Dean Martin Dean Martin Dean Martin (born Dino Paul Crocetti; June 7, 1917 – December 25, 1995), was an Italian-American singer, actor, comedian, and producer. One of the most popular and enduring American entertainers of the mid-20th century, Martin was nicknamed "The King of Cool" for his seemingly effortless charisma and self-assurance. He and Jerry Lewis formed the immensely popular comedy duo Martin and Lewis, with Martin serving as the straight man to Lewis' slapstick hijinks. A member of the "Rat Pack", Martin went on to become a star of concert stages, nightclubs, audio recordings, motion pictures, and television. Martin was the
Jerry Lewis a film so radical that it makes comedy out of the situation of a comedian who isn't funny." The final scene of "The Patsy" is famous for revealing to the audience the movie as a movie, and Lewis as actor/director. Lewis wrote in "The Total Filmmaker", his belief in breaking the fourth wall, actors looking directly into the camera, despite industry norms. More contemporary comedies such as "The Larry Sanders Show", "Curb Your Enthusiasm", and "The Office" continue this method. Robert DeNiro and Sandra Bernhard (both of whom starred with Lewis in "The King of Comedy") reflected on his death,