent of rifling the bullet itself didn't change, but was wrapped in a greased, cloth patch to grip the rifling grooves.

The first half of the 19th century saw a distinct change in the shape and function of the bullet. In 1826 Delvigne, a French infantry officer, invented a breech with abrupt shoulders on which a spherical bullet was rammed down until it caught the rifling grooves. Delvigne's method, however, deformed the bullet and was inaccurate.

Soon after, the Carabine à tige was invented by Louis-Etienne de Thouvenin, which provided for a stem at the bottom at the barrel that would deform and expand the base of the bullet when rammed, therefore enabling accurate contact with the rifling. However, the area around the stem would clog and get dirty easily.

Minié system - The "Rifled Musket"

used in Japan during the Boshin war (1868-1869).]] One of the most famous was the Minié system, invented by French Army Captain Claude Etienne Minié, which relied on a conical bullet (known as a Minié ball) with a hollow skirt at the base of the bullet. When fired, the skirt would expand from the pressure of the exploding charge and grip the rifling as the round was fired. The better seal gave more power, as less gas escaped past the bullet, which combined with the fact that for the same bore (caliber) diameter a long bullet was heavier than a round ball. The extra grip also spun the bullet more consistently, which increased the range from about 50 yards for a smooth bore musket to about 300 yards for a rifle using the Minié system. The expanding skirt of the Minié ball also solved the problem that earlier tight fitting bullets were difficult to load as black powder residue fouled the inside of the barrel. The Minié system allowed conical bullets to be loaded into rifles just as quickly as round balls in smooth bores, which allowed rifle muskets to replace muskets on the battlefield. Minié system rifles, notably the U.S. Springfield and the British Enfield of the early 1860s, featured prominently in the U.S. Civil War, due to their enhanced power and accuracy.

Over the 19th century, bullet design also evolved, the bullets becoming gradually smaller and lighter. By 1910 the standard blunt-nosed bullet had been replaced with the pointed, 'spitzer' bullet, an innovation that increased range and penetration. Cartridge design evolved from simple paper tubes containing black powder and shot, to sealed brass cases with integral primers for ignition, while black powder itself was replaced with cordite, and then other nitro-cellulose-based smokeless powder mixtures, propelling bullets to higher velocities than before.

The increased velocity meant that new problems arrived, and so bullets went from being soft lead to harder lead, then to copper jacketed, in order to better engage the spiraled grooves without "stripping" them in the same way that a screw or bolt thread would be stripped if subjected to extreme forces.

Breech loading

.]] From 1836, breech-loading rifles were introduced with the Gerrman Dreyse Needle gun, and followed by the French Tabatière in 1864 and the British Snider-Enfield. Primitive chamber-locking mechanisms were soon replaced by bolt-action mechanisms, examplified by the Chassepot in 1866. Breech loading was to have a major impact on warfare, as breech-loading rifles can be fired at a rate many times higher than muzzle loaded rifles and significantly can be loaded from a prone rather than standing position. Firing prone (i.e., lying down) is more accurate than firing from a standing position, while a prone rifleman presents a much smaller target than a standing soldier. The higher accuracy and range, combined with reduced vulnerability generally benefited the defence while while making the traditional battle between lines of standing and volleying infantry men obsolete.

Cartridge storage

An important area of development was the way that cartridges were stored and used in the weapon. The Spencer repeating rifle was a breech-loading manually operated lever action rifle, that was adopted by the United States. Over 20,000 were used during the American Civil War. It marked the first adoption of a removable magazine-fed infantry rifle by any country. The design was completed by Christopher Spencer in 1860. It used copper rimfire cartridges stored in a removable seven round tube magazine, enabling the rounds to be fired one after another. When the magazine was empty, it could be exchanged for another.

20th century

World War I and World War II had significant impacts on the design and use of the rifle. By the time of the first world war, the rifle had already been established as the stock weapon for modern infantry.

Until the early 20th century rifles tended to be very long; an 1890 Martini-Henry was almost 2 m (6 ft) in length with a fixed bayonet. The demand for more compact weapons for cavalrymen led to the carbine, or shortened rifle.

The advent of massed, rapid firepower and of the machine gun and the rifled artillery piece was so quick as to outstrip the development of any way to attack a trench defended by riflemen and machine gunners. The carnage of World War I was perhaps the greatest vindication and vilification of the rifle as a military weapon.

Experience in World War I led German military researchers to conclude that long-range aimed fire was less significant at typical battle ranges of 300 m. As mechanisms became smaller, lighter and more reliable, semi-automatic rifles, including the M1 Garand, appeared. World War II saw the first mass-fielding of such rifles, which culminated in the Sturmgewehr 44, the first assault rifle and one of the most significant developments of 20th century small-arms.

During and after World War II it became accepted that most infantry engagements occur at ranges of less than 300 m; the range and power of the large battle rifles was "overkill"; and the weapons were heavier than the ideal. This led to Germany's development of the 7.92 x 33 mm Kurz (short) round, the Karabiner 98, the MKb-42, and ultimately, the assault rifle. Today, an infantryman's rifle is optimised for ranges of 300 m or less, and soldiers are trained to deliver individual rounds or bursts of fire within these distances. The United States Marine Corps, however, continues to train all of its riflemen to accurately engage targets out to 500m. Typically, the application of accurate, long-range fire is the domain of the sniper in warfare, and of enthusiastic target shooters in peacetime. The modern sniper rifle is usually capable of accuracy better than 0.3 mrad at 100 yards (1 arcminute).

By contrast, civilian rifle design has not significantly advanced since the early part of the 20th century. Modern hunting rifles have fiberglass and carbon fiber stocks and more advanced recoil pads, but are fundamentally the same as infantry rifles from 1910. Many modern sniper rifles can trace their ancestry back for well over a century, and the Russian 7.62 x 54 mm cartridge, as used in the front-line Dragunov Sniper Rifle (SVD), dates from 1891.

Technical aspects

Rifling

Some early rifled guns were created with special barrels that had a twisted polygonal shape, in particular the Whitworth rifle was the first to be made with the intention of spinning the round for the use of as a "rifle". Specially made bullets were designed to match the shape so the bullet would grip the rifle bore and take a spin that way. These were generally limited to large caliber weapons and the ammunition still did not fit tightly in the barrel. Many experimental designs used different shapes and degrees of spiraling; one widely produced example was the Metford rifling in the Pattern 1888 Lee-Metford service rifle. Although uncommon, polygonal rifling is still used in some weapons today with one example being the Glock line of pistols (which fire standard bullets). Unfortunately, many early attempts resulted in dangerous backfiring, which could lead to destruction of the weapon and serious injury to the person firing.

Barrel wear

As the bullet enters the barrel, it inserts itself into the rifling, a process that gradually wears down the barrel, and also causes the barrel to heat up more rapidly. Therefore, some machine-guns are equipped with quick-change barrels that can be swapped every few thousand rounds, or in earlier designs, were water-cooled. Unlike older carbon steel barrels, which were limited to around 1,000 shots before the extreme heat caused accuracy to fade, modern stainless steel barrels for target rifles are much more resistant to wear, allowing many thousands of rounds to be fired before accuracy drops. (Many shotguns and small arms have chrome-lined barrels to reduce wear and enhance corrosion resistance. This is rare on rifles designed for extreme accuracy, as the plating process is difficult and liable to reduce the affect of the rifling.) Modern ammunition has a hardened lead core with a softer outer cladding or jacket, typically of an alloy of copper and nickel - cupro-nickel. Some ammunition is even coated with molybdenum-disulfide to further reduce internal friction - the so-called 'moly-coated' bullet.

Rate of fire

Rifles were initially single-shot, muzzle-loading weapons. During the 18th century, breech-loading weapons were designed, which allowed the rifleman to reload while under cover, but defects in manufacturing and the difficulty in forming a reliable gas-tight seal prevented widespread adoption. During the 19th century, multi-shot repeating rifles using lever, pump or linear bolt actions became standard, further increasing the rate of fire and minimizing the fuss involved in loading a firearm. The problem of proper seal creation had been solved with the use of brass cartridge cases, which expanded in an elastic fashion at the point of firing and effectively sealed the breech while the pressure remained high, then relaxed back enough to allow for easy removal. By the end of the 19th century, the leading bolt-action design was that of Paul Mauser, whose action—wedded to a reliable design possessing a five-shot magazine—became a world standard through two world wars and beyond. The Mauser rifle was paralleled by Britain's ten-shot Lee-Enfield and America's 1903 Springfield Rifle models (the latter pictured above). The American M1903 closely copied Mauser's original design.

Range

Barrel rifling dramatically increased the range and accuracy of the musket. Indeed, throughout its development, the rifle's history has been marked by increases in range and accuracy. From the Minié rifle and beyond, the rifle has become ever more potent at long range strikes.

In recent decades, large-caliber anti-materiel rifles, typically firing 12.7 mm and 20 mm caliber cartridges, have been developed. The US Barrett M82A1 is probably the best-known such rifle. These weapons are typically used to strike critical, vulnerable targets such as computerized command and control vehicles, radio trucks, radar antennae, vehicle engine blocks and the jet engines of enemy aircraft. Anti-materiel rifles can be used against human targets, but the much higher weight of rifle and ammunition, and the massive recoil and muzzle blast, usually make them less than practical for such use. The Barrett M82 is credited with a maximum effective range of ; and it was with a .50BMG caliber McMillan TAC-50 rifle that Canadian Master Corporal Rob Furlong made the longest recorded (until 2010) confirmed sniper kill in history, when he shot a Taliban fighter at a range of in Afghanistan during Operation Anaconda in 2002.

Since then a British Army sniper beat the Canadian's record by , by killing two Taliban insurgents at a range of . He was using a standard issue British Army sniper rifle, the L115A3.

Bullet Rotational Speed (RPM)

Bullets leaving a rifled barrel can spin at over 300,000 revolutions per minute (rpm) depending on the muzzle velocity of the bullet and the pitch of the rifling. The rotational speed of the bullet can be calculated by using the formula below. The formula divides the number of inches in a foot (12) by the rate of twist that the barrel has. This number is multiplied by the muzzle velocity (MV) and the number of seconds in a minute (60). For example, a bullet with a muzzle velocity of leaving a barrel that twists once per foot (1/12") would rotate at 180,000rpm.

MV x (12/twist rate in inches) x 60 = Bullet RPM

Example using a barrel that has a twist rate of 1 turn in 8" with a muzzle velocity of 3000 ft/s:

3000 x (12/8) x 60 = 270,000

Excessive rotational speed can exceed the bullet's designed limits and the resulting centrifugal force can cause the bullet to disintegrate in a radial fashion.

Caliber

Rifles may be chambered in a variety of calibers, from .17 to .50 caliber. The term caliber essentially refers to the width of the bullet fired through a rifle's barrel. Larger caliber bullets have more overall power, but small caliber bullets can reach a higher velocity and have better penetration power . Armies have consistently attempted to find and procure the most lethal and accurate caliber for their firearms.

The standard calibers used by the world's militaries tend to follow worldwide trends. These trends have significantly changed during the centuries of firearm design and re-design. Muskets were normally chambered for large calibers, such as .50 or .59, with the theory that these large bullets caused the most damage. During World War I and II, most rifles were chambered in .30 caliber, a combination of power and speed. Examples would be the British .303 Lee-Enfield, the American .30-06 M1903 Springfield, and the German 8mm Mauser K98. Within the past 40 years, however, military calibers have become smaller yet, with most armies favoring 5.56 mm or smaller rounds. Examples of firearms in this caliber are the American 5.56 mm M16 and the Russian 5.45 mm AK-74. The switch from .30 to 5.56 mm weapons was because the new rounds are lighter, which means a soldier can carry more of them, and because many military strategists believe the smaller bullet has better penetration power.

See also

British military rifles

Handgun

Shotgun

Antique guns

Shooting range

Gun safety

Shooting sports

Shooting at the Summer Olympics

Rifle grenade

List of rifle cartridges

Rifling

Service rifle

Shooting

List of assault rifles

List of battle rifles

List of multiple barrel rifles

List of sniper rifles

List of service rifles of national armies

Advanced Combat Rifle/Project Abakan

Objective Individual Combat Weapon program

Types

Air gun

Spencer rifle

Semi-automatic rifle

Automatic rifle

Assault rifle (list)

Anti-materiel rifle

Anti-tank rifle

Battle rifle (list)

Bolt action

Carbine

Double rifle

Lever-action

Long rifle

Musket

Naval rifle

Repeating rifle

Recoilless rifle

Scout rifle

Sniper rifle (list)

References

External links

Friedrich Engels, “On Rifled Cannon," articles from the New York Tribune, April, May and June, 1860, reprinted in Military Affairs 21, no. 4 (Winter 1957) ed. Morton Borden, 193-198.

Home defense rifles An article about choosing the rifle for home defense purposes.

Category:Hunting Category:Infantry Category:Personal weapons Category:Weapons

Name	Alela Diane
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Alela Diane Menig
Born	April 20, 1983Nevada City, California, USA
Instrument	vocals, guitar
Genre	Folk, Americana, psych folk
Occupation	singer, songwriter
Years active	2003-present
Label	Holocene MusicNames Records
Associated acts	Blitzen Trapper
Url	http://www.aleladiane.com/

Alela Diane Bevitori (b. April 20, 1983, Nevada City, California, USA) is an American singer and songwriter, who is associated with the psych folk and New Weird America musical genres.

Life and career

Born Alela Diane Menig, she grew up singing with her musician parents and performing in the school choir. She taught herself guitar, and began writing songs which blend tense, trance-like arpeggios with warm vocals and meditative lyrics about family and nature. Her first recordings were self-released in 2003 as Forest Parade. Her first solo public appearances were at the invitation of fellow Nevada City native Joanna Newsom. She also did a stint in the Nevada City slow grass band Black Bear before continuing with her solo pursuits.

The songs for her album, 'The Pirate’s Gospel', were written on a trip to Europe. They were recorded in her father’s studio and were initially self-released in 2004, in paper and lace sleeves with hand lettering. The album was issued in revised form by Holocene Music in October 2006, and received widespread critical acclaim.

A new song, "Dry Grass and Shadows", was issued on a compilation of Nevada City artists, and five more new songs were issued on a limited-edition 10" vinyl pressing, Songs Whistled Through White Teeth, released in the UK in October 2006. The Pirate's Gospel was released in the UK on Names Records in April 2007, garnering favorable reviews in The Times and NME.

Alela Diane has toured in the USA both solo and with Tom Brosseau, and has also opened for The Decemberists, Iron & Wine, Akron/Family and Vashti Bunyan. She performed in the UK in April and August 2007. While in the UK in August 2007 she performed at the Green Man Festival in Wales. She also toured extensively in Europe (UK, Ireland, France, Switzerland, Netherlands, Belgium, Germany) in March, April and May 2008.

She lent her voice to an album of cover versions, The Silence of Love by Headless Heroes, released in November 2008, recorded by Eddie Bezalel and Hugo Nicholson with musicians Joey Waronker, Gus Seyffert, Leo Abrahams and Woody Jackson.

Her second album, To Be Still, was released in February 2009.

She now lives in Portland, Oregon. She has a cat named Bramble Rose.

Discography

Main Studio Albums

The Pirate's Gospel, Holocene Music, 2006 (revised track listing)

To Be Still, Rough Trade, 2009

Self-Released Albums

Forest Parade, self-released, 2003

The Pirate's Gospel, self-released, 2004

Compilation Contributions and Other

Dry Grass and Shadows, track on Family Album compilation, Grass Roots Records, 2006

Songs Whistled Through White Teeth, Names Records (UK), 2006 (10” vinyl)

The Pirate's Gospel, Names Records (UK rerelease w/ different artwork), April 2007

Alela & Alina, Family/Names Records, October 2009 (10” vinyl)

References

External links and further sources

Official website

Holocene Music

Headless Heroes

Interview with Alela Diane

To Be Still album review from the Guardian Feb 2009

Alela Diane - To Be Still album review on Citizen Dick

Daytrotter Session by Alela Diane, May 2007

Daytrotter Session by Alela Diane, September 2007

Green Man Festival 2007

Toad Session #30 with Alela Diane (UK) May 2008

May 2009 Interview with L.A. Record

Category:1983 births Category:American folk singers Category:American singer-songwriters Category:Living people Category:People from Nevada City, California Category:Psych folk musicians Category:New Weird America

Name	Ricky Nelson
Alt	A young man in profile playing a guitar and standing before a microphone
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Eric Hilliard Nelson
Born	May 08, 1940Teaneck, New Jersey, U.S.
Died	December 31, 1985De Kalb, Texas, U.S.
Genre	Rockabilly, rock 'n' roll, pop, folk, country
Occupation	Actor, musician, singer
Years active	1952–1985
Associated acts	Elvis Presley, The Everly Brothers, Fats Domino, Connie Francis, Carl Perkins, James Burton
Label	Imperial, Decca (MCA), Epic
Url	http://www.rickynelson.com/

Eric Hilliard Nelson (May 8, 1940 – December 31, 1985), better known as Ricky Nelson or Rick Nelson, was an American singer-songwriter, instrumentalist, and actor. He placed fifty-three songs on the Billboard Hot 100 between 1957 and 1973, including nineteen top-ten hits, and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on January 21, 1987.

Nelson began his entertainment career in 1949 playing himself in the radio sitcom series, The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, and, in 1952, appeared in his first feature film, Here Come the Nelsons. In 1957, he recorded his first single, debuted as a singer on the television version of the sitcom, and recorded a number one album, Ricky. In 1958, Nelson recorded his first number one single, "Poor Little Fool", and, in 1959, received a Golden Globe Most Promising Male Newcomer nomination after starring in the western film, Rio Bravo. A few films followed, and, when the television series was cancelled in 1966, Nelson made occasional appearances as a guest star on various television programs.

Nelson and Sharon Kristin Harmon were married on April 20, 1963, and divorced in December 1982. They had four children: Tracy Kristine, twin sons Gunnar Eric and Matthew Gray, and Sam Hilliard. On February 14, 1981, a son was born to Nelson and Georgeann Crewe. A blood test in 1985 confirmed Nelson was the child's father. Nelson was engaged to Helen Blair at the time of his death in an airplane crash on December 31, 1985.

Early life

Ricky Nelson was born the second son of big band leader Ozzie Nelson who was of Swedish descent and his wife, big band vocalist Harriet Hilliard Nelson (née Peggy Louise Snyder), on May 8, 1940 at 1:25 p.m. at Holy Name Hospital in Teaneck, New Jersey. Harriett remained in Englewood, New Jersey with her newborn and her older son David while Ozzie toured the nation with the Nelson Orchestra. The Nelsons bought a two-story Colonial in Tenafly, New Jersey, and, six months after the purchase, moved with son David to Hollywood, California where Ozzie and Harriet were slated to appear in the 1941-42 season of Red Skelton's The Raleigh Cigarette Hour; Ricky remained in Tenafly in the care of his paternal grandmother. In November 1941, the Nelsons bought what would become their permanent home: a green and white, two-story, Cape Cod Colonial at 1822 Camino Palmero in Los Angeles. Ricky joined his parents and brother in Los Angeles in 1942. He was described by Red Skelton's producer John Guedel as "an odd little kid", likable, shy, introspective, mysterious, and inscrutable. When Skelton was drafted in 1944, Guedel crafted the radio sitcom, The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, for Ricky's parents. The show debuted on Sunday, October 8, 1944 to favorable reviews. Ozzie eventually became head writer for the show and based episodes on the fraternal exploits and enmity of his sons. The Nelson boys were first played in the radio series by professional child actors until twelve-year-old Dave and eight-year-old Ricky joined the show on February 20, 1949 in the episode, "Invitation to Dinner".

In 1952, the Nelsons tested the waters for a television series with the theatrically-released film, Here Come the Nelsons. The film was a hit and Ozzie was convinced the family could make the transition from radio's airwaves to the televisions's small screen. On October 3, 1952, The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet made its television debut and was broadcast in first run until September 3, 1966 to become one of the long-running sitcoms in television history.

Education

Nelson attended Gardner Street Public School, Bancroft Junior High, and Hollywood High School between 1954 and 1958 from which he graduated with a B average. He played football at Hollywood High Twenty-five years later, Nelson told the Los Angeles Weekly he hated school because it "smelled of pencils" and he was forced to rise early in the morning to attend. Many of the Elksters were family friends and spent weekends at the Nelson home playing basketball or relaxing around the pool. He tattooed his hands, wrist, and shoulder with India ink and a sewing needle, slicked his hair with oil, and accompanied the Rooks on nocturnal forays along Hollywood Boulevard randomly harassing and beating up passersby. but eighteen-year-old Ricky was already in the 93-percent income-tax bracket and saw no reason to attend. Nelson's wealth was astutely managed by parents who channeled his earnings into trust funds. Although his parents permitted him a $50 allowance at the age of eighteen, Rick was often strapped for cash, and, one evening, collected and redeemed empty soda bottles to gain entrance to a movie theater for himself and a date. Like many born to wealth, Nelson had a cavalier attitude toward his finances and never learned to manage money. He was strongly influenced by the music of Carl Perkins and once said he tried to emulate the sound and the tone of the guitar break in Perkins's March 1956 Top Ten hit, "Blue Suede Shoes". With his father's help, Nelson secured a one-record deal with Verve Records, an important jazz label looking for a young and popular personality who could sing or be taught to sing. On March 26, 1957, Nelson recorded the Fats Domino standard "I'm Walkin'" and "A Teenager's Romance" (both released in late April 1957 as his first single), and "You're My One and Only Love".

Before the single was released, Nelson made his television rock and roll debut on April 10, 1957 lip-synching "I'm Walkin'" in the Ozzie and Harriet episode, "Ricky, the Drummer". About the same time, he made an unpaid public appearance as a singer at a Hamilton High School lunch hour assembly in Los Angeles with the Four Preps and was greeted by hordes of screaming teens who had seen the television episode.

"I'm Walkin'" reached number four on Billboard's Best Sellers in Stores chart, and its flip side, "A Teenager's Romance", hit number two.

First album, band, and number one single

In early summer 1957, Ozzie Nelson pulled his son from Verve after disputes about royalties, and signed him to a lucrative five-year deal with Imperial Records that gave him approval over song selection, sleeve artwork, and other production details. Ricky's first Imperial single, "Be-Bop Baby", generated 750,000 advance orders, sold over one million copies, and reached number three on the charts. Nelson's first album, Ricky, was released in October 1957 and hit number one before the end of the year. Following these successes, Nelson was given a more prominent role on the Ozzie and Harriet show and ended every two or three episodes with a musical number.

Nelson grew increasingly dissatisfied performing with older jazz session musicians who were openly contemptuous of rock and roll. After his Ohio and Minnesota tours in the summer of 1957, he decided to form his own band with members closer to his age. Eighteen-year-old electric guitarist James Burton was the first signed and lived in the Nelson home for two years. Bassist James Kirkland, drummer Richie Frost, and pianist Gene Garf completed the band. Their first recording together was "Believe What You Say". Rick selected material from demo acetates submitted by songwriters. Ozzie Nelson forbade suggestive lyrics or titles, and his late-night arrival at recording sessions forced band members to hurriedly hide their beers and cigarettes. The Jordanaires, Presley's back up vocalists worked for Nelson but at Presley's behest were not permitted credit on Nelson's albums.

In 1958, Nelson recorded seventeen-year-old Sharon Sheeley's "Poor Little Fool" for his second album Ricky Nelson released in June. Radio airplay brought the tune notice, Imperial suggested releasing a single, but Nelson opposed the idea, believing a single would diminish EP sales. When a single was released nonetheless, he exercised his contractual right to approve any artwork and vetoed a picture sleeve. On August 4, 1958, "Poor Little Fool" became the number one single on Billboard's newly instituted Hot 100 singles chart, and sold over two million copies.

During 1958 and 1959, Nelson placed twelve hits on the charts in comparison with Presley's eleven (it should be remembered that the latter was then serving in Germany with the U.S. Army). During the sitcom's run, Ozzie Nelson, either to keep his son's fans tuned in or as an affirmation of his reputed behind-the-scenes persona as a controlling personality, kept his son from appearing on other television shows that could have enhanced his public profile, American Bandstand and The Ed Sullivan Show in particular. NME - May 1960

Nelson was the first teen idol to utilize television to promote hit records. Ozzie Nelson even had the idea to edit footage together to create some of the first music videos. This creative editing can be seen in videos Ozzie produced for "Travelin' Man." Nelson finally did appear on the Sullivan show in 1967, but his career by that time was in limbo. He also appeared on other television shows (usually in acting roles). In 1973, he had an acting role in an episode of The Streets of San Francisco, in which he played the part of a hippie flute-playing leader of a harem of young prostitutes. In 1979, he guest-hosted on Saturday Night Live, in which he spoofed his television sitcom image by appearing in a Twilight Zone send-up, in which, always trying to go "home", he finds himself among the characters from other 1950s/early 1960s-era sitcoms, Leave It to Beaver, Father Knows Best, Make Room for Daddy, and I Love Lucy.

Nelson knew and loved music, and was a skilled performer even before he became a teen idol, largely because of his parents' musical background. Nelson worked with many musicians of repute, including James Burton, Joe Osborn, and Allen "Puddler" Harris, all natives of Louisiana, and Joe Maphis, The Jordanaires, Scotty Moore and Johnny and Dorsey Burnette.

From 1957 to 1962, Nelson had thirty Top-40 hits, more than any other artist at the time except Presley (who had 53) and Pat Boone (38). Many of Nelson's early records were double hits with both the A and B sides hitting the Billboard charts.

While Nelson preferred rockabilly and uptempo rock songs like "Believe What You Say" (Hot 100 number 4), "I Got A Feeling" (Hot 100 number 10), "My Bucket's Got A Hole In It" (Hot 100 number 12), "Hello Mary Lou" (Hot 100 number 9), "It's Late" (Hot 100 number 9), "Stood Up" (Hot 100 number 2), "Waitin' In School" (Hot 100 number 18), "Be-Bop Baby" (Hot 100 number 3), and "Just A Little Too Much" (Hot 100 number 9), his smooth, calm voice made him a natural to sing ballads. He had major success with "Travelin' Man" (Hot 100 number 1), "A Teenager's Romance" (Hot 100 number 2), "Poor Little Fool" (Hot 100 number 1), "Young World" (Hot 100 number 5), "Lonesome Town" (Hot 100 number 7), "Never Be Anyone Else But You" (Hot 100 number 6), "Sweeter Than You" (Hot 100 number 9), "It's Up To You" (Hot 100 number 6), and "Teenage Idol" (Hot 100 number 5), which clearly could have been about Nelson himself.

In addition to his recording career, Nelson appeared in movies, including the Howard Hawks western classic Rio Bravo with John Wayne and Dean Martin (1959), plus The Wackiest Ship In the Army (1960) and Love and Kisses (1965).

On May 8, 1961 (his 21st birthday), Nelson officially changed his recording name from "Ricky Nelson" to "Rick Nelson". However, not too long before his untimely death, Nelson realized a dream of his. He met his idol, Carl Perkins, who, while musing that they were the last of the "rockabilly breed", addressed Nelson as "Ricky". In 1963, Nelson signed a 20-year contract with Decca Records. After some early successes with the label, most notably 1964's "For You", a number-6 hit on the Billboard Hot 100, Nelson's chart career came to a dramatic halt in the wake of The British Invasion.

In the mid-1960s, Nelson began to move towards country music, becoming a pioneer in the country-rock genre. He was one of the early influences of the so-called "California Sound" (which would include singers like Jackson Browne and Linda Ronstadt and bands like the Eagles). Yet Nelson himself did not reach the Top 40 again until 1970, when he recorded Bob Dylan's "She Belongs to Me" with the Stone Canyon Band.

"Garden Party"

In 1972, Nelson reached the Top 40 one last time with "Garden Party", a song he wrote in disgust after a Madison Square Garden audience booed him, in his mind because he was playing new songs instead of just his old hits. When he performed the Stones' "Honky Tonk Woman" he was booed off the stage. He was prompted by the promoter to return for an encore and received a standing ovation for "Travelin' Man." He wanted to record an album featuring original material, but the single was released before the album because Nelson had not completed the entire Garden Party album yet. "Garden Party" reached number 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 1 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart and was certified as a gold single. The second single release from the album was "Palace Guard", which reached number 65 in the charts.

Nelson was with MCA at the time, and his comeback was short-lived. Nelson's band soon resigned, and MCA wanted Nelson to have a producer on his next album. His band moved to Aspen and changed their name to "Canyon". Nelson soon put together a new Stone Canyon band, and began to tour for the Garden Party album. Nelson still played nightclubs and bars, but soon advanced to higher-paying venues because of the success of "Garden Party". In 1974 MCA was at odds as to what to do with the former teen idol. Albums like Windfall failed to have an impact. Nelson became an attraction at theme parks like Knott's Berry Farm and Disneyland. He also started appearing in minor roles on television shows.

Nelson tried to score another hit, but was not having any luck with songs like "Rock and Roll Lady". With seven years to go on his contract, MCA dropped him from the label.

Nelson studied Karate earning a brown belt, before going on to learn Jeet Kune Do under Dan Inosanto. Inosanto described Nelson as a "good martial artist for those times".

Drug use

Nelson experimented with marijuana early in his musical career, became a regular user, buried his stash in his yard, and supported marijuana's legalization. He tried mescaline, was a regular cocaine user and carried the drug in an empty ginseng capsule.

During the Nelson divorce proceedings, Rick was accused by his wife's attorney of using cocaine, Quaaludes, and other drugs, and of having "a severe drug problem" encouraged by his managers, his entourage, and his groupies. The attorney noted that Nelson's "personal manager" secured drugs for the star, wild parties took place in Nelson's home whether he was present or not, and his children, aware of his drug use, were in great physical danger from drugged persons entering and exiting the house at all hours.

Following Nelson's divorce, he became involved with cocaine-addicted Helen Blair. The two entered the classic pattern of codependency typical of addicts. The situation grew so dire friends descended on Nelson en masse and urged him to seek drug abuse treatment.

Relationships

Nelson liked wholesome, clean-cut women, and dated Hollywood starlets, but, inexplicably, was also attracted to and became deeply involved with troubled types from dysfunctional families.

First loves

Nelson was seventeen when he met and fell in love with Marianne Gaba, a midwestern beauty queen who arrived in California for the Miss Universe Pageant. She appeared on The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show, and auditioned for and won the role of Ricky's girlfriend in three episodes of Ozzie and Harriet. Nelson's celebrity and recognizability made it difficult for the couple to comfortably appear in public and the two spent their time in darkened drive-in movie theaters, out-of-the-way burger joints, and scenic overlooks where Nelson played his guitar for Gaba. They went steady and Nelson gave Gaba a ring to commemorate the event. Gaba was with him in October 1957 when he met Elvis Presley at a private party in Presley's Beverly Wilshire Hotel luxury suite following the superstar's concert at the Hollywood Pan-Pacific Auditorium. Nelson and Gaba were too young to entertain a serious relationship and sexual intercourse did not occur, though, according to Gaba, "we used to neck for hours."

In 1958, Nelson fell in love with fifteen-year-old Oklahoman Lorrie Collins, a country singer appearing on a weekly telecast out of Compton, California, called Town Hall Party. The two wrote the song "My Gal" together (Nelson's first composition), and she introduced him to Johnny Cash and Tex Ritter. Collins appeared in an Ozzie and Harriet episode as Ricky's girlfriend and sang "Just Because" with him in the musical finale. They went steady and discussed marriage, but their parents discouraged the idea. Their year-long relationship ended when sixteen-year-old Collins secretly married Johnny Cash's manager, Stu Carnell, nineteen years her senior, in Las Vegas. Nelson learned of the marriage through a newspaper gossip column. She was stunningly beautiful, and created a sensation when she arrived in Hollywood via New York in the late 1950s. Their relationship lasted two years with Nelson keeping it hidden from his parents. Unknown to Nelson, she became pregnant with his child and nearly died from an illegal abortion. She married another man, and disappeared, leaving Nelson mystified regarding her whereabouts but hopeful she would someday return.

Nelson sometimes dated actresses hired for the television show. After selecting young women that piqued his interest from the Player's Directory, a pictorial guide to actors and actresses searching for work, he would urge his father to hire them for the show. Nelson often entered fleeting relationships with these women, but entertained sexual relationships only if he cared about his partner.

Marriage and divorce: Kris Harmon

At Christmas 1961, Nelson began dating Sharon Kristin "Kris" Harmon (born June 25, 1945), the daughter of football legend Tom Harmon and actress Elyse Knox (née Elsie Kornbrath), and the older sister of Kelly and Mark. The Nelsons and the Harmons had long been friends and a union between their children held great appeal. Rick and Kris were in love and had much in common: quiet dispositions, Hollywood upbringings, and high-powered, domineering fathers.

During the winter holiday season of 1962-63, they announced their engagement, Kris was pregnant, and signed a pledge to have any children of the union baptized in the Catholic faith.

In 1975, the Nelsons were on the verge of breaking up but Kris would have had no parental support – the Harmons strongly disapproved of divorce. Rick and Kris each had affairs outside the marriage. Rick engaged in one night stands on the road and Kris's closer-to-home liaisons included athletes and musicians. In less than a month, she found him there cavorting with two Los Angeles Rams cheerleaders. Rick later said she set him up to use the incident against him in court.

In October 1977, Kris filed for divorce and asked for alimony, custody of their four children, and a portion of community property. The couple temporarily resolved their differences but Kris retained her attorney to pursue a permanent break.

In April 1980, the Nelsons bought Errol Flynn's 1941 Mulholland Drive estate for $750,000. Kris wanted Rick to give up music, spend more time at home, and focus on acting, but the family enjoyed a recklessly expensive lifestyle, and Kris's extravagant spending left Rick no choice but to tour relentlessly. The impasse over Rick's career created unpleasantness at home. Rick toured as often as possible. Kris descended into drink and left the children in the care of household help.

In October 1980, Kris moved into an upstairs room at Mulholland Drive house, and again filed for divorce. She was hell-bent on taking everything she possibly could and leaving Rick ruined. Attempts to negotiate a preliminary settlement agreement were unsuccessful. Kris and her lawyers believed Rick had a hidden cache of wealth but such a thing was nonexistent. Rick was almost broke. He refused to file for bankruptcy because it would negatively impact his career. Years of legal wrangling would follow.

Georgeann Crewe

On May 16, 1980, Nelson met Georgeann Crewe at the Playboy Resort in Great Gorge, New Jersey. She was in her mid-thirties and separated from her husband. They spent the night together, with Crewe later claiming Nelson wanted her to stay and she couldn't refuse because she felt "an attachment, an immediate attraction". Her subsequent attempts to contact Nelson were consistently thwarted by McDonald.

On March 25th 1981, Crewe gave birth to Nelson's son, Eric Jude Crewe. Whenever Nelson was performing in Crewe's vicinity, his manager would telephone to invite her to Nelson's hotel suite. She refused the invitations, fearing she would be drugged and her death attributed to an overdose.

In August 1985, accompanied by her priest, Crewe went to one of Nelson's Jersey Shore concerts, However, once Nelson gained his hotel room, he told his manager Crewe was a "nutcase" chasing him, and ordered him to refuse future New Jersey concert dates. Many lucrative offers in Atlantic City were then turned down. He did not provide for Eric Jude Crewe in his will.

Last years: Helen Blair

In 1980, Nelson met Helen Blair, a part-time model and exotic animal trainer, at the Riviera Hotel in Las Vegas. Within months of their meeting, she became his road companion, and, in 1982, his live-in lover. She was the only woman he dated after his divorce.

Blair tried to make herself useful in Nelson's life by organizing his day and acting as a liaison for his fan club, but Nelson's mother, brother, business manager, and manager disapproved of her presence in his life. She used cocaine, she stole, she shoplifted. Rick asked family and friends to be patient and understanding with Blair because she had had a difficult childhood. Harriet Nelson threatened to cut him out of her will. Nevertheless, he made plans for a wedding at the Hilton Hawaiian Village, but had second thoughts, backed out, and never mentioned marriage again.

Blair died with Nelson and members of his band in an airplane crash in De Kalb, Texas on December 31, 1985. Her name was never mentioned at Nelson's funeral. Blair's parents wanted their daughter buried next to Nelson at Forest Lawn Cemetery but Harriet Nelson dismissed the idea.

Children

Rick and Kris Nelson had four children. Their first was only daughter, Tracy Kristine Nelson born six months after the wedding on October 25, 1963, at St. John's Hospital in Santa Monica, California. She weighed four pounds, one ounce and was slightly premature. In her teens, she attended Westlake School for Girls and did well academically. She considered careers in ballet, veterinary medicine, and writing. During her parents' marital difficulties, she did not get along with her mother and stayed with her father in the Flynn house on Mulholland Drive despite the temporary divorce agreement. She briefly attended college and left school in 1982 when she received the role of Jennifer DeNuccio in the television sitcom, Square Pegs. She had a small role in the film Footloose, In 1982, she told People her parents were too young when they started a family. She recalled dressing up like a mermaid for an entire week as a child in an attempt to attract their attention. Tracy married actor Billy Moses on July 25, 1987. Her father left his estate to his four children. Gunnar and Matthew performed as the band Nelson.

Nelson's fourth child, Sam Hilliard Nelson, was born August 29, 1974. At six years, he was placed in the care of his maternal grandparents, Tom and Elyse Harmon of Brentwood, because of his mother's alcohol abuse, unpredictable behavior, and sporadic suicidal tendencies. In 1987, Kris Nelson was undergoing drug rehab when her brother Mark Harmon tried to gain custody of Sam based on grounds Kris was incapable of good parenting. Sam's psychiatrist testified the thirteen-year-old boy depicted his mother as a dragon, and complained about her mood swings and how she prevented him from being with his siblings. Harmon dropped his custody bid when Kris's lawyer insinuated witnesses could be produced who had snorted cocaine with Harmon's wife, Pam Dawber. At his father's funeral, Sam read a Native American poem. Sam founded and performed with the group H Is Orange in the early 2000s.

Death

Nelson dreaded airplane flying but refused to travel by bus. In May 1985, he decided he needed a private plane and purchased a luxurious, fourteen-seat, 1944 DC-3 for private use that once belonged to the DuPont family and later to Jerry Lee Lewis. The plane was plagued with annoying mechanical mishaps. In one incident, the band was forced to push the plane off the runway after an engine blew, and in another incident in September, a malfunctioning sparkplug prevented Nelson from participating in the first Farm Aid concert in Champaign, Illinois. Rumors that the band dreaded boarding the $138,000 aircraft were later refuted however, and Nelson's personal copilot Ken Ferguson stated there were no areas of "major safety concern" with the plane.

The day after Christmas 1985, Nelson and the band left for a three-stop tour of the Southern United States. Following shows in Orlando, Florida and Guntersville, Alabama, Nelson and band members boarded the vintage DC-3 in Guntersville and took off for a New Year's Eve extravaganza in Dallas, Texas. The plane crashed northeast of Dallas in De Kalb, Texas at approximately 5:14 p.m. CST on December 31, 1985. Seven were killed: Nelson and his fiancée, Helen Blair; bassist Patrick Woodward; drummer Rick Intveld; keyboardist Andy Chapin; guitarist Bobby Neal; and road manager/soundman Donald Clark Russell. Pilots Ken Ferguson and Brad Rank escaped via cockpit windows though Ferguson was severely burned.

Nelson's remains were lost in transit from Texas to California, delaying the funeral for several days. On January 6, 1986, 250 mourners entered the Church of the Hills for funeral services while 700 fans gathered outside. Attendees included 'Colonel' Tom Parker, Connie Stevens, Angie Dickinson, and dozens of actors, writers, and musicians. Nelson was privately buried days later in the Forest Lawn, Hollywood Hills Cemetery in Los Angeles, California. Kris Nelson threatened to sue the Nelson clan for her former husband's life insurance money and tried to wrest control of his estate from David Nelson, its administrator. Her bid was rejected by a Los Angeles Superior Court Judge. Nelson bequeathed his entire estate to his children and did not provide for Eric Crewe, Helen Blair, or Kris Nelson. Only days after the funeral, rumors and newspaper reports suggested cocaine freebasing was one of several possible causes for the plane crash. Those allegations were proven false by the NTSB.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) conducted a year-long investigation and finally stated that the crash was probably due to mechanical problems. The pilots attempted to land in a field after smoke filled the cabin. An examination indicated that a fire had originated in the right hand side of the aft cabin area at or near the floor line. The passengers were killed when the aircraft struck obstacles during the forced landing; the pilots were able to escape through the cockpit windows and survived. The ignition and fuel sources of the fire could not be determined. The pilot indicated that the crew tried to turn on the gasoline cabin heater repeatedly shortly before the fire occurred, but that it failed to respond. After the fire, the access panel to the heater compartment was found unlatched. The theory is supported by records that showed that DC-3s in general, and this aircraft in particular, had a previous history of problems with the cabin heaters.

Tributes, honors, recognition

Nelson was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987, and to the Rockabilly Hall of Fame. He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1515 Vine Street.

Along with the recording's other participants, Nelson earned the 1987 Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album for "Interviews from the Class of '55 Recording Sessions."

In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked Nelson number 91 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.

At the 20th anniversary of Nelson's death, PBS televised Ricky Nelson Sings, a documentary featuring interviews with his children, James Burton, and Kris Kristofferson. On December 27, 2005, EMI Music released an album titled Ricky Nelson's Greatest Hits that peaked at number 56 on the Billboard 200 album chart.

Bob Dylan wrote about Nelson's influence on his music in his 2004 memoir, "Chronicles, Vol. 1".

Nelson's estate (The Rick Nelson Company, LLC) owns ancillary rights to the Ozzie and Harriet television series, and, in 2007, Shout! Factory released official editions of the show on DVD. Also in 2007, Nelson was inducted into the Hit Parade Hall of Fame.

Discography

See also

Nelson's radio and television appearances, filmography, and LP discography

References

Books

Notes

External links

Rick/Ricky Nelson's Official Website

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

US NTSB Report on plane crash

Summary of DC-3 accident report on avstop.com

Rockabilly Hall

Ricky Nelson

Ricky Nelson interviewed on The Pop Chronicles (recorded 11.17.1967)

RCS Artist Discography

Category:1940 births Category:1985 deaths Category:Accidental deaths in Texas Category:American child actors Category:American film actors Category:American pop singers Category:American radio actors Category:American television actors Category:Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills) Category:Charly Records artists Category:Decca Records artists Category:Epic Records artists Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Imperial Records artists Category:Musicians from New Jersey Category:Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees‎ Category:Rockabilly Hall of Fame inductees Category:American actors of Swedish descent Category:Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in the United States

Name	Dean Martin
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Dino Paul Crocetti
Alias	Dean MartinThe King of CoolDinoDino Martini
Born	June 07, 1917 Steubenville, Ohio, United States
Died	December 25, 1995Beverly Hills, California, United States
Genre	Big band, pop, country
Years active	1939-1995 (His Death)
Occupation	Actor, comedian, singer, producer
Label	Capitol, Reprise

Dean Martin (June 7, 1917 – December 25, 1995) was an American singer, film actor and comedian. Martin's hit singles included "Memories Are Made of This", "That's Amore", "Everybody Loves Somebody", "Mambo Italiano", "Sway", "Volare" and smash hit "Ain't That a Kick in the Head?". Nicknamed the "King of Cool", he was one of the members of the "Rat Pack" and a major star in four areas of show business: concert stage/night clubs, recordings, motion pictures, and television.

Early life

Martin was born Dino Paul Crocetti in Steubenville, Ohio, to Italian parents, Gaetano and Angela Crocetti (née Barra). His father was from Abruzzo, Italy, and his mother was an Italian of part Neapolitan and part Sicilian ancestry. Martin was the younger of two sons. His brother was named Bill. Martin spoke only Italian until he started school. He attended Grant Elementary School in Steubenville, and took up the drums as a hobby as a teenager. He was the target of much ridicule for his broken English and ultimately dropped out of Steubenville High School in the 10th grade because he thought that he was smarter than his teachers. He delivered bootleg liquor, served as a speakeasy croupier, was a blackjack dealer, worked in a steel mill and boxed as welterweight. He grew up a neighbor to Jimmy the Greek.

At the age of 15, he was a boxer who billed himself as "Kid Crochet". His prizefighting years earned him a broken nose (later straightened), a scarred lip, and many sets of broken knuckles (a result of not being able to afford the tape used to wrap boxers' hands). Of his twelve bouts, he would later say "I won all but eleven." For a time, he roomed with Sonny King, who, like Martin, was just starting in show business and had little money. It is said that Martin and King held bare-knuckle matches in their apartment, fighting until one of them was knocked out; people paid to watch.

Eventually, Martin gave up boxing. He worked as a roulette stickman and croupier in an illegal casino behind a tobacco shop where he had started as a stock boy. At the same time, he sang with local bands. Calling himself "Dino Martini" (after the then-famous Metropolitan Opera tenor, Nino Martini), he got his first break working for the Ernie McKay Orchestra. He sang in a crooning style influenced by Harry Mills (of the Mills Brothers), among others. In the early 1940s, he started singing for bandleader Sammy Watkins, who suggested he change his name to Dean Martin.

In October 1941, Martin married Elizabeth Anne McDonald. During their marriage (ended by divorce in 1949), they had four children. Martin worked for various bands throughout the early 1940s, mostly on looks and personality until he developed his own singing style. Martin famously flopped at the Riobamba, a high class nightclub in New York, when he succeeded Frank Sinatra in 1943, but it was the setting for their meeting.

Martin repeatedly sold 10 percent shares of his earnings for up front cash. He apparently did this so often that he found he had sold over 100 percent of his income. Such was his charm that most of his lenders forgave his debts and remained friends.

Drafted into the United States Army in 1944 during World War II, Martin served a year stationed in Akron, Ohio. He was then reclassified as 4-F (possibly because of a double hernia; Jerry Lewis referred to the surgery Martin needed for this in his autobiography) and was discharged.

By 1946, Martin was doing relatively well, but was still little more than an East Coast nightclub singer with a common style, similar to that of Bing Crosby. He drew audiences to the clubs he played, but he inspired none of the fanatic popularity enjoyed by Sinatra.

Mafia connections

A biography on Martin entitled Dean Martin: King of the Road by Michael Freedland alleged he had links to the Mafia early in his career. According to this book, Martin was given help with his singing career by the Chicago Outfit who owned saloons in the city, and later performed in shows hosted by these bosses when he was a star. The mob bosses were Tony ("Joe Batters") Accardo and Sam Giancana. Freedland suggests Martin felt little sympathy for the Mafia and did them small favors only if it was not inconvenient for him. While in Las Vegas Martin was friendly with many mobsters, though not in business with them. Many Vegas entertainers knew the wiseguys and were cordial with them personally, without criminal involvement. Another book, The Animal in Hollywood by John L. Smith, depicted Martin's longtime friendship with Mafia mobsters "Handsome Johnny" Roselli and Anthony ("The Animal") Fiato. Smith suggests that Fiato did Martin many favors, such as getting back money from two swindlers who had cheated Martin's ex-wife Betty out of thousands of dollars of her alimony.

Teaming with Jerry Lewis

Martin attracted the attention of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Columbia Pictures, but a Hollywood contract was not forthcoming. He seemed destined to remain on the nightclub circuit until he met a comic named Jerry Lewis at the Glass Hat Club in New York, where both men were performing. Martin and Lewis formed a fast friendship which led to their participation in each other's acts and the ultimate formation of a music-comedy team. More than a few people dubbed them "The Organ Grinder and the Monkey".

Martin and Lewis's official debut together occurred at Atlantic City's 500 Club on July 24, 1946, and they were not well received. The owner, Skinny D'Amato, warned them that if they did not come up with a better act for their second show later that night, they would be fired. Huddling together in the alley behind the club, Lewis and Martin agreed to "go for broke", to throw out the pre-scripted gags and to improvise. Martin sang and Lewis came out dressed as a busboy, dropping plates and making a shambles of both Martin's performance and the club's sense of decorum until Lewis was chased from the room as Martin pelted him with breadrolls. They did slapstick, reeled off old vaudeville jokes, and did whatever else popped into their heads at the moment. This time, the audience doubled over in laughter. This success led to a series of well-paying engagements on the Eastern seaboard, culminating in a triumphant run at New York's Copacabana. Patrons were convulsed by the act, which consisted primarily of Lewis interrupting and heckling Martin while he was trying to sing, and ultimately the two of them chasing each other around the stage and having as much fun as possible. The secret, both said, is that they essentially ignored the audience and played to one another.

The team made its TV debut on the very first broadcast of CBS-TV network's Toast of the Town Program (later called the Ed Sullivan Show) with Ed Sullivan and Rogers & Hammerstein appearing on this same inaugural telecast of June 20, 1948 (photo archive and IMDB documentation confirmed). A radio series commenced in 1949, the same year Martin and Lewis were signed by Paramount producer Hal B. Wallis as comedy relief for the movie My Friend Irma.

Martin liked California which, because of its earth tremors, had few tall buildings. Suffering as he did from claustrophobia, Martin almost never used elevators, and climbing stairs in Manhattan's skyscrapers was not his idea of fun.

Their agent, Abby Greshler, negotiated for them one of Hollywood's best deals: although they received only a modest $75,000 between them for their films with Wallis, Martin and Lewis were free to do one outside film a year, which they would co-produce through their own York Productions. They also had complete control of their club, record, radio and television appearances, and it was through these endeavors that they earned millions of dollars.

Martin and Lewis were the hottest act in America during the early 1950s, but the pace and the pressure took its toll. Most critics underestimated Martin's contribution to the team, as he had the thankless job of the straight man, and his singing had yet to develop into the unique style of his later years. Critics praised Lewis, and while they admitted that Martin was the best partner he could have, most claimed Lewis was the real talent and could succeed with anyone. However, Lewis always praised his partner, and while he appreciated the attention he was getting, he has always said the act would never have worked without Martin. In Dean & Me, he calls Martin one of the great comic geniuses of all time. But the harsh comments from the critics, as well as frustration with the formulaic similarity of Martin & Lewis movies, which producer Hal Wallis stubbornly refused to change, led to Martin's dissatisfaction. He put less enthusiasm into the work, leading to escalating arguments with Lewis. They finally could not work together, especially after Martin told his partner he was "nothing to me but a dollar sign". The act broke up in 1956, 10 years to the day from the first official teaming.

Splitting up their partnership was not easy. It took months for lawyers to work out the details of terminating many of their club bookings, their television contracts, and the dissolution of York Productions. There was intense public pressure for them to stay together.

Lewis had no trouble maintaining his film popularity alone, but Martin, unfairly regarded by much of the public and the motion picture industry as something of a spare tire, found the going hard. His first solo film, Ten Thousand Bedrooms (1957), was a box office failure. He was still popular as a singer, but with rock and roll surging to the fore, the era of the pop crooner was waning. It looked like Martin's fate was to be limited to nightclubs and to be remembered as Lewis's former partner.

The CBS film, Martin and Lewis, a made-for-TV movie about the famous comedy duo, starred Jeremy Northam as Martin, and Sean Hayes as Lewis. It depicted the years from 1946-1956.

Solo career

Never totally comfortable in films, Martin wanted to be known as a real actor. Though offered a fraction of his former salary to co-star in a war drama, The Young Lions (1957), he was ecstatic to receive the part because it would be a dramatic showcase with the two most intriguing young actors of the period and he could learn from Marlon Brando and Montgomery Clift. Tony Randall already had the part, but talent agency MCA realized that with this movie, Martin would become a triple threat: they could make money from his work in night clubs, movies, and records. Martin replaced Randall and the film turned out to be the beginning of Martin's spectacular comeback. Success would continue as Martin starred alongside Frank Sinatra for the first time in a highly acclaimed Vincente Minnelli drama, Some Came Running (1958). By the mid '60s, Martin was a top movie, recording, and nightclub star, while Lewis' film career declined. Martin was acclaimed for his performance as Dude in Rio Bravo (1959), directed by Howard Hawks and also starring John Wayne and singer Ricky Nelson. He teamed up again with Wayne in The Sons of Katie Elder (1965), somewhat unconvincingly cast as brothers.

In 1960, Martin was cast in the motion picture version of the Judy Holliday hit stage play Bells Are Ringing. Martin played a satiric variation of his own womanizing persona as Vegas singer "Dino" in Billy Wilder's comedy Kiss Me, Stupid (1964) with Kim Novak, and he was not above poking fun at his image in films such as the Matt Helm spy spoofs of the 1960s, in which he was a co-producer.

As a singer, Martin copied the styles of Harry Mills (of the Mills Brothers), Bing Crosby, and Perry Como until he developed his own and could hold his own in duets with Sinatra and Crosby. Like Sinatra, he could not read music, but he recorded more than 100 albums and 600 songs. His signature tune, "Everybody Loves Somebody", knocked The Beatles' "A Hard Day's Night" out of the number-one spot in the United States in 1964. This was followed by the similarly-styled "The Door is Still Open to My Heart", which reached number six later that year. Elvis Presley was said to have been influenced by Martin, and patterned "Love Me Tender" after his style. Martin, like Elvis, was influenced by country music. By 1965, some of Martin's albums, such as Dean "Tex" Martin, The Hit Sound Of Dean Martin, Welcome To My World and Gentle On My Mind were composed of country and western songs made famous by artists like Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard, and Buck Owens. Martin hosted country performers on his TV show and was named "Man Of the Year" by the Country Music Association in 1966. "Ain't That a Kick in the Head", a song Martin performed in Ocean's Eleven that never became a hit at the time, has enjoyed a spectacular revival in the media and pop culture (which can be traced to its usage in 1993's A Bronx Tale and 1997's Fools Rush In).

For three decades, Martin was among the most popular acts in Las Vegas. Martin sang and was one of the smoothest comics in the business, benefiting from the decade of raucous comedy with Lewis. Martin's daughter, Gail, also sang in Vegas and on his TV show, co-hosting his summer replacement series on NBC. Though often thought of as a ladies' man, Martin spent a lot of time with his family; as second wife Jeanne put it, prior to the couple's divorce, "He was home every night for dinner."

The Rat Pack

As Martin's solo career grew, he and Frank Sinatra became close friends. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, Martin and Sinatra, along with friends Joey Bishop, Peter Lawford, and Sammy Davis, Jr. formed the legendary Rat Pack, so called by the public after an earlier group of social friends, the Holmby Hills Rat Pack centered on Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall, of which Sinatra had been a member.

The Martin-Sinatra-Davis-Lawford-Bishop group referred to themselves as "The Summit" or "The Clan" and never as "The Rat Pack", although this has remained their identity in the popular imagination. The men made films together, formed an important part of the Hollywood social scene in those years, and were politically influential (through Lawford's marriage to Patricia Kennedy, sister of President John F. Kennedy).

The Rat Pack were legendary for their Las Vegas performances. For example, the marquee at the Sands Hotel might read DEAN MARTIN---MAYBE FRANK---MAYBE SAMMY. Las Vegas rooms were at a premium when the Rat Pack would appear, with many visitors sleeping in hotel lobbies or cars to get a chance to see the three men together. Their act (always in tuxedo) consisted of each singing individual numbers, duets and trios, along with much seemingly improvised slapstick and chatter. In the socially-charged 1960s, their jokes revolved around adult themes, such as Sinatra's infamous womanizing and Martin's legendary drinking, as well as many at the expense of Davis's race and religion. Davis famously practiced Judaism and used Yiddish phrases onstage, eliciting much merriment from both his stage-mates and his audiences. It was all good-natured male bonding, never vicious, rarely foul-mouthed, and the three had great respect for each other. The Rat Pack was largely responsible for the integration of Las Vegas. Sinatra and Martin steadfastly refused to appear anywhere that barred Davis, forcing the casinos to open their doors to African-American entertainers and patrons, and to drop restrictive covenants against Jews.

Posthumously, the Rat Pack has experienced a popular revival, inspiring the George Clooney/Brad Pitt "Ocean's" trilogy. An HBO film, The Rat Pack, starred Joe Mantegna as Martin, Ray Liotta as Sinatra and Don Cheadle as Davis. It depicted their contribution to JFK's election in 1960.

The 1960s to 1980s

In 1965, Martin launched his weekly NBC comedy-variety series, The Dean Martin Show, which exploited his public image as a lazy, carefree boozer. There he perfected his famous laid-back persona of the half-drunk crooner suavely hitting on beautiful women with hilarious remarks that would get anyone else slapped, and making snappy if slurred remarks about fellow celebrities during his famous roasts. During an interview he stated, and this may have been tongue-in-cheek, that he had someone record them on cassette tape so he could listen to them; this is evidenced by his comments to this effect on the British TV documentary 'Wine, Women and Song' which was aired in 1983.

The TV show was a success. Martin prided himself on memorizing whole scripts – not merely his own lines. He disliked rehearsing because he firmly believed his best performances were his first. The show's loose format prompted quick-witted improvisation from Martin and the cast. On occasion, he made remarks in Italian, some mild obscenities that brought angry mail from offended, Italian-speaking viewers. This prompted a battle between Martin and NBC censors, who insisted on more scrutiny of the show's content. The show was often in the Top Ten. Martin, deeply appreciative of the efforts of the show's producer, his friend Greg Garrison, later made a handshake deal giving Garrison, a pioneer TV producer in the 1950s, 50% ownership of the show. However, the validity of that ownership is currently the subject of a lawsuit brought by NBC Universal.

Despite Martin's reputation as a heavy drinker — a reputation perpetuated via his vanity license plates reading 'DRUNKY' — he was remarkably self-disciplined. He was often the first to call it a night, and when not on tour or on a film location liked to go home to see his wife and children. Phyllis Diller recently confirmed that Martin was indeed drinking alcohol onstage and not apple juice. She also commented that he while not being drunk was not really sober either but had very strict rules when it came to performances. He borrowed the lovable-drunk shtick from Joe E. Lewis, but his convincing portrayals of heavy boozers in Some Came Running and Howard Hawks's Rio Bravo led to unsubstantiated claims of alcoholism. More often than not, Martin's idea of a good time was playing golf or watching TV, particularly westerns – not staying with Rat Pack friends Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis, Jr. into the early hours of the morning.

Martin starred in and co-produced a series of four Matt Helm superspy comedy adventures. A fifth, The Ravagers, was planned starring Sharon Tate and Martin in a dual role, one as a serial killer, but due to the murder of Tate and the decline of the spy genre the film was never made.

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 steadily. His name on a marquee could guarantee casinos and nightclubs a standing-room-only crowd. He found a way to make his passion for golf profitable by offering his own signature line of golf balls. Shrewd investments had greatly increased Martin's personal wealth; at the time of his death, Martin was reportedly the single largest minority shareholder of RCA stock. Martin even managed to cure himself of his claustrophobia by reportedly locking himself in the elevator of a tall building and riding up and down for hours until he was no longer panic-stricken.

Martin retreated from show business. The final (1973–74) season of his variety show would be retooled into one of celebrity roasts, requiring less of Martin's involvement. After the show's cancellation, NBC continued to air the Dean Martin Celebrity Roast format in a series of TV specials through 1984. In those 11 years, Martin and his panel of pals successfully ridiculed and made fun of these legendary stars in this order: Ronald Reagan, Hugh Hefner, Ed McMahon, William Conrad, Kirk Douglas, Bette Davis, Barry Goldwater, Johnny Carson, Wilt Chamberlain, Hubert Humphrey, Carroll O'Connor, Monty Hall, Jack Klugman & Tony Randall, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Leo Durocher, Truman Capote, Don Rickles, Ralph Nader, Jack Benny, Redd Foxx, Bobby Riggs, George Washington, Dan Rowan & Dick Martin, Hank Aaron, Joe Namath, Bob Hope, Telly Savalas, Lucille Ball, Jackie Gleason, Sammy Davis Jr, Michael Landon, Evel Knievel, Valerie Harper, Muhammad Ali, Dean Martin, Dennis Weaver, Joe Garagiola, Danny Thomas, Angie Dickinson, Gabe Kaplan, Ted Knight, Peter Marshall, Dan Haggerty, Frank Sinatra, Jack Klugman, Jimmy Stewart, George Burns, Betty White, Suzanne Somers, Joan Collins, and Mr T. For nearly a decade, Martin had recorded as many as four albums a year for Reprise Records. That stopped in November 1974, when Martin recorded his final Reprise album - Once In A While, released in 1978. His last recording sessions were for Warner Brothers Records. An album titled The Nashville Sessions was released in 1983, from which he had a hit with "(I Think That I Just Wrote) My First Country Song", which was recorded with Conway Twitty and made a respectable showing on the country charts. A followup single "L.A. Is My Home" / "Drinking Champagne" came in 1985. The 1975 film Mr. Ricco marked Martin's final starring role, and Martin limited his live performances to Las Vegas and Atlantic City.

Martin seemed to suffer a mid-life crisis. In 1972, he filed for divorce from his second wife, Jeanne. A week later, his business partnership with the Riviera was dissolved amid reports of the casino's refusal to agree to Martin's request to perform only once a night. He was quickly snapped up by the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino, and signed a three-picture deal with MGM Studios. Less than a month after his second marriage had been legally dissolved, Martin married 26-year-old Catherine Hawn on April 25, 1973. Hawn had been the receptionist at the chic Gene Shacrove hair salon in Beverly Hills. They divorced November 10, 1976. He was also briefly engaged to Gail Renshaw, Miss World-U.S.A. 1969.

Eventually, Martin reconciled with Jeanne, though they never remarried. He also made a public reconciliation with Jerry Lewis on Lewis' Labor Day Muscular Dystrophy Association telethon in 1976. Frank Sinatra shocked Lewis and the world by bringing Martin out on stage. As Martin and Lewis embraced, the audience erupted in cheers and the phone banks lit up, resulting in one of the telethon's most profitable years. Lewis reported the event was one of the three most memorable of his life. Lewis brought down the house when he quipped, "So, you working?" Martin, playing drunk, replied that he was "at the Meggum" – this reference to the MGM Grand Hotel convulsed Lewis . This, along with the death of Martin's son Dean Paul Martin a few years later, helped to bring the two men together. They maintained a quiet friendship but only performed together again once, in 1989, on Martin's 72nd birthday.

Later years

On December 1, 1983 while gambling at the Golden Nugget casino in Atlantic City, Martin and Sinatra intimidated the dealer and several employees into breaking New Jersey laws by making the dealer deal the cards by hand instead of by a shoe, as is required by law. Although Sinatra and Martin were implicated as the cause of the violation, neither was fined by the New Jersey Casino Control Commission. The Golden Nugget, on the other hand, received a $25,000 fine (which Sinatra paid, stating that it was his responsibility as he and Martin were the cause of the fine) and four employees including the dealer, a supervisor and pit boss were suspended from their jobs without pay.

Martin returned to films briefly with appearances in the two star-laden yet critically panned Cannonball Run movies,. He also had a minor hit single with "Since I Met You Baby" and made his first music video, which appeared on MTV. The video was created by Martin's youngest son, Ricci.

On December 8, 1989, Martin attended Sammy Davis Jr.'s 60th Anniversary Special.

Decline and death

On March 21, 1987, Martin's son Dean Paul (formerly Dino of the '60s "teeny-bopper" rock group Dino, Desi & Billy) was killed when his F-4 Phantom II jet fighter crashed while flying with the California Air National Guard. A much-touted tour with Davis and Sinatra in 1988 sputtered. On one occasion, he infuriated Sinatra when he turned to him and muttered "Frank, what the hell are we doing up here?" Martin, who always responded best to a club audience, felt lost in the huge stadiums they were performing in (at Sinatra's insistence), and he was not the least bit interested in drinking until dawn after their performances. His final Vegas shows were at the Bally's Hotel in 1990. It was there he had his final reunion with Jerry Lewis on his 72nd birthday. Martin's last two TV appearances both involved tributes to his former Rat Pack members. In 1990, he joined many stars of the entertainment industry in Sammy Davis, Jr's 60th anniversary celebration, which aired only a few weeks before Davis died from throat cancer. In December 1990, he congratulated Frank Sinatra on his 75th birthday special. By Early 1995, Martin had officially retired from performing.

Martin, a life-long smoker, was diagnosed with lung cancer at Cedars Sinai Medical Center on 16 September 1993. He died of acute respiratory failure resulting from emphysema at his Beverly Hills home on Christmas morning 1995, at the age of 78. The lights of the Las Vegas Strip were dimmed in his honor.

Tributes

In 1996, Ohio Rte. 7, through Steubenville, was re-dedicated as "Dean Martin Boulevard." Road signs bearing an Al Hirschfeld caricature of Martin's likeness officially designate the stretch, along with a state historical marker, in the Gazebo Park at Route 7 and North Fourth Street.

An annual "Dean Martin Festival" celebration is held in Steubenville. Impersonators, friends and family of Martin, and various entertainers, many of Italian ancestry, appear.

In 2005, Las Vegas renamed Industrial Road as Dean Martin Drive. A similarly named street was dedicated in 2008 in Rancho Mirage, California.

Martin's family was presented a gold record in 2004 for Dino: The Essential Dean Martin, his fastest-selling album ever, which also hit the iTunes Top 10. For the week ending December 23, 2006, the Dean Martin and Martina McBride duet of "Baby, It's Cold Outside" reached #7 on the R&R; AC chart. It also went to #36 on the R&R; Country chart - the last time Martin had a song this high in the charts was in 1965, with the song "I Will", which reached #10 on the Pop chart.

An album of duets, Forever Cool, was released by Capitol/EMI in 2007. It features Martin's voice with Kevin Spacey, Shelby Lynne, Joss Stone, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, Robbie Williams, McBride and others.

His footprints were immortalized at Grauman's Chinese Theater in 1964. Martin has not one but three stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame: One at 6519 Hollywood Blvd. (for movies), one at 1817 Vine (for recordings) and one at 6651 Hollywood Boulevard (for television).

In February 2009, Martin was honored with a posthumous Grammy award for Lifetime Achievement. Four of his surviving children, Gail, Deana, Ricci and Gina, were on hand to accept on his behalf. In 2009, Martin was inducted into the Hit Parade Hall of Fame.

Personal life

Martin was married three times. Martin's first wife, Betty McDonald, tried by all accounts to be a good wife and mother to their four children, but her efforts were ultimately undone by her alcoholism. It remains a matter of speculation whether her alcoholism led to the failure of the marriage, or whether Martin's infidelities led to Betty's alcoholism. Subsequent to their divorce, Martin gained custody of their children; Betty lived out her life in quiet obscurity in San Francisco. Their children were Stephen Craig (born June 29, 1942), Claudia Dean (March 16, 1944 - 2001 from breast cancer), Barbara Gail (born April 11, 1945) and Deana (Dina) (born August 19, 1948).

Martin's second wife was Jeanne Biegger. A stunning blonde, Jeanne could sometimes be spotted in Martin's audience while he was still married to Betty. Their marriage lasted twenty-four years (1949–1973) and produced three children. Their children were Dean Paul (November 17, 1951 - March 21, 1987; plane crash), Ricci James (born September 20, 1953) and Gina Caroline (born December 20, 1956).

Martin's third marriage, to Catherine Hawn, lasted three years. One of Martin's managers had spotted her at the reception desk of a hair salon on Rodeo Drive, then arranged a meeting. Martin adopted Hawn's daughter, Sasha, but their marriage also failed. Martin initiated divorce proceedings. Martin's uncle was Leonard Barr, who appeared in several of his shows.

Popular culture

A number of Dean Martin songs have constantly been featured across popular culture for decades. Hit songs such as That's Amore, Ain't That A Kick in the Head,Sway and Martin's signature song Everybody Loves Somebody, (and many more), have been used in films (such as Goodfellas, Casino, A Bronx Tale and Return to Me), television series (such as Friends, House MD, and American Dad!) and even video games (such as , The Godfather II, and Mafia II).

Martin was portrayed by Joe Mantegna in an HBO movie about Sinatra and Martin titled The Rat Pack. Mantegna was nominated for both an Emmy Award and a Golden Globe Award for the role.

In the movie Return to Me, two of his recordings are featured: Return to Me and Good Morning, Life.

In the movie A Bronx Tale, Martin's song, Ain't That A Kick In The Head?, was featured during the scene when C was playing dice.

British actor Jeremy Northam portrayed the entertainer in a made-for-TV movie called, Martin and Lewis, alongside Will & Grace's Sean Hayes as Jerry Lewis.

Danny Gans portrayed Martin in the miniseries, Sinatra

A compilation album called, Amore! debuted at Number One on Billboard magazine's Top Pop Catalog Albums chart in its February 21, 2009 issue.

In the pilot episode of White Collar Peter refers to Neal as "Dino" referencing the newly-found Sy Devore suits that Neal now wears - made famous by the 'Rat Pack.'

Martin is the subject of a slot machine, "Dean Martin's Wild Party", a video slot machine found in some casinos. The game features songs sung by Martin during the bonus game and the count-up of a player's winnings.

A Budweiser TV commercial that premiered during Super Bowl XLI featured Martin's "Ain't That A Kick In The Head?".

The 2010 Video Game, Fallout: New Vegas, features Martin's "Ain't that a Kick in the Head?" throughout the game. It can be listened to on the "New Vegas" radio channel and heard on the loud speakers when you enter the Vegas Strip. The first quest of the game is also named after the same song.

Discography

Filmography

Features: {|class="wikitable" style="font-size: 90%;" border="2" cellpadding="4" background: #f9f9f9; |- align="center" ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Year ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Film ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Role ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Notes |- |1946 |Film Vodvil: Art Mooney and Orchestra | |Short |- |1949 |My Friend Irma |Steve Laird | |- |rowspan=3|1950 |My Friend Irma Goes West |Steve Laird | |- |At War with the Army |1st Sgt. Vic Puccinelli | |- |Screen Snapshots: Thirtieth Anniversary Special | |Short |- |1951 |That's My Boy |Bill Baker | |- |rowspan=4|1952 |Sailor Beware |Al Crowthers | |- |Jumping Jacks |Corp. Chick Allen | |- |Road to Bali |Man in Lala's dream |Cameo (uncredited) |- |The Stooge |Bill Miller | |- |rowspan=3|1953 |Scared Stiff |Larry Todd | |- |The Caddy |Joe Anthony | |- |Money from Home |Herman 'Honey Talk' Nelson | |- |rowspan=2|1954 |Living It Up |Dr. Steve Harris | |- |3 Ring Circus |Peter 'Pete' Nelson | |- |rowspan=2|1955 |You're Never Too Young |Bob Miles | |- |Artists and Models |Rick Todd | |- |rowspan=3|1956 |Screen Snapshots: Hollywood, City of Stars | |Short |- |Pardners |Slim Mosely Jr. / Slim Mosely Sr. | |- |Hollywood or Bust |Steve Wiley | |- |1957 |Ten Thousand Bedrooms |Ray Hunter | |- |rowspan=2|1958 |The Young Lions |Michael Whiteacre | |- |Some Came Running |Bama Dillert (professional gambler) | |- |rowspan=2|1959 |Rio Bravo |Dude ('Borachón') | |- |Career |Maurice 'Maury' Novak | |- |rowspan=4|1960 |Who Was That Lady? |Michael Haney |Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy |- |Bells Are Ringing |Jeffrey Moss | |- |Ocean's Eleven |Sam Harmon | |- |Pepe | |Cameo |- |rowspan=2|1961 |All in a Night's Work |Tony Ryder | |- |Ada |Bo Gillis | |- |rowspan=4|1962 |Something's Got to Give |Nicholas 'Nick' Arden |(unfinished) |- |Sergeants 3 |Sgt. Chip Deal | |- |The Road to Hong Kong |The 'Grape' on plutonium |Cameo (uncredited) |- |Who's Got the Action? |Steve Flood | |- |rowspan=5|1963 |38-24-36 |Self | |- |Come Blow Your Horn |The Bum |(uncredited) |- |Toys in the Attic |Julian Berniers | |- |4 for Texas |Joe Jarrett | |- |Who's Been Sleeping in My Bed? |Jason Steel | |- |rowspan=3|1964 |What a Way to Go! |Leonard 'Lennie' Crawley | |- |Robin and the 7 Hoods |Little John | |- |Kiss Me, Stupid |Dino | |- |rowspan=2|1965 |The Sons of Katie Elder |Tom Elder | |- |Marriage on the Rocks |Ernie Brewer | |- |rowspan=3|1966 |The Silencers |Matt Helm | |- |Texas Across the River |Sam Hollis | |- |Murderers' Row |Matt Helm | |- |rowspan=2|1967 |Rough Night in Jericho |Alex Flood | |- |The Ambushers |Matt Helm | |- |rowspan=4|1968 |How to Save a Marriage and Ruin Your Life |David Sloane | |- |Bandolero! |Dee Bishop | |- |Rowan & Martin at the Movies | |Short |- |5 Card Stud |Van Morgan | |- |1969 |The Wrecking Crew |Matt Helm | |- |1970 |Airport |Capt. Vernon Demerest | |- |1971 |Something Big |Joe Baker | |- |1973 |Showdown |Billy Massey | |- |1975 |Mr. Ricco |Joe Ricco | |- |1981 |The Cannonball Run |Jamie Blake | |- |rowspan=2|1984 |Cannonball Run II |Jamie Blake | |- |Terror in the Aisles | |archival footage |}

References

Further reading

Arthur Marx. Everybody Loves Somebody Sometime (Especially Himself): The story of Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, New York, NY: Hawthorn Books, 1974, ISBN 978-0801524301

Lewis, Jerry and James Kaplan. Dean & Me (A Love Story). Doubleday, New York, 2005. ISBN 0-7679-2086-4

Tosches, Nick. Dino: Living High in the Dirty Business of Dreams. Delta Trade Paperbacks, New York, 1992 (1st edition). ISBN 0-385-33429-X

Smith, John L. The Animal in Hollywood: Anthony Fiato's Life in the Mafia. Barricade Books, New York, 1998. ISBN 1-56980-126-6

External links

Dean Martin at The Biography Channel

Cleveland.com: Homegrown Heroes: Dean Martin Timeline

Dean Works the room at the Sands

Jerry Lewis interview for the Archive of American Television

Dean Martin biography/discography on The Interlude Era site

Radio interview with Deana Martin WSLR

Dean Martin Roasts Johnny Carson

Dean Martin Roast Frank Sinatra

Dean Martin Roasts Don Rickles

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