The Desi in the1960s boy band
Dino, Desi, and Billy was
Desi Arnaz Jr., of course, and the Dino was Dean Paul Martin (left), the 13-year old son of
Rat Packer Dean Martin. Dino was very rich, very famous, and very talented, but not very focused. He was good at so many things that he couldn't decide on one.
After his group disbanded, Dino played professional tennis and semi-pro football; he got his pilot's license; he studied medicine and joined the National Guard. He started calling himself Dean Paul instead of Dino. He changed into a blond. He developed a spectacular physique.
And he acted, of course. Not a lot -- he was too busy. 7 movies, mostly in roles as playboys or a woman's illcit lover; some guest spots on tv shows (including his Dad's
Dean Martin Comedy Hour), and some "as himself" appearances on talk shows and game shows.
Dean's least heterosexist role was in
Misfits of Science (1985-88), part of the mid-1980s fad for science fiction comedies (others included
Automan, Max Headroom, and
The Greatest American Hero). He played Dr. Billy Hayes, a young scientist who travels around in an ice cream truck with a group of mutants with weird powers. 15 episodes appeared during the 1985-85 season, and another in 1988. A lot of homoerotic buddy-bonding (notice the number of people who can't keep their hands to themselves in this photo), and not a lot of heterosexual machinations.
Dean was married to women twice, briefly, but rumor has it that he enjoyed the company of men and women both. He appeared in a 1979 issue of
After Dark, the interview-and-revealing photo magazine aimed primarily at an audience of gay men.
He died in 1987 when the small plane he was flying crashed. His son, Alexander Martin, is also an actor.
See also:
The Gay Rat Pack; Cesar Tells
about His Hookup with Desi Arnaz Jr.
