The performance style of Dean Martin

For me to fully discuss the way Dean Martin performs with the Ratpack I must first speak of his act before the Ratpack and how he changed. Dean Martin started as a solo act before he was joined by Jerry Lewis. Once the pair split up he found his audience were not as supportive of his act as they had been and so his act changed. His new acting persona intensified and gained form when Frank came on the scene, when the Ratpack began.

Dean Martin, when he and Jerry Lewis were a double act, was the more serious half of the double act, even if it was tongue in cheek. In contrast to Lewis who cantered around the stage cracking jokes and clowning around, winning the hearts of his audience, Martin kept the show rolling so to speak, brushing off practical jokes with one-liners, getting on with the main material of the act. They often played with the band, making them stop or speed up just to provoke a reaction and of course, as always, entertaining the audience. Martin often indulged his partners capering by joining in much to the audiences’ delight. It was for his tongue-in-cheek seriousness that Martin was known and loved by his audience. I believe that this duos impact on the world of entertainment was so powerful because of the contrast between the acts of the two performers. Lewis put Martin’s act into context and vice versa. Lewis often played with pronunciation and disjointed his sentences which often threw Martin off. The pair would bounce off each other reacting quicker than the audience could keep up which kept the audience on their toes.

Dean Martin’s voice was very versatile and seemed to come so easily. One minute he was bent double, laughing along with Lewis or Sinatra, the next he was composed and singing as normal. It seemed his singing voice was separate to the rest of him because his voice did not waver. He could sing songs which varied from That’s Amore, which played on his Italian heritage by singing in his native language and strengthening his accent, to King of the Road, in which he played with the audience, emphasizing words or changing them altogether.

When Lewis and Martin disbanded, Dean found his act was not liked as much without Lewis’ silly antics to give it meaning. The serious act was not nearly as funny without the silliness of its counterpart. He did not, however, ‘change his voice, [just] what he did with it’ (Levy; pg 47). He went from performing seriously to acting in a much more carefree manner. The overall standard of the performance did not change, but his attitude to the act did. He viewed it in a more casual light which made him seem much more comfortable with the material he was performing. The once sober, serious performer created a new stage persona by acting drunk and interrupting his own act.

He could have gone on from this turning point with what would probably have been a very successful solo career. He did not, however, because before he could fully establish himself as a solo artist he was ‘teamed, unofficially [...], with Frank’ (levy; pg 47). Dean was lazy as a performer, lucky breaks tended to show up and announce themselves to him, which says to me that Martin was happy to forgo the solo career as a partner would take some, or most in Martin’s case, of the pressures of organising himself, finding the work and generally motivating him into action.

Martin’s material was always much ‘queerer [...] than Frank[s]’ (Levy; pg 52). While Sinatra’s numbers were serious ballads and love songs, Martin’s were fun ‘novelty’ (Levy; pg 52) songs. Frank often interrupted Martin’s songs with one-liners and witty remarks. Martin could carry on singing while this went on and, if you were not watching, would hear no difference, but his whole posture seemed to change from ‘singer’ to ‘showman’, like he is being reminded that they are there to have fun.

Martin was a very good dancer. Which added more individuality to his performance style as he would randomly break into dance either on his own or with the others (being Sinatra, Davies Jr or Lewis).


I believe that martin’s ability to keep a straight face when his co-stars, first Jerry Lewis and later both Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davies Jr, are joking and throwing in wisecracks make him a stronger performer than most, if not all, the other Rat Packers. He is often the one left singing while the others are doubled over in laughter. He is conscious of his audience as something to be wary of. I believe he remembers how they snubbed him after his break-up with Jerry Lewis. This, however, is speculation on my part as he never falters while on stage and shows no signs of stage fright.

The performing style of Dean Martin changed to fit his surroundings. He was serious to Lewis’ clown-like routine yet still managed to keep the audience laughing. His stage presence grew in the brief time that he was a soloist due to the fact that it needed to change to recapture his audiences’ affections. His act remained the same when he and Sinatra merged acts as the two fitted together easily and worked well. He was always ahead of the game, first to recover from jokes and tricks and always thinking about his audience. I think this last statement is the most important factor of Dean Martin’s performance style as it is woven into everything he did on stage.