CATCH A CLASSIC
TCM Birthday Tribute: Dean Martin
TCM, beginning at 3 a.m.
Dino Paul Crocetti — better known as beloved singer, actor and all-around entertainer Dean Martin — would have turned 104 today (he passed away in 1995 at age 78). To celebrate the occasion of the birth of the “King of Cool,” Turner Classic Movies is airing a nice mix of memorable Martin movies this morning and afternoon. The day begins bright and early with 1966’s “The Silencers” (pictured) ,the first of four spy spoof films in which Martin famously portrayed secret agent Matt Helm. Stella Stevens costars. Next, Martin’s singing talent is on display along with his acting as he and Judy Holliday star in Vincente Minnelli’s Oscar-nominated 1960 romantic comedy/musical “Bells Are Ringing,” based on the 1956 Broadway hit. After that, in the 1963 Western comedy “4 for Texas,” Martin and fellow Rat Packer Frank Sinatra play Old West rivals who must join forces to stop a band of outlaws led by Charles Bronson as well as a corrupt banker (Victor Buono). Martin and Sinatra — as well as other Rat Pack members Sammy Davis Jr., Peter Lawford and Joey Bishop — are back together in the next movie, the iconic 1960 heist film “Ocean’s 11.” The sparkling cast also includes Angie Dickinson, Cesar Romero, Henry Silva and many more. You can enjoy more of Martin and Sinatra’s chemistry in the day’s next film, which was the pair’s first movie together — the Oscar-nominated 1958 drama “Some Came Running,” co-starring Best Actress Oscar nominee Shirley Maclaine. The birthday celebration concludes with Howard Hawks’ classic 1959 Western “Rio Bravo,” headlined by Martin and John Wayne, and costarring Dickinson, Ricky Nelson, Walter Brennan and Ward Bond. — Jeff Pfeiffer