Company
During the 1950s, Martin was well known for the group of celebrity friends he was a part of. The group included the likes of Peter Lawford, Frank Sinatra, Humphrey Bogart, Joey Bishop, and Humphrey Bogart.
Martin and this group of friends were well known for their love of the Vegas Strip. Naturally a night out entailed drinking and just having an all round good time. This group of friends would come to be the infamous Rat Pack, though few really know where the name came from.
Waiting Wife
The now famous name of the group was actually taken from a passing comment. The comment in question was made by none other than Humphrey Bogart’s wife, actress Lauren Bacall. Her comment was made partly in jest but soon it was a phrase the whole world would know.
Bogart and the other men in the group arrived at his house, more than slightly dishevelled and inebriated after a night of fun. Upon reaching the door, Bacall opened the door and gave them a look before saying that they looked like a ‘damned rat pack.'
Secrets
During their time together, the Rat Pack not only created numerous memorable songs but they also collaborated on 20 different films, all with various members of the group as stars in the movie. These songs and roles have become as iconic as the group itself.
However, What Deana Martin would reveal would not only shock people, but it also threatened to change what people thought about her father and even the group. The way the Rat Pack would be seen would forever be altered by what she had to say about her father.
Dino King Leer
Dean Martin had many nicknames between his fans. However, the most common name used for him was always “the king of cool”. This was due to his always cool, relaxed, yet commanding presence, all what makes Dean Martin stand out in our memories.
This very demeanour was part of what made Dean Martin as popular and entertainer as he was. Women dreamed of being with Dean Martin while men dreamed of being Dean Martin, and it was all due to this image the world had of Dean Martin.
Easy
Part of what made this attitude of Martins so striking and unique was how absolutely effortless it always seemed. He never appeared to put the slightest effort into being as cool and slick as he was. It all just seemed to come naturally.
This easy-going attitude als0 seemed to affect those around him too. Few people would deny that the Rat Pack was the coolest, most suave, and most talented group of entertainers that existed at that particular time.
Manly
Thanks to this remarkable attitude, Martin and the rest of the Rat Pack quickly gained even more fame and notoriety than they already had. Every member of the Rat Pack was already famous and well respected but the Rat Pack itself would make them even more so.
Thanks to this remarkable attitude, Martin and the rest of the Rat Pack quickly gained even more fame and notoriety than they already had. Every member of the Rat Pack was already famous and well respected but the Rat Pack itself would make them even more so.
Telling The Truth
In 2018, Deana Martin finally spoke out and clarified the truth behind many of the rumors. She admits to hearing them as she grew up and the fact that her father was famously a bit of a ladies man comes as no surprise.
She also admitted that much of the group and her father’s fame and popularity was entirely dependent on the era in which they occurred. She doesn’t believe that his “cuteness” or charm would have been enough or suited to people in the modern era.
Honors
The Friars Club in New York City is a famous private club, known for the fact that it hosts celebrity roasts. In 2018 the club decided to honor Deana Martin. Her father had not only been a member but the club was an important part of his life.
Deana was given the title of Trobairitz (female troubadour), an honor that had only been bestowed a few times. Deana happily accepted the title. At the point someone asked her what she thought of the Me Too movement and whether she thinks it would have affected her father.
Controversial
When Deana was asked if she believed that the Rat Pack’s controversial image may have landed them in hot water or if she thought that they would have been safe and avoided the issue all together.
“I think they would have only because they were so cute at it, they were cool…” Deana said before falling silent for a moment. When she spoke up again she offered a very candid and honest response. One she felt needed to be heard.
She Had an Almost Instant Epiphany
As soon as she made that statement, Martin took a moment to reflect on what she had said.
She realized that men had been using the fact that they were "just being cute" as a way to defend sexual harassment in Hollywood. So, she amended her earlier comment.
Cuteness Wouldn’t Have Saved Her Father
“Well, now that I’m thinking about it, I don’t know if they would have survived,” she said. Martin admitted that although her father and his friends were charming in their approach to certain situations.
Many of those situations, however, wouldn’t fly in today’s world. And yet they were part of a club that seemed to defy today’s agenda for gender equality.
The Rat Pack Were Part of a Male Dominated Club
Sexual harassment isn’t exactly new in Hollywood. The Friars Club is a controversial male-dominated private club, which was made famous thanks to the Rat Pack.
But it’s had some controversial members over the years, including Harvey Weinstein, the former Hollywood producer caught in the middle of the #MeToo controversy. And yet, Martin’s daughter felt divided.
Her Father Was Only Human
Martin admitted that her father wasn’t always the guy people saw on camera. According to her, it was all nothing but an act.
Dean Martin was indeed a heavy smoker, a drinker and a philanderer. But "The Dean Martin Show" put him in a less-than-flattering light at times.
The Dean Martin Show Didn’t Help Him Much
“The Dean Martin Show,” which aired from 1965 to 1974, was a chat show that portrayed her father as an overly tanned man who often slurred his words, and always had an old-fashioned cocktail in his hand.
And when he messed up his lines, he never re-taped it. But was it truly all an act like Deana claimed?
She Confirmed the Rumors About Her Dad
During the second part of her interview, Martin confirmed the rumors about her father and said that the man the public thought they knew wasn’t real at all.
She claimed that it had all just been an act, and that was only the beginning...
He Was Only Playing Along
“The cigarettes, the womanizing, that was his shtick,” she claimed. According to her, the old fashioned cocktail in her father’s glass was probably apple juice. He did these things to be likable and relatable.
According to her, Dean Martin was just a "go with the flow" kind of guy. This is one of the reasons why she initially felt that his likability and charm would've kept him safe during the #MeToo movement. But she isn’t so sure now. So, who was the real Dean Martin?
He Was More of a Family Man
Martin also confessed that her father was more of a family man than his friends Sammy Davis Jr. and Frank Sinatra were. “Dad came home every night… He wouldn’t stay up with Uncle Frank and Uncle Sammy, he didn’t want to do that,” she said.
Outside of the spotlight, they did whatever they wanted to do while her father preferred spending quality time with his family. But she wasn’t the only one to call the Rat Pack's "drunken and womanizing" ways an act.
A Former Rat Pack Member Weighed in on the Controversy
Joey Bishop, who was a former Rat Pack member, claimed that the group never got drunk during their performances. He added that the group’s bad boy reputation was a joke, which confirmed what Martin’s daughter had said.
But would Martin be proud of what his daughter did to the Friars Club?
Martin Wanted Her Own Group
When Martin’s daughter got inducted into the Friars Club, she joined the very talented Liza Minnelli, Dionne Warwick, Kristen Chenowith and Barbra Streisand.
Martin joked and claimed they could start their own pack. “Tell you what, we could be The Cat Pack,” she said. “I’m going to coin that phrase.”
Meet The Cat Pack
Dionne Warwick, Barbra Streisand, Liza Minnelli and Kristin Chenoweth were also the only women to be inducted into the Friars Club.
As a result, Deana believes that her father would be very proud of what she accomplished.
Things Were Civil for the Most Part
Anyone who has ever seen a Friars Club roast knows full well that things can get pretty vulgar, but Martin’s roasts are much different.
She says that when they roast, they don’t rely on vulgarity and shock value to entertain. But what would her father think?
She Knows He Would Be Proud of Her
Martin believes in her heart that her father would have appreciated her decision to remain well behaved during the Cat Pack’s roasts.
“For the Deana Martin Celebrity roasts, they’re funny and use a little bad language, but they’re not vile or vulgar," she said.
She Has Her Own Way of Doing Things
Martin says she would steer clear from anything "racist, or anything like that, just like with the Dean Martin Celebrity Roast" she said.
And, she hopes to follow her father's footsteps in a few other ways, too.
Only a Few Knew Who Her Father Really Was
Only a handful of people knew the real Dean Martin, and Deana was proud and grateful to be among the privileged few who did.
But she is also very much aware that he loved his Rat Pack friends and that they had a lot of fun together. This explains why he was always so cool, calm and admired.