The Dean Martin Show Dean Martin

martin , florence henderson in dean martin show (1968)

in 1965, martin launched weekly nbc comedy-variety series, dean martin show, ran 264 episodes until 1974. won golden globe award best actor - television series musical or comedy in 1966 , nominated again following 3 years. show exploited image carefree boozer. martin capitalized on laid-back persona of half-drunk crooner, hitting on women remarks else slapped, , making snappy if slurred remarks fellow celebrities during roasts. during interview on british tv documentary wine, women , song, aired in 1983, stated, perhaps tongue-in-cheek, had record them on cassette tape listen them. tv show success. show s loose format featured quick-witted improvisation martin , weekly guests. prompted battle between martin , nbc censors, insisted on more scrutiny of content. show in top ten. martin, appreciative of show s producer, friend greg garrison, made handshake deal giving garrison, pioneer tv producer in 1950s, 50% of show. however, validity of ownership subject of lawsuit brought nbcuniversal.

despite martin s reputation drinker – perpetuated via vanity license plate drunky – alcohol use quite disciplined. first call night, , when not on tour or on film location, liked go home see wife , children. borrowed lovable-drunk shtick joe e. lewis, convincing portrayals of heavy boozers in came running , howard hawks s rio bravo led unsubstantiated claims of alcoholism. martin starred in , co-produced 4 matt helm superspy comedy adventures during time, number of westerns. 1970s, dean martin show still earning solid ratings, , although no longer top 40 hitmaker, record albums continued sell. found way make passion golf profitable offering signature line golf balls , dean martin tucson open event on golf s pga tour 1972–75. @ death, martin reportedly single largest minority shareholder of rca stock.

now comfortable financially, martin began reducing schedule. final (1973–74) season of variety show retooled 1 of celebrity roasts, requiring less involvement. after show s cancellation, nbc continued air dean martin celebrity roast format in series of tv specials through 1984. in 11 years, martin , panel of pals made fun of stars in order: ronald reagan, hugh hefner, ed mcmahon, william conrad, kirk douglas, bette davis, barry goldwater, johnny carson, wilt chamberlain, hubert humphrey, carroll o connor, monty hall, jack klugman & tony randall, zsa zsa gabor, leo durocher, truman capote, don rickles, ralph nader, jack benny, redd foxx, bobby riggs, george washington, dan rowan & dick martin, hank aaron, joe namath, bob hope, telly savalas, lucille ball, jackie gleason, sammy davis, jr., michael landon, evel knievel, valerie harper, muhammad ali, dean martin himself, dennis weaver, joe garagiola, danny thomas, angie dickinson, gabe kaplan, ted knight, peter marshall, dan haggerty, frank sinatra, jack klugman, jimmy stewart, george burns, betty white, suzanne somers, joan collins, kent mccord, martin milner, , mr. t.