Dean martin death december 1995

Dean Martin, star of movies, music and television who, cocktail glass in hand, made hitting the heights in all three look easy, died yesterday at his home in Beverly Hills. He was 78.
The cause of death was acute respiratory failure, said his agent and friend Mort Viner.
Long-time pal Frank Sinatra called Martin “my brother not through blood, but through choice” in a statement yesterday.

“He has been like the air I breathe always there, always close by.

”
Jerry Lewis, his old partner, was “completely shattered and grief-stricken” yesterday by the news, said Lewis’ manager, Joe Stabile.
A native of Steubenville, Ohio, Martin parlayed battered good looks, a so-so voice and an ingratiating style into a megacareer as a top star in music, movies and television without ever seeming to take any of it too seriously.
Two No.

1 songs, two years at the top of the Hollywood box-office charts and a half decade of top Nielsen ratings never seemed to