Deana Martin

Deana Martin
Martin in 2017
Born (1948-08-19) August 19, 1948
New York City, New York, U.S.
Alma materDartington College of Arts
Occupations
  • Singer
  • actress
Years active1966–present[1]
Spouse
John Griffeth
​
(m. 1990)​
FatherDean Martin
RelativesDean Paul Martin (half-brother)
Ricci Martin (half-brother)

Deana Martin (August 19, 1948[2]) is an American singer. She is the daughter of singer Dean Martin.

Film and television

Martin was born in Manhattan to Dean Martin and his first wife, Elizabeth Anne "Betty" McDonald. She moved to Beverly Hills, California, with her family by the age of one. She later went to live with her father and his second wife, Jeanne Biegger. During her childhood, it was not unusual for his Rat Pack friends, Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr., to visit. Being around them persuaded her to pursue a career in entertainment.[3]

Martin trained professionally at the Dartington College of Arts in the United Kingdom.[4] Her theatrical credits include Romeo and Juliet, The Taming of the Shrew, Hamlet, and A Taste of Honey.[5] She co-starred in the National Broadway tour of Neil Simon's play Star Spangled Girl with George Hamilton and Jimmy Boyd. Other starring roles include Wait Until Dark, 6 Rms Riv Vu, A Shot in the Dark, and The Tunnel of Love.[6] She made her major motion picture debut in Young Billy Young with Robert Mitchum, David Carradine, and Angie Dickinson.[7] This debut led to starring roles in the films Strangers at Sunrise with George Montgomery[8] and A Voice in the Night with Vito Scotti.[9]

She made her television debut in 1966 on The Dean Martin Show.[10][1] She was a frequent guest, performing in musical and comedy numbers with a wide array of entertainers, including Frank Sinatra.[11]

She also appeared on A&E Biography, Access Hollywood, CBS Sunday Morning, Country Music Television, E! Entertainment Television, Entertainment Tonight, Larry King Live, Live with Regis & Kelly, Sky Italia, The Bonnie Hunt Show, The Dating Game (where she chose Steve Martin as her date),[12] The Monkees, The Today Show, The Tony Danza Show, The Big Breakfast, and Bruce Forsyth On Vegas. For four seasons she hosted The Deana Martin Show.[13]

In 2003, Martin appeared with Jerry Lewis on The Jerry Lewis MDA Labor Day Telethon. Martin and Lewis sang "Time After Time".[14]

Since 2021, Martin has hosted Dean and Deana Martin's Nightcap on WABC-770 AM in New York.

Singing career

Martin began her recording career with producer Lee Hazlewood at Reprise Records. The recordings included her country music hit "Girl of the Month Club" while she was a teenager.[15][16] Other tunes were "When He Remembers Me", "Baby I See You", and "The Bottom of My Mind", all recorded during the 1960s. Musicians from the Wrecking Crew, including Glen Campbell, played on these recordings.

Memories Are Made of This was released in 2006.[17] She covered some of her father's hit songs, including the title cut and "Everybody Loves Somebody", "That's Amore", "Just Bummin' Around", and "For Your Love" written by her mother Betty Martin. She also sang a duet with her father's former comedy partner Jerry Lewis on "Time After Time."[18] The album was produced by her husband John Griffeth and reached the iTunes Top 10 chart, where it remained for 40 weeks throughout 2006 and 2007.

By 2008, after her tour, she was ready to record again. She went into the studio at Capitol Records with the same personnel to record Volare, released in 2009.[19] It debuted at number seven on the Billboard magazine Heat Seek chart, reached No. 22 on the magazine's Jazz Albums Chart, and appeared in the iTunes Top 10 chart.[16] The song "Volare" peaked at No. 40 in Billboard magazine.[20]

In 2011, Martin released White Christmas, her first album of holiday favorites. Joined by Andy Williams on the title track, Martin covered 10 of her favorite tunes, including "I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm", "Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!", and "Winter Wonderland".[21] She recorded with Al Schmitt, John Griffeth, and Charles Calello. The album was re-released the following year. Martin discussed this re-release with Brad "Martini" Chambers on his show Martini in the Morning on November 20, 2012.

A year later, Martin was back in the studio working on Destination Moon (2013). Her fourth album includes "Break It to Me Gently", "I Love Being Here With You", and "Beyond the Sea" and four new songs: "Read Between the Lines", "Where Did You Learn to Love Like That", "Paradise", and "Stuck in a Dream with Me". She sang a duet with her father on the Cole Porter song "True Love".[22][23] Swing Street was released in 2016.[24] She talked to Doug Miles about the album on his show.[25]

Honoring her father

For many years, Martin and her husband worked to encourage the state of Ohio to recognize the achievements of her father.[26] In 2001, Ohio Governor Bob Taft signed a bill which made June 7 Dean Martin Day.[27]

Martin performs her father's songs as well as favorite classic pop hits in symphony halls, performing arts centers, blues clubs, jazz clubs, and festivals.[28][29] She has performed at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, the Paramount Theatre in New York City, Coral Springs Center for the Arts in Florida, Harrah's Atlantic City, Rrazz Room in San Francisco, Salt Lake City Jazz Festival, Whisky a Go Go in Hollywood, The Sands in Macao, and Benaroya Hall and Symphony Hall in Seattle.[30]

In 2005, Martin was hired by Sirius/XM Satellite Radio. In 2013, she joined Tina Sinatra for her Father's Day Special with Natalie Cole, Monica Mancini, and Daisy Tormé reminiscing about their famous fathers.[31]

In her book Memories Are Made of This: Dean Martin Through His Daughter's Eyes,[32] she shares stories about the Rat Pack from a perspective of a young girl growing up around them. She talks about how her father handled his busy career, public performances, and his role as husband and father, and discusses losing her half-brother, Dean Paul Martin—aka Dino—in a plane crash. Martin writes about growing up around Marilyn Monroe, Elvis Presley, and the Beatles, going ballroom dancing with a young Jeff Bridges, and dating Davy Jones of The Monkees.[33] Her book reached the bestseller list at The New York Times,[22] and, as of September 2012, was the subject of a projected screen adaptation by actors Bonnie Hunt and Joe Mantegna,[34] with Hunt set to write the treatment, Jennifer Love Hewitt to portray Deana, and Mantegna to direct (the latter having himself previously portrayed the elder Martin in the HBO film The Rat Pack).[2][a]

In June 2017, Martin headlined a concert commemorating her father's 100th birthday. In an interview published that month, she acknowledged that "of course [the show features] a lot of Dean Martin music, plus 'Uncle' Frank Sinatra, 'Uncle' Sammy Davis Jr., Bobby Darin, a little Ella Fitzgerald. It's all the great songs and then, of course, my own songs. I always honor my dad and all of the music of the Great American Songbook."[37]

Personal life

Martin married film and music producer John Griffeth on February 7, 1990.[38] They had met on a blind date the previous year, and renewed their vows in 2015.[39]

Martin is also a licensed pilot. She was featured in a cover story for the magazine Twin Cessna Flyer and profiled in AOPA Pilot.[40][41]

Discography

  • Memories Are Made of This (Big Fish, 2006)
  • Volare (Big Fish, 2009)
  • White Christmas (Big Fish, 2011)
  • Destination Moon (Big Fish, 2013)
  • Swing Street (Big Fish, 2016)

Bibliography

  • Martin, Deana; Holden, Wendy (2010). Memories Are Made of This: Dean Martin Through His Daughter's Eyes. New York: Three Rivers Press. ISBN 978-1-4000-9833-0.

Notes

  1. ^ Although news stories citing the upcoming film appeared as late as January 2016—this time as one of a pair of related films (including both a straight documentary and the Hunter-scripted biopic)—with a planned 2017 release date to commemorate Dean Martin's centennial,[35] both the day and year of Dean Martin's birth came and went with no such film materializing; as of February 2026, Memories Are Made of This is still "categorized as in production" at IMDb.[36]

References

  1. ^ a b "Deana Martin: To Know Her Is To Love Her". Dean, Golds and Dings. August 19, 2013. Retrieved August 7, 2018.
  2. ^ a b Tulloch, Katrina (August 8, 2013). "Deana Martin to honor her father". The Post-Standard. p. C3. Retrieved February 15, 2026. "Martin has a birthday coming up on August 19, but hasn't had much time to think about how she's celebrating. At (almost) 65, her frenzied 2013 schedule includes 280 stops, which is, she admits, insane. [...] Martin's 2004 book, 'Memories Are Made Of This, Dean Martin Through His Daughter's Eyes,' is being made into a movie, directed by Joe Mantegna, who played Dean in the HBO movie 'The Rat Pack,' and written by actor/writer Bonnie Hunt. Jennifer Love Hewitt will play Deana 'because I'm too old to play me,' Martin joked. [...] The role of Deana's father is still up in the air, although she's mentioned in various interviews she'd like to see Johnny Depp in the role. Announcements for the movie's production date back to 2011, but timing doesn't matter to Martin as much as telling her father's story."
  3. ^ Nolasco, Stephanie (December 25, 2019). "Dean Martin's daughter Deana recalls growing up with 'the king of cool,' the Rat Pack and Jerry Lewis". Fox News. Retrieved December 25, 2019.
  4. ^ Stewart, Laura Milbrath (October 16, 2017). "Singer Deana Martin celebrates father Dean's legacy at the Arcada". Daily Herald. Retrieved August 7, 2018.
  5. ^ Musumeci, Amanda (June 12, 2014). "'Deana Sings Dino' coming to New Hope". Northeast Times. Retrieved August 7, 2018.
  6. ^ "Marin Center to Welcome Deana Martin, 5/10". BroadwayWorld. April 7, 2015. Retrieved August 7, 2018.
  7. ^ Martin & Holden 2010, p. 164.
  8. ^ Martin & Holden 2010, p. 167.
  9. ^ "Stage & Screen". DeanaMartin.com. Retrieved August 7, 2018.
  10. ^ "Deana Martin on the Legendary Dean Martin". WNYC. June 8, 2011. Retrieved August 7, 2018.
  11. ^ Carey, Gina (April 4, 2014). "Deana Martin Recalls Performing With 'King Of Cool' Dad Dean Martin (WATCH)". Huffington Post. Retrieved August 7, 2018.
  12. ^ "Steve Martin - Dating Game 1968". Youtube. November 2019.
  13. ^ Parisi, Nancy J. (December 12, 2014). "Deana Martin show filled with stories, song". The Buffalo News. Retrieved August 8, 2018.
  14. ^ Liebenson, Donald (September 5, 2016). "When Jerry Met Dean—Again, on Live Television". Vanity Fair. Retrieved August 8, 2018.
  15. ^ "Baby I See You". AllMusic. Retrieved August 7, 2018.
  16. ^ a b "Deana Martin Still Carries a Torch for Her Father Dean". East Valley Tribune. January 1, 2016. Retrieved July 19, 2018.
  17. ^ Siders, Harvey (December 1, 2006). "Deana Martin: Memories Are Made of This". JazzTimes. Retrieved August 7, 2018.
  18. ^ Martin, Deana; Parker, Ryan (August 23, 2017). "Dean Martin's Daughter on Jerry Lewis' Bond With Her Father: "They Were Like Brothers"". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 7, 2018.
  19. ^ "Volare". AllMusic. Retrieved May 21, 2015.
  20. ^ "Deana Martin". Billboard. Retrieved August 7, 2018.
  21. ^ "A Dean and Deana Martin Christmas". www.vocalstandards.com. December 15, 2011. Retrieved May 21, 2018.
  22. ^ a b Edge, For The (February 20, 2014). "Deana Martin". The Edwardsville Intelligencer. Retrieved August 7, 2018.
  23. ^ Loudon, Christopher (April 5, 2014). "Deana Martin: Destination Moon". JazzTimes. Retrieved August 7, 2018.
  24. ^ Brungardt, Leah (November 21, 2016). "An interview with legendary singer and rat pack member Dean Martin's entertainer daughter Deana Martin". allaccess.com. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
  25. ^ "A conversation with singer/actress/author Deana Martin January 27, 2016". dougmilesmedia.com. January 28, 2016. Retrieved August 7, 2018.
  26. ^ "Dean Martin Festival – Steubenville". Ohio Festivals. June 19, 2010. Retrieved May 21, 2015.
  27. ^ Martin & Holden 2010, p. 283.
  28. ^ Tulloch, Katrina (August 6, 2013). "Deana Martin to honor father, Dean, at Turning Stone tribute performance". syracuse.com. Retrieved August 7, 2018.
  29. ^ Clinglas, Carol (December 19, 2013). "Deana Martin Christmas Show will feature songs, stories from famous dad". Reviewjournal.com. Retrieved May 21, 2015.
  30. ^ Heckman, Don (May 6, 2014). "Live Music: Deana Martin at Vibrato Grill Jazz…etc". The International Review of Music. Retrieved August 7, 2018.
  31. ^ "Sirius XM Radio Inc: Tina Sinatra to Host a Father's Day Special on SiriusXM's Siriusly Sinatra Channel | 4-Traders". 4-traders.com. June 14, 2013. Retrieved August 8, 2018.
  32. ^ Elfman, Doug (July 15, 2013). "Deana Martin: Dad was 'amazing guy'". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved August 7, 2018.
  33. ^ "Memories Are Made of This". Publishersweekly.com. September 9, 2004. Retrieved July 29, 2018.
  34. ^ Burger, David (September 1, 2012). "Despite economic woes, Salt Lake Jazz Festival plays on". Salt Lake City Tribune. ProQuest 1037946498. Besides being on the road 280 days a year to perform, she is working with actors Bonnie Hunt and Joe Mantegna on adapting her 2005 memoir Memories Are Made of This into a film. Martin already has ideas about who might portray her in the movie. When she was performing at the legendary Feinstein's at Loews Regency in New York City last year, Martin talked to the crowd about the film. If she had her choice, she told the crowd, she would tap Jennifer Love Hewitt. All of sudden, from the back of the venue, a voice yelled, "I'll do it!" Coincidentally, Hewitt was in the audience.
  35. ^ Cordova, Randy (January 19, 2016). "Singer reflects on her legendary father ahead of Chandler concert". Arizona Republic. ProQuest 1758314624. Her emotions may be running high for a while. 2017 will mark the 100th anniversary of her father's birth. To commemorate the centennial, she says she is working on two films about her dad. One is a documentary; the other will feature Joe Mantegna playing the older Martin. Actress Bonnie Hunt is writing the screenplay.
  36. ^ "Memories Are Made of This (In development: More at IMDbPro)". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved February 16, 2026. "Note: Because this project is categorized as in development, the data is only available on IMDbPro and is subject to change."
  37. ^ Jones, Jay (June 14, 2017). "Daughter Deana Martin and Las Vegas to mark Dean Martin's 100th year". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 8, 2018.
  38. ^ Martin & Holden 2010, p. 235.
  39. ^ Benns, Matthew (February 17, 2015). "Now that's amore! Deana Martin renews wedding vows on Sydney Harbour with husband John". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on July 16, 2022. Retrieved August 7, 2018.
  40. ^ "Deana Martin (daughter of icon Dean Martin) joined me". Get the Funk Out. November 2013. Retrieved February 2026. "She has been profiled in publications such as Jazz Times, with a feature story in July 2008 AOPA (one of the US's top selling Aviation magazines), [...] and, being an accomplished pilot, Deana was also featured as a cover story for Twin Cessna Flyer."
  41. ^ "Pilots: Deana Martin". AOPA. July 4, 2026. Retrieved February 16, 2026. "Deana found that she could take the airlines, but small airplanes like the ones Dino used to take her up in made her palms sweat. Then she started flying with her husband, John Griffeth. 'We would go up and fly a little bit and I would see how incredible he was' [Eventually, Griffith said] ‘I would feel better if you could land the plane if something happened to me.’ [...] She started flying lessons in a Cessna 172 in Santa Monica. [...] In 2003 she earned her private pilot certificate. Today she and Griffeth own a Cessna 310, which they take to her entertainment bookings within 500 miles of their new home in Branson, Missouri."
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