Dean Paul Martin
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Dean Paul Martin Jr. (born Dino Paul Crocetti Jr.; November 17, 1951 – March 21, 1987) was an American pop singer and film and television actor. A member of the
California Air National Guard The California Air National Guard (CA ANG) is one of three components of the California National Guard, a reserve of the United States Air Force, and part of the National Guard of the United States. As militia units, the units in the Californi ...
, Martin died in a crash during a military training flight. He was the son of entertainer
Dean Martin Dean Martin (born Dino Paul Crocetti; June 7, 1917 – December 25, 1995) was an American singer, actor, and comedian. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Cool", he is regarded as one of the most popular entertainers of ...
.


Early life

Martin's parents were the singer and entertainer
Dean Martin Dean Martin (born Dino Paul Crocetti; June 7, 1917 – December 25, 1995) was an American singer, actor, and comedian. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Cool", he is regarded as one of the most popular entertainers of ...
and his second wife, Jeanne Biegger. Dean Paul was the fifth of Dean Martin's eight children and Jeanne's eldest son. He attended the Urban Military Academy in Brentwood, California. As a youth, he was encouraged toward a singing career.


Career


Music

At age 13, he joined Desi Arnaz Jr. and
Billy Hinsche William Hinsche (June 29, 1951 – November 20, 2021) was an American musician who was a co-founding member of the singing trio Dino, Desi & Billy and a keyboardist for the Beach Boys' backing band. Early life Hinsche was born in Manila, the Ph ...
in the pop group Dino, Desi & Billy, which had a few minor hits in the US in 1965, entering the ''Billboard'' U.S. top 30 twice with "I'm a Fool" (#17) and "Not the Lovin' Kind" (#25).


Tennis

Martin began to go by his given name of Dean Paul instead of the nickname "Dino" in his late teens. He became a successful tennis player who competed in the qualifying competition for
Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * W ...
.


Acting

He co-starred with
Ali MacGraw Elizabeth Alice MacGraw (born April 1, 1939) is an American actress. For her role in '' Goodbye, Columbus'' (1969) she won a Golden Globe Award for Most Promising Newcomer. She then starred in '' Love Story'' (1970), for which she was nominate ...
in the
1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...
film '' Players'', playing a professional tennis player, for which he was nominated for a
Golden Globe Award The Golden Globe Awards are awards presented for excellence in both international film and television. It is an annual award ceremony held since 1944 to honor artists and professionals and their work. The ceremony is normally held every Janua ...
as New Star of the Year – Actor. He later starred in the TV series '' Misfits of Science'', broadcast during the 1985-1986 television season. The series co-starred Courteney Cox. His final film appearance was in '' Backfire'', co-starring Karen Allen and
Keith Carradine Keith Ian Carradine ( ; born August 8, 1949) is an American actor. In film he is known for his roles as Tom Frank in Robert Altman's ''Nashville'', E. J. Bellocq in Louis Malle's ''Pretty Baby'', and Mickey in Alan Rudolph's '' Choose Me.'' ...
, released in 1988 after Martin's death. The film was dedicated to his memory.


Aviation

Martin, an avid pilot, obtained his pilot's license at age 16 and became an officer in the
California Air National Guard The California Air National Guard (CA ANG) is one of three components of the California National Guard, a reserve of the United States Air Force, and part of the National Guard of the United States. As militia units, the units in the Californi ...
in 1980. He entered active duty for officer training in the
U.S. Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its origins to 1 ...
under the Palace Chase program (permitting direct entry into the
Air National Guard The Air National Guard (ANG), also known as the Air Guard, is a Reserve components of the United States Armed Forces, federal military reserve force of the United States Air Force, as well as the air militia (United States), militia of each U.S. ...
or
Air Force Reserve The Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC) is a major command (MAJCOM) of the United States Air Force, with its headquarters at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia. It is the federal Air Reserve Component (ARC) of the U.S. Air Force, consisting of commis ...
), was commissioned as a second lieutenant and completed pilot training at Columbus AFB, Mississippi, in 1981. Following transition training in the
F-4 Phantom II The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II is an American tandem two-seat, twin-engine, all-weather, long-range supersonic jet interceptor and fighter-bomber that was developed by McDonnell Aircraft for the United States Navy.Swanborough and Bower ...
jet fighter Fighter aircraft (early on also ''pursuit aircraft'') are military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat. In military conflict, the role of fighter aircraft is to establish air superiority of the battlespace. Domination of the air ...
at Homestead AFB, Florida, in the 308th Tactical Fighter Squadron, he was assigned to the California Air National Guard's 196th Tactical Fighter Squadron, 163rd Tactical Fighter Group at
March AFB March Air Reserve Base (March ARB), previously known as March Air Force Base (March AFB), is located in Riverside County, California, between the cities of Riverside, Moreno Valley, and Perris. It is the home to the Air Force Reserve Comm ...
, California, flying the F-4C Phantom II as a part-time Air National Guardsman. He eventually rose to the rank of
captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...
.


Death

During a March 21, 1987 training mission from March AFB, Martin's F-4 jet crashed in California's
San Bernardino Mountains The San Bernardino Mountains are a high and rugged mountain range in Southern California in the United States. Situated north and northeast of San Bernardino and spanning two California counties, the range tops out at at San Gorgonio Mountain ...
during a snowstorm, killing him and his weapons systems officer, Captain Ramon Ortiz. Martin was 35 years old. Officials stated that Martin's jet plunged approximately 4,000 feet from its last radar altitude reading of 9,300 feet and hit the side of the mountain at approximately 400 miles per hour. The plane's wreckage was found on the east side of Wood Canyon in Riverside County. As per reports from Air National Guard and the Air Force, Martin may have experienced vertigo in a snowstorm and did not hear the command from the Ontario Airport controller to change directions to avoid the mountain peak. His remains were interred at the Los Angeles National Cemetery, a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs cemetery, in
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
,
California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
.


Personal life

Martin married the actress
Olivia Hussey Olivia Hussey (; 17 April 1951 – 27 December 2024) was a British actress. Her awards included a Golden Globe Award and a David di Donatello Award. The daughter of Argentine tango singer Osvaldo Ribó, Hussey was born in Buenos Aires but spen ...
in 1971.
-
They had one child, Alexander (b. 1973), and divorced in 1978. He married the Olympic gold medalist ice skater
Dorothy Hamill Dorothy Stuart Hamill (born July 26, 1956) is a retired American figure skater. She is the 1976 Olympic champion and 1976 World champion in ladies' singles. Early life Hamill was born in Chicago, Illinois, to Chalmers and Carol Hamill. Her fat ...
in 1982, and they divorced in 1984. Martin also dated
Candice Bergen Candice Patricia Bergen (born May 9, 1946) is an American actress. She won five Primetime Emmy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards as the title character on '' Murphy Brown'' (1988–1998, 2018). She is also known for her role as Shirley Schmi ...
and Tina Sinatra.


References


External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Martin, Dean Paul 1951 births 1987 deaths Accidental deaths in California American male television actors American people of English descent American people of Italian descent American male pop singers Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents in the United States Burials at Los Angeles National Cemetery Musicians from Santa Monica, California Actors from Santa Monica, California 20th-century American male actors 20th-century American singers 20th-century American male singers United States Air Force officers Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1987 Dean Martin American male tennis players Tennis players from California