Dewey Dallas Martin (December 8, 1923 – March 11 or April 9, 2018) was an American film and television actor.

Early life

Martin was born in

Katemcy, Texas Katemcy is an Unincorporated area, unincorporated community on Katemcy Creek in Mason County, Texas, United States. The community is located on Ranch to Market Road 1222, one mile east of U.S. Route 87 in Texas, U.S. Highway 87. The creek and the ...

. As a teenager, he lived in

Florence, Alabama Florence is a city in, and the county seat of, Lauderdale County, Alabama, United States, in the state's northwestern corner. It is situated along the Tennessee River and is home to the University of North Alabama, the oldest college in the st ...

. Martin joined the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

in 1940. In November 1942, he was one of a few enlisted sailors from Naval Air Technical Training Center Norman, Oklahoma selected for pre-flight training with the opportunity to earn a commission as an officer and become a

naval aviator Naval aviation is the application of military air power by navies, whether from warships that embark aircraft, or land bases. Naval aviation is typically projected to a position nearer the target by way of an aircraft carrier. Carrier-based a ...

. In April 1943, he was transferred to pre-flight training at the

CAA War Training Service School The Civilian Pilot Training Program (CPTP) was a flight training program (1938–1944) sponsored by the United States government with the stated purpose of increasing the number of civilian pilots, though having a clear impact on military prepar ...

in Natchitoches, Louisiana."Metalsmith Goes to Pre-Flight School"
''The Bull Horn'', Norman, Oklahoma, volume 1, number 21, April 1, 1943, page 3. At the time of his transfer, he was an Aviation Metalsmith 2nd Class and served as the Aviation Metalsmith School storekeeper. In November 1943, he was transferred to Navy-Preflight School in Athens, Georgia. In June 1944, he was assigned to at

Naval Air Station Pensacola Naval Air Station Pensacola or NAS Pensacola (formerly NAS/KNAS until changed circa 1970 to allow Nassau International Airport, now Lynden Pindling International Airport, to have IATA code NAS), "The Cradle of Naval Aviation", is a United State ...

, Florida after completing primary flight training in Dallas, Texas. He served as a fighter pilot in the Pacific Theater of the war.

Acting career

His film debut was an uncredited part in ''

Knock on Any Door ''Knock on Any Door'' is a 1949 American courtroom trial film noir directed by Nicholas Ray and starring Humphrey Bogart. The picture gave actor John Derek his breakthrough role, and was based on the 1947 novel of the same name by Willard Motley ...

'' (1949), starring

Humphrey Bogart Humphrey DeForest Bogart (; December 25, 1899 – January 14, 1957), nicknamed Bogie, was an American film and stage actor. His performances in Classical Hollywood cinema films made him an American cultural icon. In 1999, the American Film In ...

. He also appeared in ''

The Thing from Another World ''The Thing from Another World'', sometimes referred to as just ''The Thing'', is a 1951 American black-and-white science fiction-horror film, directed by Christian Nyby, produced by Edward Lasker for Howard Hawks' Winchester Pictures Corporati ...

'' (1951), co-starred with

Kirk Douglas Kirk Douglas (born Issur Danielovitch; December 9, 1916 – February 5, 2020) was an American actor and filmmaker. After an impoverished childhood, he made his film debut in ''The Strange Love of Martha Ivers'' (1946) with Barbara Stanwyck. Do ...

in '' The Big Sky'' (1952), and reuniting again with

as his younger escape convict brother in '' The Desperate Hours''. Martin also played a lead role in ''

Land of the Pharaohs ''Land of the Pharaohs'' is a 1955 American epic historical drama film in Cinemascope and WarnerColor from Warner Bros., produced and directed by Howard Hawks, that stars Jack Hawkins as Pharaoh Khufu, also known as Cheops, and Joan Collins as ...

'' (1955), and was featured opposite

Dean Martin Dean Martin (born Dino Paul Crocetti; June 7, 1917 – December 25, 1995) was an American singer, actor and comedian. One of the most popular and enduring American entertainers of the mid-20th century, Martin was nicknamed "The King of Cool". M ...

in his first post-

Martin and Lewis Martin and Lewis were an American comedy duo, comprising singer Dean Martin and comedian Jerry Lewis. They met in 1945 and debuted at Atlantic City's 500 Club on July 25, 1946; the team lasted ten years to the day. Before they teamed up, Martin w ...

film''

Ten Thousand Bedrooms ''Ten Thousand Bedrooms'' is a 1957 American romantic comedy film directed by Richard Thorpe and starring Dean Martin, Anna Maria Alberghetti, and Eva Bartok. Martin's first film in the wake of the dissolution of his partnership with Jerry Lewi ...

'' (1957) but did not become a full-fledged star. Martin worked extensively in television as well, including ''

The Twilight Zone ''The Twilight Zone'' is an American media franchise based on the anthology television series created by Rod Serling. The episodes are in various genres, including fantasy, science fiction, absurdism, dystopian fiction, suspense, horror, su ...

'' episode " I Shot an Arrow Into the Air" (1960) and '' The Outer Limits'' episode " The Premonition" (1965), co-written by

Ib Melchior Ib Jørgen Melchior (September 17, 1917 – March 14, 2015) was a Danish-American novelist, short-story writer, film producer, film director, and screenwriter of low-budget American science fiction movies, most of them released by American Inter ...

. Starting in 1960, he played

Daniel Boone Daniel Boone (September 26, 1820) was an American pioneer and frontiersman whose exploits made him one of the first folk heroes of the United States. He became famous for his exploration and settlement of Kentucky, which was then beyond the we ...

on four episodes of ''

Walt Disney Presents The Walt Disney Company has produced an anthology television series since 1954 under several titles and formats. The program's current title, ''The Wonderful World of Disney'', was used from 1969 to 1979 and again from 1991 to the present. The p ...

''.

Personal life

Martin married Mardie Havelhurst from Portland, Oregon on February 15, 1952. They were divorced in 1955. He was later married to singer

Peggy Lee Norma Deloris Egstrom (May 26, 1920 – January 21, 2002), known professionally as Peggy Lee, was an American jazz and popular music singer, songwriter, composer, and actress, over a career spanning seven decades. From her beginning as a vocalis ...

for two years; the marriage ended in divorce. His first cousin was

Ross Bass Ross Bass (March 17, 1918January 1, 1993) was an American Congressman and United States Senator from Tennessee. Background Bass was the son of a circuit-riding Methodist minister in rural Giles County, attended the local public schools, and ...

, a senator from Tennessee. Martin supported Adlai Stevenson during the 1952 United States presidential election.''Motion Picture and Television Magazine'', November 1952, page 33, Ideal Publishers

Complete filmography

*''

'' (1949) - Butch (uncredited) *'' Battleground'' (1949) - G.I. Straggler (uncredited) *'' The Golden Gloves Story'' (1950) - Nick Martel *''

Kansas Raiders ''Kansas Raiders'' is a 1950 American Western film directed by Ray Enright, and stars Audie Murphy, Brian Donlevy, Marguerite Chapman, and Scott Brady. It is set during the American Civil War and involves Jesse James coming under the influence ...

'' (1950) - James Younger *''

'' (1951) - Crew Chief Bob *''

Flame of Araby ''Flame of Araby'' (a.k.a. ''Flame of the Desert'') is a 1951 American Technicolor adventure film directed by Charles Lamont starring Maureen O'Hara and Jeff Chandler. British film star Maxwell Reed made his American film debut in the picture. ...

'' (1951) - Yak *'' The Big Sky'' (1952) - Boone Caudill *'' Tennessee Champ'' (1954) - Daniel Norson *''

Prisoner of War A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of wa ...

'' (1954) - Jesse Treadman *''

Men of the Fighting Lady ''Men of the Fighting Lady'' is a 1954 American war film, war drama film directed by Andrew Marton and starring Van Johnson, Walter Pidgeon, Louis Calhern and Keenan Wynn. The screenplay was written by U.S. Navy Commander Harry A. Burns, who had ...

'' (1954) - Ensign Kenneth Schechter *''

'' (1955) - Senta, Vashtar's Son *'' The Desperate Hours'' (1955) - Hal Griffin *''Cavalry Patrol'' (1956, TV Movie) - Lt. Johnny Reardon *''

Meet Me in Las Vegas ''Meet Me in Las Vegas'' (1956) is an MGM musical comedy produced by Joe Pasternak, directed by Roy Rowland (film director), Roy Rowland, filmed in Eastman Color and CinemaScope, and starring Dan Dailey and Cyd Charisse. The screenplay is by Iso ...

'' (1956) - Dewey Martin (uncredited) *''

The Proud and Profane ''The Proud and Profane'' is a dramatic war romance made by William Perlberg-George Seaton Productions for Paramount Pictures released in theaters on June 13, 1956. It was directed by George Seaton and produced by William Perlberg, from a screenp ...

'' (1956) - Eddie Wodcik *''

'' (1957) - Mike Clark Jr. *''Man on the Beach'' (1961, TV Movie) *'' The Longest Day'' (1962) - Private Wilder (scenes deleted) *'' Savage Sam'' (1963) - Lester White *''

Flight to Fury ''Flight to Fury'' is a 1964 film starring Jack Nicholson, Fay Spain and Dewey Martin. The film was directed by Monte Hellman and filmed back to back with ''Back Door to Hell'' in the Philippines in 1964. Nicholson was one of the writers of the ...

'' (1964) - Joe Gaines *''Cordillera'' (1964) *''

Assault on the Wayne ''Assault on the Wayne'' is a 1971 American Cold War-themed action thriller TV film starring Joseph Cotten, Lloyd Haynes, Dewey Martin, Leonard Nimoy and William Windom. It aired on January 12, 1971, in the ''ABC Movie of the Week'' space. The ...

'' (1971, TV Movie) - Skip Langley *''Wheeler and Murdoch'' (1972, TV Movie) - Travanty *''Seven Alone'' (1974) - Henry Sager

Television roles

*'' Zane Gray Theatre'' episode Man of Fear (1958) – Doc Holliday *''

'' episode " I Shot an Arrow Into the Air" (1960) - Corey *''

'' - "Daniel Boone" mini-series (1960-1961) - Daniel Boone *'' The Outer Limits'' episode " The Premonition" (1965) - Jim Darcy *'' Laramie'' episode "The Stranger" (1963) – Vanton Maddox

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Martin, Dewey 1923 births 2018 deaths 20th-century American male actors Alabama Democrats American male film actors American male television actors California Democrats Male actors from Alabama Male actors from Texas Military personnel from Alabama Military personnel from Texas People from Florence, Alabama People from Mason County, Texas Texas Democrats United States Naval Aviators United States Navy officers United States Navy pilots of World War II