Reading Dean & Me was a real pleasure. You don't have to even be a fan of Martin and Lewis to enjoy the ride here. But if you are a fan, then this is definitely a must-read for you. By the title of the book alone, it's clear that it centers on the relationship of both Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, both professionally as well as personally.

I knew beforehand how much Jerry worshiped Dean. I just didn't know to what extent. You really do get that Jerry loved Dean as both a partner as well as his "older brother". The respect that he had for him comes through big time and you really do feel for Jerry when the team broke up 10 years after rocking the world with their routines. It was more than just making movies, doing stand-up and singing songs. Jerry really did lose a brother when they went their separate ways and I totally understand why he slipped into serious depression afterwards.

This book is a treasure trove of a lot of intimate private moments that you have never heard of before, unless  of course you happen to know Jerry personally. I think out of all the stuff I read, the one that I really felt lucky enough to hear about was when Jerry ran into Dean long after their break-up at their favorite restaurant, and Dean was in a booth eating by himself and they were able to mend fences and reconnect as before as best as they could. Man, how I wish I could have been a fly on the wall for that.

Overall this is a very well written, heartwarming story of how a chance encounter between the two ended up changing not only their lives, but the lives of everyone on the planet. I highly recommend this to everyone. And do yourself a favor, when you're reading the book, watch as many Martin and Lewis clips on YouTube as you can. It really makes you appreciate the book all the more.

FYI, I may have not lived through their era, but I know from my own personal experience of comedy, they are without a doubt the best comedy team of all time. So damn funny it hurts.

Rating: 5 Stars out of 5

Added Poll

Man, I keep forgetting about this book. Lewis and Martin were huge for me. Your little snippet provides me drive even more to pick this up. One of my favorite comedy teams too.

If you're a fan of Martin and Lewis, this book is an absolute must. It's a fast, entertaining and very informative read. I will definitely be rereading this one again.

Can I ask if you did not live through the era or around the era, how have you come to enjoy their stuff? Through family members? Classic movie channels? Or are you just that much of a movie or comedy buff to seek it out?

Even for me I did not live through the era, but the years I grew up, their movies were on constantly on the weekends.

I don’t see any of their stuff today (or for that matter many, many years) except maybe the occasional Jerry Lewis flick.

My Mom grew up during the Golden Age of comedy with the likes of Martin and Lewis, Lucille Ball, etc....Through her she turned me onto these cats and many more. And because I'm such a fan of all styles of comedy, be it the Golden Age all the way to present day, I have made it a habit to seek out lesser known acts as well as acts that I've heard about over the years but have been lazy to hunt down. If I hear about it, I will do research on them.

There is just something to be said about comedy from that era that didn't have to rely on dick and fart jokes to get a laugh. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy that as well. But if you really break it down, it's much harder to do what Martin and Lewis did compared to todays comics of going for the easy laugh.

Thanks for the heads up on Steve Martin's book. I have been meaning to put it into the queue but kept forgetting. Adding it now.  Might be awhile before I get to it. I have a huge list of books-to-read that is constantly getting longer each day.

That's what she said.