Trigger Warning: This article contains mention of death.
Late singer and actor Dean Martin never recovered from his oldest son Dean Paul Martin Jr.’s tragic death, who passed away at age 35 on March 21, 1987, in a crash during a military training flight.
Author William Keck revealed in his latest memoir, When You Step Upon a Star: Cringeworthy Confessions of a Tabloid Bad Boy, that the late actor was suffering from a ‘broken heart’ after losing his son. Read on to know more details.
Dean Martin never recovered from his oldest son, Dean Paul Martin Jr.’s death
In a recent interview with Fox News, author William Keck recalled how the late legendary entertainer Dean Martin’s final years were very sorrowful after losing his son Dean Paul Martin Jr. The outlet noted that Keck shared that he was eager to protect the singer.
The author told the outlet that Martin was as genuinely kind, just as he appeared on television, and he always greeted him warmly when they met and would always tell him, “I’ll be back on that stage one day, ‘you’ll see me.’ But he was done.”
The report further mentioned that Keck detailed in his new memoir When You Step Upon a Star: Cringeworthy Confessions of a Tabloid Bad Boy, that his son’s death had a “huge impact” on The Stooge movie actor. He said that everyone who knew him would agree that losing his son was devastating for him, noting that Rich Little, a close friend, said, “Once he lost his son, that was the end of him. That was a big part of him that died and never recovered.”
William Keck recalled attending the late singer Dean Martin’s funeral
Dean Martin was one of the most revered artists of his generation, he earned tremendous fame throughout his celebrated career. Martin died in 1995, on Christmas Day at the age of 78.
William Keck told the outlet that they made sure to attend Martin’s funeral, noting it was a private VIP service attended by many celebrities, who came to pay their heartfelt tributes.
He further mentioned that during the service, there was a moment when it became dark, and the only sound was Rosemary Clooney, George Clooney’s aunt, singing Everybody Loves Somebody, noting that this experience was “surreal,” saying, “In the end, it was a friend paying tribute to him.”
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Dean Martin was a proud father to his eight children. He welcomed his late son, Dean Paul Martin, with his former wife Jeanne Biegger on November 17, 1951. However, he sadly passed away on March 21, 1987, in a tragic plane crash.
