Dean and Me: (A Love Story) [Hardcover]

Jerry Lewis (Author), James Kaplan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 25, 2005

They were the unlikeliest of pairs—a handsome crooner and a skinny monkey, an Italian from Steubenville, Ohio, and a Jew from Newark, N.J.. Before they teamed up, Dean Martin seemed destined for a mediocre career as a nightclub singer, and Jerry Lewis was dressing up as Carmen Miranda and miming records on stage. But the moment they got together, something clicked—something miraculous—and audiences saw it at once.

Before long, they were as big as Elvis or the Beatles would be after them, creating hysteria wherever they went and grabbing an unprecedented hold over every entertainment outlet of the era: radio, television, movies, stage shows, and nightclubs. Martin and Lewis were a national craze, an American institution. The millions (and the women) flowed in, seemingly without end—and then, on July 24, 1956, ten years from the day when the two men joined forces, it all ended.

After that traumatic day, the two wouldn’t speak again for twenty years. And while both went on to forge triumphant individual careers—Martin as a movie and television star, recording artist, and nightclub luminary (and charter member of the Rat Pack); Lewis as the groundbreaking writer, producer, director, and star of a series of hugely successful movie comedies—their parting left a hole in the national psyche, as well as in each man’s heart.

In a memoir by turns moving, tragic, and hilarious, Jerry Lewis recounts with crystal clarity every step of a fifty-year friendship, from the springtime, 1945 afternoon when the two vibrant young performers destined to conquer the world together met on Broadway and Fifty-fourth Street, to their tragic final encounter in the 1990s, when Lewis and his wife ran into Dean Martin, a broken and haunted old man.

In Dean & Me, Jerry Lewis makes a convincing case for Dean Martin as one of the great—and most underrated—comic talents of our era. But what comes across most powerfully in this definitive memoir is the depth of love Lewis felt, and still feels, for his partner, and which his partner felt for him: truly a love to last for all time.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Over the course of their 10-year partnership, Lewis and Dean Martin made 16 wildly popular movies (they were the world's number one box office earners from 1950 to 1956), but their real strength was their performances in nightclubs, theaters and on television. Audiences found their mixture of music and ad-libbed, irreverent comedic pandemonium intoxicating. The duo's fascinating kinship—Lewis idolized his partner, while Martin was aloof—has been chronicled in Shawn Levy's King of Comedy and Nick Tosches's Dino, but Lewis wants to give his late partner the credit he feels critics missed by always praising the "the monkey" rather than the straight man. Untangling the complicated union, Lewis doesn't spare himself, admitting that when the team's relationship unraveled (they weren't speaking between scenes on their last film), he became a bully on set and made others the brunt of the anger he couldn't vent at Martin. Lewis is a wonderful raconteur, and his tales capture the excitement of their budding career and the slow, sad erosion of the fun. Whether it's his age (Lewis is 79) or his coauthor (Kaplan co-wrote John McEnroe's You Cannot Be Serious), fans will be surprised and entertained by Lewis's honesty and diminished ego and bitterness. Photos. First serial to Vanity Fair. (On sale Oct. 25)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis soared to popularity in post-World War II America, as their unlikely chemistry proved successful. The two met in New York City in 1945, where Lewis, a struggling comedian, and Martin, a handsome crooner, were looking to hit the big time. This candid memoir examines the tumultuous yet productive relationship that developed between the two as they spent 10 years performing live shows and making movies. As Lewis tells it, in the early years of the duo's success, they began hanging out with movie stars and other celebrities, and life was one continuous party, with loads of money and all the booze, babes, and good times that either could ask for. But despite attempts to manage their egos and to handle the other pressures that come from living a fast life, eventually the magic began to fade and the two finally called it quits in 1956. After parting ways, both achieved great solo success: Martin becoming a member of the famous Rat Pack and Lewis a successful writer, producer, and director. Although they never really worked together again, Lewis maintains that he never stopped loving Dean Martin, and indeed this book is an adoring tribute to the man. (It may leave some readers wondering what Dean's side of the story would be.) Kathleen Hughes
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Doubleday; 1ST edition (October 25, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0767920864
• ISBN-13: 978-0767920865
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (122 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #495,093 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #9 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > People, A-Z > ( M ) > Martin, Dean

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

210 of 214 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars From The Founder of the Dean Martin Fan Center, November 1, 2005

By 

Neil T. Daniels (Arcadia, California USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dean and Me: (A Love Story) (Hardcover)

Growing up working for an executive at NBC, I was lucky to have known Dean Martin myself. Now, years later, as founder of the "Dean Martin Fan Center", I have met and heard from so many people who were close enough to know both Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis when they were a comedy/musical team who took the world by storm.

After entertaining the world for ten years through stage, radio, films, television and recordings, the public grew to love the team. Then, after a decade of burning up everything they touched, the duo became burned out themselves. Having to please the studio executives who wanted to keep the cash cow producing, their material became recycled. Martin and Lewis as individuals grew and saw beyond what they were doing. Those pressures and confining elements only led to animosity between each other, and finally wound up in divorce. As in any parting, not only did it hurt the two involved, but also their family and friends. The public was their 'extended' family-- and now each fan had to choose between taking Dean's side or Jerry's side, usually putting blame on the other partner for the breakup. The media took huge advantage of this.

When I first heard that Jerry was a writing his memoirs of those partnership years, I was more than a bit apprehensive. After all, Dean has already left this world and what would Jerry say about him? Would Jerry take credit for everything? Would Jerry somehow put blame for their breakup on his partner somehow? I finally got my advance copy sent overnight from the publisher. Amazingly, it wasn't the size of the Gutenberg Bible that I expected. I finished it in one sitting, actually waiting for something I didn't like or would find inacurate to blast on about. Guess what? I WAS SHOCKED -- Shocked to find that this book is honest, sincere, unbiased and does not put either Dean or Jerry into the spotlight -- rather it lights up the stage. It is a well written, well balanced, easy to read history, focusing on the duo as a "team". Their excitement... their worries... their amazement... their ups and their downs... their freedoms and their obstacles. Jerry ties together anecdotes and facts many of us heard before, with more focus and information, to have it all finally make sense. I don't impress easily when it comes to stories told (no matter who writes them), but as for "Dean and Me : A Love Story," this is the real deal. Finally -- an honest inside look at the exhilaration and ever mounting pressures Martin & Lewis experienced, always having to please everyone around them, except themselves.

James Kaplan, Jerry's co-writer, is absolutely marvelous in helping Lewis, not only get his message across, but making the reader feel the emotions inside along the way. He paints a picture with words. I would advise anyone wanting a first-hand look at Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, that this is the book to read.

- Neil T Daniels (...)

40 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One-sided or not, this is an excellent memoir!, November 15, 2005

By 

K. Corn "reviewer" (midwest, United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Dean and Me: (A Love Story) (Hardcover)

I was a bit skeptical when I saw this book, wondering if Mr. Lewis could put aside his ego long enough to give Dean his due. Perhaps time and age have softened his perspective beause this is an amazingly fine book and Lewis seems to speak honestly about the ups and downs in his relationship with Dean Martin, as well as his own shortcomings. There is a bittersweet quality to his reminiscences as well as a wistful, yearning tone. I got the sense that if he could do it over, he'd have reconnected with Dean more often before Martin died. Now it is too late for that and Lewis's sadness is palpable.

The book should satisfy fans of the two, as it covers everything from their very first days working together to the rockier moments when the magic no longer held and they went their separate ways. I've read numerous interviews of both Dean and Jerry but this is the most honest and open account thus far.

Admittedly, it IS a one-sided perspective, as Dean is no longer around to add his opinion. But Lewis is quite open, not glossing over the pros and cons of show business, about the overnight change from being relative unknowns to a heady life of parties, celebrity and the perks that came with that fame- adoring fans, plenty of women and their "bad boy" image that occasionally surfaced, since they could call the shots and set their own terms. It didn't always bring out the best in them.

Also, as successful as they were, both partners were constrained by their roles - Lewis as the perennial clown and Martin as the singer who served as the straight man alongside Lewis. While each one highlighted the others' talents, neither one got the opportunity to fully express their other talents...at least, not until they parted.

In the years to come, both Lewis and Martin would reveal that they could stand on their own as actors and Lewis seems to have come into his own particularly late in life, appearing in cameos and lead roles in some excellent movies.

It is unfortunate that they could't succeed in their separate careers while maintaining a close friendship. But they could not...at least, not until Martin appeared on one of the annual telethons hosted by Lewis. It was a bit awkward but the affection between the two was clear.

This book fills in the blanks and details up until that moment - and even beyond.

33 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "DEAN AND ME - A Love Story" IS A SENTIMENTAL JOURNEY!, November 13, 2005

By 

Carol Marsella "Songbirdie" (New Jersey) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dean and Me: (A Love Story) (Hardcover)

I am not a professional reviewer, but on this book, DEAN AND ME (A Love Story), I am compelled to speak up!

Having loved the comedy of Martin and Lewis all my life, I bought this book the very day it was released and enjoyed reading it so much that I am already reading it for the second time. (This is NOT like me!) Oh, it is not great literature, to be sure, but, my oh my, it is a wonderful story! And it really is a love story... It is a story of two regular guys who achieved the great American dream. It is, in fact, American History. It is also the story of a deep and abiding friendship and the realization that the friendship was a treasure far greater than the achievement of the childhood dreams of fame and fortune.

That is not all. It is also quite an entertaining read. Jerry Lewis, with James Kaplan's expert assistance, has written it as though he is sitting in your living room telling the story; he includes little sidebars and interesting tidbits about the times, the fashions, the mob, the rat pack, and many other celebrities. One of the most wonderful surprises of this book is that Mr. Lewis does not beat his readers over the head with the silliness we might have expected from him. He has, instead, written this story to honor his partner and the partnership and friendship they shared. He engages his readers from the first page and escorts them on a sentimental journey - from Martin and Lewis' humble beginnings and how they got their start in the big time to their infamous break up and some of what came thereafter, up to and including Dean Martin's broken heart (over the loss of his son, Dino, Jr. in a plane crash) which ultimately led to Dean's own death. Mr. Lewis includes parts of the story of their reconciliation and of their last encounter, only a short time before Dean passed away.

While he is clearly not telling this as a comedy, Jerry Lewis is, after all, the consummate classic entertainer, always conscious of what this audience is feeling. This shines through in his generous peppering of the book with stories of their early years and their mischievous antics, and the predicaments into which those antics led them on more than one occasion. He recounts it all in such a way that it consistently evoked remarkably vivid memories of their hilarious routines that had me laughing out loud throughout the entire read!

I cannot remember when I have had so much fun reading and then re-reading a memoir, a tribute!

I never say this type of thing, but... if you have ever been a fan of this greatest of the great comedy team, do yourself a favor and purchase this book! In my opinion, you will not be spending your hard earned money; you will be investing it. It is my belief that among the benefits and returns with which you will be delighted are: the wonderful memories, the discussions, the laughs, the conversations, and the out-and-out fun it will inspire within your heart, your home, and your social circle! You may even find yourself looking up an old friend...

Thank you for the laughter, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis. You have done it again... still!