Dean Martin put the limelight ahead of personal problems

His name is synonymous with The Rat Pack and Sin City itself. It is no wonder Las Vegas has a street named after the legendary Dean Martin.

Dean Martin Drive snakes its way through the southwest portion of the valley to just north of Flamingo Road, where it turns into its former name, Industrial Road. That section continues on across the valley, stopping just short of Charleston Boulevard.

Martin was born Dino Crocetti in 1917 in Steubenville, Ohio, to Italian immigrants. Until Martin began attending public school he only spoke Italian, a detail that made him no friends but did make him the subject of ridicule.

The youngest of two sons, Martin struggled in grade school because of his strong Italian accent.

Martin dropped out of school in the 10th grade to focus on drumming and began taking odd jobs delivering bootlegged liquor, boxing and working as a blackjack dealer.

Martin began singing around the same time and spent a good portion of the 1940s perfecting his style as a lounge act. It was then that he began calling himself Dino Martini, after a famous opera singer he idolized. It was also during that time that Martin began working with musician and band leader Sammy Watkins, who suggested that the crooner change his name to Dean Martin.

Martin met Frank Sinatra in 1943 after flopping at a New York nightclub. The two wouldn't form a substantial friendship for a number of years.

In 1944, Martin was drafted into the Army at the height of World War II. He was eventually discharged for medical reasons.

Martin met comic Jerry Lewis while performing in New York, and the pair formed a fast friendship, eventually deciding to meld their respective acts into a comedy-music duo.

The pair made their television debut in 1948. A radio series was quick to follow, as were movie deals.

The creative pair split in 1956.

Martin launched a solo career, doing movies and making albums in the late 1950s and throughout the 1960s. It was during that time that he formed a friendship with Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr.

The three joined with Joey Bishop and Peter Lawford and eventually became known as the Rat Pack.

The group performed at the Sands Hotel, singing and doing slapstick comedy as much for themselves as for the audience, according to University of Nevada, Las Vegas h istory p rofessor Eugene Moehring.

"It was all very good-natured and fun," he said. "I get the feeling they did it to entertain themselves and the audience. There was a brotherly love kind of thing going on there."

In 1965, Martin launched the variety television series, "The Dean Martin Show."

According to Moehring, Martin developed a reputation as an alcoholic, but his work always came first.

"He didn't allow that to affect his performing," he said.

In the early 1970s, the show was still doing well, and Martin was playing to sold-out crowds at nightclubs and casinos.

"He seemed to be tired at that point," Moehring said. "All stars reach that point. I think he was ready to somewhat retire."

After the 1975 film "Mr. Ricco," Martin retreated from the limelight.

Martin's final Las Vegas shows were at Bally's Las Vegas in 1990.

Martin was diagnosed with lung cancer in 1993 and died of acute respiratory failure at his home in Beverly Hills, Calif., on Dec. 25 1995. He was 78. Industrial Road was renamed Dean Martin Drive in October 2005. The lights of the Las Vegas Strip, which almost never go dark, were dimmed in the entertainer's honor.

"He is a legend and a true Las Vegas icon," Moehring said. "No doubt about it."

Contact Southwest and Spring Valley View reporter Amanda Donnelly at adonnelly@viewnews.com or 380-4535.