Memories Are Made of This: Dean Martin Through His Daughter's Eyes Ebook Tooltip Ebooks kunnen worden gelezen op uw computer en op daarvoor geschikte e-readers.

"I have to say I loved reading what Deana wrote—maybe because she bit the bullet, she was courageous, up-front, tenacious, and so totally forthright. I read it with tremendous pride and love, and I know other readers will feel the same emotions I felt. I love this author for a myriad of reasons, but especially for how she has honored my partner."—from the Foreword by Jerry Lewis

“From her heart, Deana Martin has told a frank and honest account of what her life was like with her famous father and family. It has been a wild ride, with lots of ups and downs, written with honesty, love, and understanding.” —Regis Philbin

"Dean Martin was the unique star who attained success in all of the entertainment media—movies, TV, recordings, concerts, and radio. His daughter Deana gives us something else that is also unique in this revealing book about growing up as the daughter of a true legend. Here's to you Dean. I've got the booze, you get the ice." —Don Rickles

With warmth, humor, and unabashed candor, Deana Martin has written a moving, often surprising portrait of an icon, as seen through the eyes of his loving daughter.

So begins Deana Martin's captivating and heartfelt memoir of her father, the son of an Italian immigrant from modest beginnings who worked his way to the top of the Hollywood firmament to become one of the greatest stars of all time.

Charming, debonair, and impeccably attired in a black tuxedo, Dean Martin was coolness incarnate. His music provided the soundtrack of romance, and his image captivated movie and television audiences for more than fifty years. His daughter Deana was among his most devoted fans, but she also knew a side of him that few others ever glimpsed.

In this heartfelt memoir, Deana recalls the constantly changing blended family that marked her youth, along with the unexpected moments of silliness and tenderness that this unusual Hollywood family shared. She candidly reveals the impact of Dean’s fame and characteristic aloofness, but delights in sharing wonderful, never-before-told stories about her father and his pallies known as the Rat Pack. This enchanting account of life as the daughter of one of Hollywood’s sexiest icons will leave you entertained, delighted, and nostalgic for a time gone by.

From Publishers Weekly:
In this evenhanded biography of her famous father, Deana Martin acknowledges that Dean "wasn't a good father, but he was a good man." The youngest child of four from Dean Martin's marriage to his first wife, Betty MacDonald, the author recalls how her mother began drinking so heavily that Dean's new wife, Jeanne Biegger, eventually took Betty's three girls in (Betty's son was living with his grandparents) and brought them up along with the three children she had with Dean. Martin details her father's life from his teenage years as a card dealer to his first Atlantic City gig with Jerry Lewis, offering her own observations along the way ("A glass of apple juice masquerading as scotch in his hand, he perfected a role that was going to become... indistinguishable from the real Dean Martin"). Perhaps Martin forgives her emotionally detached father too quickly, as when he doesn't show up at her first live theater performance ("I guess Dad felt that with so many children, if he did it for one, he would have spent his whole life doing it for the others"). But in the end, hers is a heartfelt and honest portrait of a mysterious father.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist:
With Holden's help, the daughter of one of the most successful mid-twentieth-century entertainers makes quite a treat of her account of growing up chaotically amid A-list celebs. Of her father, his feminine namesake (her name rhymes with the queen of the jungle's) says that he wasn't a good father, but he was a good man. He left her and her siblings with his mentally deteriorating first wife, and after she abandoned them and they went to live with him and his kindly new wife, his workaholic ways made him absent a lot. Still, when he was around, he was affectionate and even indulgent, hence, a good man, and the book breezes along on a stream of happy anecdotes about him and his eventually large family (Deana got a passel of half-siblings) and their relations with the family of his famous confrere, Frank Sinatra, and scarcely lesser luminaries. Martin left wife two, too, setting a pattern his children have followed with their spouses while remaining lovingly loyal to one another. Ray Olson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

From Kirkus Review:
Martin recalls her father—“the King of Cool,” as hew was designated by Elvis Presley—with clear-eyed affection and understanding.

Martin, who could have been embittered by her sometimes rocky relations with her father, instead displays remarkable understanding of his complex temperament. An unemotional man, Dean disliked small talk and enjoyed golf because it was a game he could play without too much social interaction. He was disciplined and actually drank very little, though he gained a reputation as a drunk because he sometimes acted that way. Despite his success and wealth, Martin observes, he was “sometimes happiest when left alone.” She first describes Dean’s early career as a touring band singer, his marriage to her mother Betty, his association with Jerry Lewis, and his move to Hollywood. In 1949, when Martin was only a few months old, Dean left Betty for Jeanne, who became his second wife. For nine years, Martin and her three older siblings saw very little of their father. Life with their mother, at first a round of glamorous parties, grew grim as Betty’s drinking increased and the money evaporated; they moved into increasingly smaller homes, and elder sister Gina handled the childcare and housekeeping. In 1957, realizing that Betty could no longer care for her children, their Aunt Anne took them to Dean’s house. He got custody, and they would see very little of Betty in the years to come. Grateful for the stability and the opportunities stepmother Jeanne provided for them, Martin recalls the high points of those years: parties attended by Marilyn Monroe, meetings with Elvis and the Beatles, movie premieres. She deftly describes Dean’s Las Vegas acts, his hit songs (“Volare,” “That’s Amore,” etc.), and films like Ocean’s Eleven, a testament to his membership in the Rat Pack, and his close friendship with Frank Sinatra.

Warts and all, but noted with love.