Dino Paul Crocetti (born June 7, 1917 in Steubenville, Ohio; died December 25, 1995 in Beverly Hills, California), better known as Dean Martin and often referred to as the King of Cool, was an Italian American singer, actor, comedian and member of The Rat Pack who was signed to
Frank Sinatra 's Reprise Records. Despite the fact that Martin couldn't read music, he recorded more than 100 albums over his career, racking up major hits such as That's Amore, Volare and his signature tune Everybody Loves Somebody. He was also a successful film actor and won a Golden Globe nomination for his performance in Who Was That Lady?.
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Born Dino Paul Crocetti in Steubenville, Ohio to Italian immigrant parents, Gaetano and Angela Crocetti (née Barra). His father was an immigrant from Abruzzo, Italy, and his mother was an Italian of part Neapolitan and part Sicilian ancestry. Martin was the younger of two sons. His brother was called Bill. Martin spoke only Italian until he started school at the age of five. He attended Grant Elementary School in Steubenville, Ohio and took up the drums as a hobby as a teenager. He was the target of much ridicule for his broken English and ultimately dropped out from Steubenville High School in the 10th grade because he thought that he was smarter than his teachers. He delivered bootleg liquor, served as a speakeasy croupier, wrote crafty anecdotes, was a blackjack dealer, worked in a steel mill and boxed as welterweight. He grew up a neighbor to Jimmy the Greek.
At the age of 15, he was a boxer who billed himself as "Kid Crochet". His prizefighting years earned him a broken nose (later straightened), a scarred lip, and many sets of broken knuckles (a result of not being able to afford the tape used to wrap boxers' hands).
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