Singer and daughter of the late Frank Sinatra, Nancy Sinatra took to Twitter on Wednesday to defend Dean Martin, a friend and collaborator of her father.
In response to a thread on Twitter claiming Martin didn’t need to “act…he was drunk” Sinatra just wrote“That’s a lie. Dean was very disciplined, played golf every morning. Drinking was part of professional personality, an act,” she added.
In addition to being a musician, Martin was also known for his comedy and variety shows.
Martin was also a member of the Rat Pack, a group of elite artists in the ’40s and ’50s that also included the elder Sinatra, Nat King Cole and Sammy Davis Jr. among others.
Nancy Sinatra during the Los Angeles Premiere of ‘The Manchurian Candidate’ held at The Academy in Beverly Hills, California, USA. (Photo by J. Merritt/FilmMagic) (J. Merritt/FilmMagic/Silver Screen Collection)
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Sinatra and Martin’s families grew close over the years. In 1967, both the Martin and Sinatra families appeared in “The Dean Martin Christmas Special.”
The families were tightly knit, and Dean Martin Jr. once dated Nancy’s sister, Tina.
The Christmas special “The Dean Martin Show” featured Frank Sinatra and his family. Pictured are Deana Martin, Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra and Nancy Sinatra. (Martin Muehlen)
In another conversation referring to Martin Jr., Nancy replied to a Twitter user who wrote, in part, “Nancy! You only had to look at the last few photos of Dean to see that he had lived the life of an alcoholic!”
Nancy denied that claim, writing, “No. His face reflected his pain and sadness at the loss of his son. He was never the same after Dean Jr. died. He was just a shell.”
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Martin Jr. followed in his father’s footsteps as a musician and actor, but was also a pilot. He died in a plane crash in 1987 at the age of 35.
Dean Martin was colloquially known as “The King of Cool”. (Martin Muehlen)
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In another tweet, Sinatra reiterated her fondness for the “Baby It’s Cold Outside” singer. Now 82, she wrote of their relationship: “I’ve known him well practically my entire life and loved him dearly. His birthday was the day before mine, so we often celebrated together. He was family and I miss him more than I can say. He was – Uncle Dean.”
Caroline Thayer is an entertainment writer for Fox News Digital. Follow Caroline Thayer on Twitter at @carolinejthayer.