- [first lines]
- Self - Actor, Singer: In the dictionary, if it said 'the coolest' it would have to be underlined: Dean Martin.
- Self - Culture Critic, Author & Professor of African-American Studies: To be cool was, to borrow from Hemingway, having a certain kind of grace under pressure. You didn't let things rattle you.
- Self - Actor: [Alec Baldwin] There was something about him that was a wonderful personality trait. A card he had in his hand, which is, that you don't take it too seriously.
- Self - Actor: [Angie Dickinson] I met Dean on 'Rio Bravo', but he was always quiet. When you're that quiet, people don't know you. I don't think he wanted us to know him.
- Self - Daughter of Dean Martin: When I met Elvis, he said, "They call me the 'King of Rock 'n' Roll.' But, your Dad is the 'King of Cool'." And I'll never forget that. Elvis Presley thinks my Dad is the 'King of Cool'.
- Self - Author, 'Notes to an Actor': Another element of Cool, which is sort of an X-factor, is a sense of mystery. There has to be something unknowable. There has to be an undealt card.
- Self - Writer, 'The Colgate Comedy Hour' - 'All in the Family': We all were crazy about being in his company. But, when you were in Dean Martin's company, were you?
- Self - Author, 'Notes to an Actor': There is another element of Cool which is luck and that - that indicates to people that even God thinks you're cool.
- Self - Culture Critic, Author & Professor of African-American Studies: Martin seemed like somebody who had no tolerance for bull shit. To be somebody who was cool, was that you were honest. You were honest about yourself. You were honest about the world about you. You didn't accept bull shit.
- Self - Author, 'Notes to an Actor': Our idols. Our parents. They age. But, then something interesting happens. The declining person dies and they're no longer the declining person. In a weird way, you get them back. They return to being everything that they were.
- Self - Rapper: Who you are is always who you are. You could never leave yourself, cause yourself is within you. No matter how great Dean Martin became, that the child in him remained. That child could be smothered by other things, as you live through life; but, eventually like that same blade of grass that grows through the concrete, that child will come back up and show itself.
- Self - Road Manager & Friend of Frank Sinatra: Christmas Eve, Frank and I got together. Frank said, "I wonder what the Dago's doing?" So, I picked up the phone. Dean got on the phone. And, so, Frank get's on the phone, "Hey Dag, how you doing? Okay, so you want to tell me a joke? Really? Okay, what's the joke?" And so Dean said something and Frank said something back and then Dean said something back and Frank laughed and he said,"I love you, Dago." And he hung up the phone. And, so, when Frank got off the phone, I said, "What the hell was that all about?" He says, "Can you believe this crazy sonofabitch?" He says, "As ill as he is, he wanted to tell me joke: "What did one casket say to the other casket?" And, naturally, Frank said, "I don't know. What?" "Is that you coughin'?" And that's the last time they ever spoke. About 12 hours or so later Dean passed.
- Self - Author, 'Notes to an Actor': Even the people that don't know Dean Martin and might not traditionally be drawn to somebody of his era, of his genre, you can study him; because, I don't think there's anybody that captures or embodies all of the qualities of American cool the way Dean Martin did. He had all of it.
- Self - Historian, Author, 'Sessions with Sinatra': When Dean was a very young boy, his parents were listening to typical Italian music. You had Enrico Caruso records. You had Carlo Buti. And that's where Dean got his predilection for singing Italian songs *and* because he had that native language, singing them in Italian.
- Self - Culture Critic, Author & Professor of African-American Studies: [referred to The Mills Brothers] Dean Martin picked up from them how to present a song in a way where you seem cool and detached, but, at the same time, you're in control of the thing.
- Self - Writer, 'The Colgate Comedy Hour' - 'All in the Family': That's a good question. What was Dean's 'Rosebud'? I see this guy in a glorious suit or tuxedo and I see him undress, this is all in my mind's eye, and I see him undress and he's one of the guys from Steubenville.
- Self - Culture Critic, Author & Professor of African-American Studies: Martin was influenced by Crosby. But, he really like the source of Crosby, which was The Mills Brothers.
- Self - Co-Author, 'Dean & Me': The perfect house, the perfect wife, the perfect family. It's perfect - except when it isn't.
- Self - Director, Author, 'Lunches with Orson': Orson said, "You know, Jerry Lewis is not about Jerry Lewis." I said, "What do you mean?" He said, "It's about Dean Martin." And I said, "What?" He said, "Jerry Lewis' success and what makes that so special is the incredible, straight comedy and timing of Dean. And the fact that he can maintain the level, so that Jerry can play off of it and on it and go around it, and it's the consistent line that is held for the audience." He said, "Dean is the genius behind that show."
- Self - Writer, 'The Colgate Comedy Hour' - 'All in the Family': Dean told Simmons, Joey Lewis is gone - Joey Lewis was a famous nightclub comic... his character was based on a guy who drank - Dean said, "Nobody's doing that. I want to do that."
- Self - Co-Author, 'Dean & Me': The rudiment of the act is this: Dean is the playboy and Jerry is the putz. Here is this kid allowing Dean to come out of himself a little bit, to be less guarded, to be a little less self protective, and, yes, to be a little more vulnerable.
- Self - Daughter of Dean Martin: I couldn't understand it. I was going to say something, but, I'm not going to say it.
- Self - TV Host: I couldn't believe I was asked to be on 'The Dean Martin Show'. And after the show I went out into the dark NBC parking lot and I saw him get into his limousine. As he came by, I could just see him in the back seat, slumped, looking quite sad. And I waved to him and he waved back. I thought, this is - this is show business. Poor man gave everything in that performance tonight. Seeing him slumped in the back of a dark limousine, on a dark night, looking very unhappy, is - unfortunately - the image that remains with me.