Dino and the Demon Dog: James Ellroy’s Meeting with Dean Martin

James Ellroy has always been an admirer of the legendary singer, actor and comedian Dean Martin. When I was writing Ellroys biography, the author told me that ‘unlike his pal Jerry Lewis, Dean Martin had great charm.’ Ellroy proceeded to tell me of an encounter, a meeting of sorts, he had with Martin in 1995. I wrote the anecdote into the narrative of Love Me Fierce in Danger: The Life of James Ellroy, but at the last moment decided to cut it from the manuscript. As memorable as the story was it didn’t quite fit with the compulsive hard-charging narrative of Ellroy’s life-story.

It broke my heart a little at the time, so I’ve decided to publish the story below:

The mystery writer and magician Daniel Stashower was commissioned by The New Yorker to write a piece about Ellroy’s True Crime memoir My Dark Places. In the event, the article was never published but Stashower met with Ellroy in Los Angeles to interview him and they became friendly. Ellroy and Stashower shared a love of showbiz gossip. The word in LA was that the ailing Dean Martin was lunching every day at Da Vinci’s, his favourite Italian restaurant, in Beverly Hills. Ellroy always thought that Martin had ‘great charm’, and he and Stashower thought it would be fun to visit Da Vinci’s to see if they could catch a glimpse of Dino. They set out one afternoon, picking up the journalist Tom Junod who Ellroy had befriended at GQ, to come along for the ride. They timed their arrival at Da Vinci’s almost perfectly. The three men took a table when Ellroy noticed a limousine pull up into the parking lot. A tall, muscular black chauffeur exited the vehicle and opened the rear passenger door. Ellroy saw ‘a very frail man, impeccably dressed’ step out of the car with assistance from the chauffeur. It was Dean Martin, visibly ailing from lung cancer. Ellroy was saddened by the skinny frame of the man, estimating he only weighed about 100 pounds. The restaurant had been playing Frank Sinatra on the speaker system, but the maitre d’ made a gesture to another waiter and suddenly the only music that could be heard in the restaurant was the sound of Dean Martin songs. Martin took a place at the bar. He drank a glass of a clear liquid, which Ellroy surmised was vodka and nibbled at some breadsticks. Ellroy toyed with the idea of introducing himself and had a compliment ready, but felt it was better to respect his privacy. Ellroy, Stashower and Junod ordered a meal while keeping one eye on Martin at the bar.

Within a few months Martin had died. He passed away on Christmas Day, 1995.

Love Me Fierce in Danger: The Life of James Ellroy is published by Bloomsbury. It won the Edgar Award for Best Critical/Biographical Book and was shortlisted for the HRF Keating Award and the Anthony Award.