55 Dean Martin Trivia Questions and Answers

Picture the stage: the lights come up, a man in a tuxedo slides down a fireman’s pole with a drink in his hand and a grin on his face, and before he’s sung a note the whole room is already smiling. That was Dean Martin — relaxed, unhurried, and acting as if the whole glamorous business of show business were the easiest thing in the world.

Behind the easy charm was a barber’s son from an Ohio steel town who sang, clowned, acted and hosted his way to the very top. These 55 questions trace his whole story — from Steubenville to the Rat Pack, from “That’s Amore” to the night he knocked the Beatles off the charts. The answer sits right under each question, so you can play along or read them aloud.

From Steubenville to the Spotlight

1. Dean Martin was a stage name. What name was he actually born with?

Dino Paul Crocetti.

2. In which Ohio steel town was he born and raised?

Steubenville.

3. In what year was he born?

1917.

4. His father worked a trade that many Italian immigrants took up. What was it?

He was a barber.

5. What was the family’s heritage?

Italian — his father had emigrated from Italy.

6. A bandleader gave him the name “Dean Martin” in 1940. Who was he?

Sammy Watkins.

7. Before “Dean Martin,” he performed for a while under another Italian-flavored stage name. What was it?

Dino Martini.

8. What nickname summed up his unbothered, effortless style?

“The King of Cool.”

The Years with Jerry

9. For about a decade Martin was half of one of the most popular comedy teams in America. Who was his partner?

Jerry Lewis.

10. In which seaside resort city did the team make its official debut in 1946, at the 500 Club?

Atlantic City, New Jersey.

11. Roughly how many years did Martin and Lewis stay a team?

About ten — from 1946 until they split in 1956.

12. In the act, which role did Martin play opposite Lewis’s zany clowning?

The smooth straight man and crooner.

13. The two men barely spoke for years after the breakup, then reconciled on live television in 1976. On whose broadcast did it happen?

Jerry Lewis’s Labor Day telethon.

The Songs Everybody Loved

14. His playful hit “That’s Amore” came out in 1953, introduced in which Martin and Lewis film?

The Caddy.

15. Who composed the music for “That’s Amore”?

Harry Warren, with lyrics by Jack Brooks.

16. “That’s Amore” earned a nomination for which major award?

The Academy Award for Best Original Song.

17. In 1956 he landed a song at the very top of the Billboard chart. Which one?

“Memories Are Made of This.”

18. How many weeks did “Memories Are Made of This” spend at No. 1?

Five weeks.

19. In 1964 “Everybody Loves Somebody” knocked a Beatles song out of the No. 1 spot. Which Beatles hit?

“A Hard Day’s Night.”

20. The man who co-wrote “Everybody Loves Somebody” later turned up at the piano on Dean’s TV show. Who was he?

Ken Lane.

21. His version of “Volare” reached No. 15 in the United States, but it climbed all the way to No. 2 in which country?

The United Kingdom.

22. “Ain’t That a Kick in the Head?” is heard in which 1960 Rat Pack film?

Ocean’s 11.

23. Who wrote “Ain’t That a Kick in the Head?”

Jimmy Van Heusen wrote the music and Sammy Cahn the lyrics.

The Rat Pack and the Silver Screen

24. What was the nickname for the freewheeling group Martin ran with alongside Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr.?

The Rat Pack.

25. Besides Sinatra, Davis and Martin, two other men were core members. Can you name them?

Peter Lawford and Joey Bishop.

26. In the original Ocean’s 11 (1960), what was the name of Martin’s character?

Sam Harmon.

27. In the Western Rio Bravo (1959) he played a down-on-his-luck deputy with what nickname?

“Dude.”

28. Which Western legend starred alongside him in Rio Bravo?

John Wayne.

29. In the war drama The Young Lions (1958) he shared the screen with Marlon Brando and which other acclaimed actor?

Montgomery Clift.

30. Some Came Running (1958) marked the first time he made a film with which fellow Rat Packer?

Frank Sinatra.

31. He played a wisecracking secret agent in a series of four spy spoofs. What was the character’s name?

Matt Helm.

One Day a Week: The Dean Martin Show

32. For nine seasons he hosted his own hugely popular variety hour on NBC. What was it called?

The Dean Martin Show.

33. The show began in 1965 and ran until what year?

1974.

34. How did Dean make his grand entrance at the top of each show?

He slid down a fireman’s pole onto the stage.

35. His famously relaxed contract spared him from one thing most TV stars had to do. What?

Rehearsing.

36. Which pianist, also a songwriter of one of Dean’s biggest hits, sat at the keyboard while Dean tried to crack him up?

Ken Lane.

37. After the variety show, he headlined a long-running series where he poked fun at famous guests. What was it called?

The Dean Martin Celebrity Roast.

38. Part of his act was to stroll out holding what, playing the happily tipsy crooner?

A cocktail — though in real life his drinking was reportedly quite disciplined.

39. His easygoing image hid one genuinely harmful lifelong habit. What was it?

Heavy smoking.

40. In 1966 he won a Golden Globe. In which category?

Best Actor in a Television Series (Musical or Comedy).

41. In 2009 he received a posthumous Grammy honoring his whole body of work. What was it?

The Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.

Family, Final Years and Legacy

42. How many children did Dean Martin have in all?

Eight.

43. How many times was he married?

Three times.

44. His second wife, to whom he was married from 1949 to 1973, shared nearly 25 years with him. What was her name?

Jeanne Biegger.

45. In 1987 he suffered a loss that devastated him — the death of one of his sons, himself a performer. What was that son’s name?

Dean Paul Martin.

46. How did Dean Paul die?

In a military jet crash while serving with the California Air National Guard.

47. On what date did Dean Martin himself pass away?

December 25, 1995.

48. That date made his passing fall on which holiday?

Christmas Day.

49. What was the cause of his death?

Acute respiratory failure linked to emphysema.

50. In 1993 he was diagnosed with a serious illness for which he declined surgery. What was it?

Lung cancer.

51. In which Los Angeles cemetery was he laid to rest?

Westwood Village Memorial Park.

52. How old was Dean Martin when he died?

Seventy-eight.

53. “The Door Is Still Open to My Heart,” a 1964 hit, reached which spot on the chart?

No. 6.

54. He recorded a beloved holiday collection whose title says it plainly. What is it called?

The Dean Martin Christmas Album.

55. Finally, which signature song is the one most people name first when they think of Dean Martin?

“Everybody Loves Somebody” — the record that pushed the Beatles aside in 1964.

Frequently asked questions

What was Dean Martin’s real name?

He was born Dino Paul Crocetti in Steubenville, Ohio, in 1917, the son of an immigrant barber. A bandleader renamed him Dean Martin in 1940.

What is Dean Martin’s most famous song?

“Everybody Loves Somebody” is the one most people name first — it reached No. 1 in 1964, knocking the Beatles’ “A Hard Day’s Night” off the top — though the playful “That’s Amore” runs a close second.

Did Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis ever make up?

They split in 1956 and barely spoke for 20 years, then reconciled on live television during Jerry Lewis’s Labor Day telethon in 1976.

Where can I find more music trivia like this?

Keep the records spinning with our Name That Tune oldies questions and answers, or visit another legend with our Patsy Cline trivia questions and answers.

Sources

• Dean Martin — Wikipedia
• Everybody Loves Somebody — Wikipedia
• That’s Amore — Wikipedia

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