Product Description
They were the unlikeliest of pairs—a handsome crooner and a skinny monkey, an Italian from Steubenville, Ohio, and a Jew from Newark, N.J.. Before they teamed up, Dean Martin seemed destined for a mediocre career as a nightclub singer, and Jerry Lewis was dressing up as Carmen Miranda and miming records on stage. But the moment they got together, something clicked—something miraculous—and audiences saw it at once.
Before long, they were as big as Elvis or the Beatles would be after them, creating hysteria wherever they went and grabbing an unprecedented hold over every entertainment outlet of the era: radio, television, movies, stage shows, and nightclubs. Martin and Lewis were a national craze, an American institution. The millions (and the women) flowed in, seemingly without end—and then, on July 24, 1956, ten years from the day when the two men joined forces, it all ended.
After that traumatic day, the two wouldn’t speak again for twenty years. And while both went on to forge triumphant individual careers—Martin as a movie and television star, recording artist, and nightclub luminary (and charter member of the Rat Pack); Lewis as the groundbreaking writer, producer, director, and star of a series of hugely successful movie comedies—their parting left a hole in the national psyche, as well as in each man’s heart.
In a memoir by turns moving, tragic, and hilarious, Jerry Lewis recounts with crystal clarity every step of a fifty-year friendship, from the springtime, 1945 afternoon when the two vibrant young performers destined to conquer the world together met on Broadway and Fifty-fourth Street, to their tragic final encounter in the 1990s, when Lewis and his wife ran into Dean Martin, a broken and haunted old man.
In Dean &Me, Jerry Lewis makes a convincing case for Dean Martin as one of the great—and most underrated—comic talents of our era. But what comes across most powerfully in this definitive memoir is the depth of love Lewis felt, and still feels, for his partner, and which his partner felt for him: truly a love to last for all time. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (110)

A Very Good Read
I think the book was a great read and well written.I found it interesting and had a hard time putting it down.Because of this book I wanted to learn even more about Dean.Maybe I also just didn't want the book to end.Although there are wonderful stories within the book, this book is rare in that it's really a Hollywood love story written about one man's love for another man and they are both straight. One would have to admit that this is rare for Hollywood.

Buy the book.I promise you will enjoy it and will learn things about both Dean and Jerry that I bet you never knew.

One of the best. A rollercoaster of emotions.. Plus some great pictures.
This is the story of Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis. One of the highest paid comedy act's of the 50's. For a decade they charmed audiences all over the world with wild antics, live skits and some great songs. The duo starred in sixteen movies and several different radio and television spots during their time together. They were more than just a comedy team though, they were friends. Dean, nine years older than Jerryplayed the straight man and singer, while Jerry was the crazy man-child. The combination was a hit and they skyrocketed to fame and gained a fortune.

This is the tale of the two from Jerry Lewis' point of view. His account on what happened during their ten years and in this very emotional, revealing and wonderfully written memoir. He tells how they came to be and what broke them apart a decade later, but each chapter is chock full of details which are easy to imagine and see in your mind. It's a great story and should be read by fans of either Dean or Jerry, or any Martin and Lewis fan.. It's personal and very amusing, plus there are some fantastic pictures from Jerry's personal collection.

It's a joyful, sad tale with everything a reader could want or hope for and then some. I highly recommend this for any fan. You won't be disappointed!

excelent boock
this book is excelent told the history of two big persons, like all the clown they have their diferences....just amazing

Jerry 2005 vs. Jerry 1982?
If you've read both of the Jerry Lewis autobiographies you can't help comparing the 1982 autobiography (Jerry Lewis in Person) to this 2005 one. In both Jerry is honest, even very honest at some almost sub-textual level, but he's always a show biz, WWII-era, not so introspective kind of guy, basically: expect that kind of 'honesty'.

So, both auto-bios honest and straight as far as he was concerned, but he's just so much happier in the newer one! And, overall and for most of us, I think that's more true to the real Jerry, the absurdly successful stage and film comedian of the 40s to the early 60s. Strangely, the 1982 Jerry was a longer way away from the salad days than the 2005 one is, in part I think because in 1982 he was still suffering terribly from a lower back injury he'd suffered in 1965. And maybe in 1982 he was still not recovered from a very long but badly ended first marriage.

Anyway, this auto-bio focuses on the crazy good times, lots of the laughs and the pranks, of the Dean and Jerry years. The 2005 Jerry also, and unlike the 1982 Jerry, is honest about the girls girls girls of those good times. It's a crazy testament to his love for his now deceased buddy and 'big brother' Dean that it brings out Jerry's very best side. Or maybe it's a second marriage that is having a fine mellowing effect on him, but here we get a sweetheart, understanding Jerry in sharp contrast to the judgmental, defensive Jerry of 1982. But both of them, I strongly suspect, are the real Jerry, neither of whom provides us the real Dean.

Faaantaaastik!
This book will keep you on the edge of your seat. Hilarious! Definitely a book I will keep and read again. I'm going to let my daughters read the book, so they will know how comedic movies originated. I let my sister and my dad borrow the book, too. If you like Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis or just a good, funny story, you will love this book!
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