I was a big fan of Dean Martin's variety show. It was sloppy in its production values and sloppier in its edits and direction, and if I'd been a writer for it (a job I came semi-close to getting), I probably would have winced at how little rehearsal and polish went into the delivery of the material. But watching the show was often a pleasure, mostly because Dean was just so comfy and cool. It's difficult to take your eyes off him when he's on the screen alone…and when there was someone else there with him, it was usually someone interesting or gorgeous or both. Even though some of them were pretty big stars, Dean always seemed utterly unthreatened by them and totally devoted to making them look good.
A couple of times, I got to poach on the set of The Dean Martin Show and it all seemed like enormous fun…the kind that bleeds right through the TV screen to the home viewer. I never got to meet Dean but that was okay. A friend of mine who wrote for the show, the late Nick Arnold, told me he never met Dean, either. Every week though, he would ask the producer-director Greg Garrison, "How's Dean?" And every week, Garrison would give the same answer: "Dean's beautiful."
More DVDs are on their way. Here's a promotional video for them…
