Martini Man: The Life of Dean Martin
Schoell pleasantly recalls rodent number two in the Sinatra Rat Pack. Although Martin's movie roles receive much attention, details of Dino's personal life abound, such as how Shirley MacLaine dropped by his house "to tell Dean she was in love with him--even though his wife was in the other room." Schoell chronicles the partnership with Jerry Lewis that was Martin's ticket to the top, of course, including Dino's attempt, years after their famous parting of ways, to make peace with Lewis after noticing that the original Nutty Professor ducked out of sight whenever he saw Dino coming. Lewis agreed to a rapprochement but at their next near-meeting, ducked again. Then there is the matter of the Ding-a-ling Sisters, regulars on Martin's TV show. Pressured by women's groups, the show's producers toned down the innuendo and dumb-chick humor, only to ratchet it back up when ratings fell. Schoell's book reads Dino sympathetically, leaving Rat Pack sleaze-a-thon treatment awaiting another day.Mike Tribby