Friday, September 19, 2008

Dean Paul Martin: A Life Cut Way Too Short

Dean Paul Martin was born on November 15, 1951 in Santa Monica. He's the son of Dean Martin and his second wife Jeanne. He was a member, along with Desi Arnaz Jr., and Billy Hinsche, in the teen pop group Dino, Desi & Billy. They had a few hits back in the 60's, such as I'm A Fool and Not The Lovin' Kind. The band made a cameo in the Matt Helm spy flick Murderers' Row in 1966. Dean Paul's acting credits would include Players (nominated for a Golden Globe) and the short-lived series Misfits of Science. He also was a professional tennis player and a pilot in the California Air National Guard. Dean Paul was married and divorced twice. His first wife was actress Olivia Hussey. They had a son named Alexander together. His second wife was Olympic ice skater Dorothy Hamill. Dean Paul was killed in a plane crash on March 21, 1987. His death devastated his father deeply. Dean never truly recovered from the death of his son. Dean Paul seemed to have a lot of inner demons most of his life. He lived life fast and hard. It's as if he never truly could find out who he truly was. It didn't seem as if he knew his identity and where he fit in the world. It's a shame because we never know what he might have accomplished if he had stayed focused and lived longer. I raise a toast to the memory of Dean Paul Martin. God bless your soul.

deanpaul-players

P.S. This picture is from Players which was released in 1979.


13 comments:

dino martin peters said...

Hey pallie Keith, what a heart-felt trib to our Dino's boypallie Dino Jr. Sometimes I think that if Dino Jr. had accepted simply tryin' to follow in his Daddy-o's footsteps (which of course are huge) instead of tryin' to find his own way, his Dinostory mighta just turned out ever so so much Dinobetter....I'm sure our Dino did try to take his boypallie under his wing....givin' him and his band exposure in the best of the Matt Helm capers, "Murder's Row,"...and you knows how much I loves that Dinoencounter between Dinofather and Dinoson....its seems that Dino Jr. felt the Dinoneed to makes it on his own...and likes a wise Daddy-o, our Dino let his beloved boypallie try out his own wings...probably hopin' at some Dinopoint that Dino Jr. woulda seek his Daddy-o's wise counsel...but that did not end of bein' the Dinocase...so so very sad for family Martin, and especially for our Dino who loved Dino Jr. more then his own life....so thanks for this Dinowonderful Dinotrib to Dino Jr. and btw loves the Dino Jr. pix you chose to post..woulda you do us ilovedinomartin Dinopad pallies the Dinohonor of postin' it in your Dinolounge Dinofolder at our humble little Dinohome?

Keith said...

Hey pallie DMP. Thank you so much for your kind words. I really appreciate it. I had planned to just post that picture, but then decided to write a little post up on him. I think it's hard many times to be the child of a celebrity. There's so much pressure on that child. I think it's hard many times to figure out who and what you are. Many of these children get lost and find themselves in a lot of trouble. I think a child wants to make it on his/her own. You never want to ride the coattails of your parent. You want to be your own person. It would have been nice though if Dino Jr. had sought the advice of Dino who would have helped steer him on the right direction. Even if Dino didn't try to tell his son what to do, maybe he could have given him some words of wisdom to help him on his path. It seemed as if Dino Jr. wanted to make his own way, however, he really didn't know what direction he wanted to go in though. He went from one career to another. It's probably also a reason he had two failed marriages. It's a shame that his life didn't turn out differently than it did. We know that his death had a huge impact on Dino. By the way, I do love that cameo in MR. That's a great scene. I'll be more than happy to post this pic in the folder. I did think it was a cool shot of him. Thanks again.

Steve Langton said...

The death of an offspring is something a parent never gets over. You expect your kids to bury you, and not the other way around. A very sad story.

Kimberly Lindbergs said...

Your rat pack blog is really looking great Keith!

I don't know much about Dino Jr. so this was interesting and sad to read.

Keith said...

Hey Steve. I agree. I could not even imagine losing a child if I had one. That's got to be a parent's worst nightmare. It really destroyed Dino.

Keith said...

Hey Kimberly. Great to see you here! Thanks for the comments and compliments on my blog. I appreciate it. I hope to see you around more. It's good to see you back posting on your blog. Cheers!

Nancy Sinatra Fan said...

That's quite the hot picture of Dean Paul. I did always find him to be a very sexy guy. I've still got a crush on him.

Keith said...

Yeah, I've talked to other girls who have a thing for him. He was a good looking guy. He had both looks and talent. I wish his life would have turned out differently.

Nostalgia Kinky said...

Great post and very moving to read.

Keith said...

Thanks Jeremy.

sushay said...

Very nice tribute. Very interesting thoughts on how he never seemed to figure out who he was. He did try a lot of different things. Who knows what could have been if he had lived. A real shame.

Keith said...

Hey Sue. Thanks. I'm glad you liked what I wrote. I did want to offer a few thoughts about his life. It did seem like he never knew his true place in this world. It is sad because there's no telling what he could have done.

ingvar38 said...

I happened to get to know Dino as we called him on the tennistour around 73. He was really elegant,talented very friendly and played very good tennis and could have got any girl in theworld if he had wanted it!Iremember him as a funny and very honest guy! I miis him! KJ