Untold stories of performing with the Rat Pack and on the Dean Martin TV Show are revealed in the Alberici Sisters book, BEYOND OUR WILDEST DREAMS. The authors, Maria Lauren & Linda Eichberg, shared their lives with "The Golddiggers" and Entertainment Icons of the 20th Century.
Smiles of heartfelt memories sweep over us as we celebrate Dean Martin’s 100th birthday on June 7th. Dean’s charismatic talent personified a debonair and cheeky demeanor with an underlying charm and allure that transcends time.
Dean Martin and The Golddiggers circa 1977
We were blessed to be a part of The Dean Martin Golddiggers for almost two decades. We witnessed Dean’s mastery of entertainment and light-hearted fun on the Las Vegas stage and on television.
Dean’s special warmth touches us even now as we listen to his unique inflections while he sings a song, tells a joke or casually gives a fun-loving look.
Take a glimpse of Dean and his Golddiggers from his TV 1973 show, with Country legend, Ray Stevens!
Our Las Vegas performances opening for Dean, spanned from the 1970’s to the early 1990’s. We became like a family, sharing special occasions like birthdays and Christmas together, and even some heartbreaking times.
Backstage at Bally’s on Dean’s birthday about 32 years ago! Dean Martin and The Golddiggers circa 1985 – 86.
We are forever grateful for being a part of this dynamic time in show business but especially for sharing in Dean’s humanity.
Giving Dean a birthday present after our show! From bottom left to right: Maria (Alberici) Lauren, Patti Gribow, Dean Martin, Linda (Alberici) Eichberg, Robyn Whatley
“What do you get the guy who has everything? He appeared to treasure those moments and, little by little, during our Vegas stays, he warmly unveiled his vulnerability and softer side to us.”
Up close and personal with Dean Martin… he made it seem all so easy…
Dean Martin – The King of Cool
“While the truth about Martin’s habits is hard to come by, certain facts about his career are crystal clear. Once considered en route to oblivion as the lesser half of the sundered comedy team of Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin, he is now America’s highest-paid entertainer. And he is the only star who is a consistent draw at the theater while also appearing on weekly television. His defiance of traditional taboos and his obviousvirility (liquor+golf+an eye for girls) have made Martin a hero with the male audience. His Italian good looks, his suave manner and his way of cuddling up to a romantic ballad are enormously appealing to women. Thus, he is one of the few stars who seem to be liked equally by both sexes.” – Good Housekeeping, 1967; Excerpt from Beyond Our Wildest Dreams
In our book, Beyond Our Wildest Dreams, we dig deep into the “King of Cool” image to find a man with a warm heart. It was an honor to perform with him as part of The Golddiggers but we were touched with a smile of pride when Dean fondly called us, “My Girls.”
“Maria: My first impression upon meeting Dean Martin was that he was very, very charming. He looked the same in person as he did on TV. I can’t say that about all the stars I’ve met. It was a pleasure to watch him interact with all us girls. He never made a vulgar or cheap comment or anything like that. He was fun loving, good natured and made you feel comfortable.” – Excerpt from Beyond Our Wildest Dreams
“Patti (Pivarnik) Gribow, Golddigger 1973-1977: My mom and all her friends were in love with Dean and, of course, his good looks. The persona, Dean Martin, appeared to be a cad and a real ‘player’ but in reality Dean was one of the nicest and genteel men I have ever met. He was exceedingly humble and once told me, “It’s so hard to be mean and so easy to be nice.” I will always carry that memory with me.” – Excerpt from Beyond Our Wildest Dreams
Dean loved country music and on the Dean Martin Comedy Hour, Dean sang with the best country stars of the 70’s including Loretta Lynn, Conway Twitty, Buck Owens, Doug Dillard, Lynn Anderson, Crystal Gayle, The Statler Brothers and many others.
“Linda: The country set was like a breath of fresh air equipped with a barn, a plow and a miniature horse. We would sing a sweet ballad on stacks of hay, our colorful prairie gowns draped around us and then skip to the other side of the set to sing the next song to some guitar picking and fiddle playing. I grew to have a greater appreciation of country music singing songs like ‘I Was Raised on Country Sunshine’, ‘You Got a Friend’, ‘Tie a Yellow Ribbon’, ‘Houston’, ‘Jambalaya (On the Bayou)’ and ‘Country Roads’. Maria and I were ecstatic when we saw in the script that we would be doing ‘I Believe in Music’ with Dean. We sang the verse while Dean joined us for the chorus and then the whole cast extended their harmonies for a reprise as the scene peaked for a big finish—then cut to commercial.” – Excerpt from Beyond Our Wildest Dreams
DEAN MARTIN FANS…
The Dean Martin Fan Center Magazine is styled in a newsletter format filled with stories, photos, information, past and up-to-date current happenings by Neil Daniels.
Also, check out the Dean Martin Fan Center Websitecontaining interesting topics pertaining to Dean Martin including “Showstoppers,” our musical tribute to Dean Martin and the showstopping entertainers with whom we performed.
Dean Martin “Rat Pack”
June 7th is Dean Martin’s birthday. We celebrate the man and the entertainer!!
Is there a man who could be a director and teacher for countless young women of ambition and changing hormones and never lose his cool? Yes! His name is Lee Hale. Being two of “The Golddiggers” from 1973 and until 2003 (with a few years off in between), we had the opportunity to see the enormous respect Lee Hale earned from the show business community and from celebrities. We never once saw Lee lose his patience. He was always open to listening and would be generous with advice that would be both truthful and supportive. As the musical director and a producer of Dean’s TV Shows and Specials, he remained humble and kind, Lee was the person who made us, and all of Dean’s guest stars, feel comfortable.
Lee was a performer himself, so we knew he understood us as performers. He was also a gifted writer who wrote clever musical material for Dean Martin’s TV Shows and for “The Golddiggers” shows. He knew how to bring the best out of each girl by finding a special song that would make her shine. Lee had great musical instincts! Like an Uncle or a Dad, he had a genuine caring and supportive attitude. Lee Hale is the person responsible for bringing the Golddiggers act through several decades. He always believed in our singing abilities and he gave us challenging, showstopping material that grew us into leading ladies. In addition to our television appearances, we were a popular Las Vegas opening act that worked regularly for Dean Martin and many other stars until Dean’s retirement.
Lee Hale, still is a talented singer and songwriter. He was fantastic in our ‘Showstoppers’ “Golddiggers Reunion Show” with his original song, “Prostate Blues”. It brought the house down. He is our mentor and friend. Today, we are proud to be standing along side this versatile man as writers sharing our individual stories about Dean Martin and friends in our books. We are very grateful to him for the contributions he made to our book, “Beyond Our Wildest Dreams.”
Lee, we are so blessed to have had you in our lives! Happy Birthday Lee!! With love, Maria Lauren and Linda Eichberg (Alberici Sisters)
Alberici Sisters with Lee Hale at a recent book signing together
Excerpt from “Beyond Our Wildest Dreams”
“Lee Hale, Musical Director, The Dean Martin Show: Greg (Garrison) was always good to me because he kept upping my salary every year. I didn’t have any problem with him, he made it easy as far as The Dean Martin Show went because he never came around to rehearsals. Basically I put that show and the Golddiggers’ show together myself, just myself and the choreographer…
By the ninth season we were shooting on Saturdays. I would start on Monday putting together all the music for the show and deciding who was going to do what. Then on Tuesday we usually got our first guests in for rehearsal and they would rehearse Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. On Friday we had a run through with all the staff, the cameramen and everybody involved in the show who hadn’t seen our rehearsals. And then on Saturday we were in the studio and we did all the camera work ahead of time and then the orchestra rehearsal was three hours in the afternoon. Greg’s motto was “We’re not making records” so we couldn’t go past that three-hour period. And I don’t think we ever did, we had to rush things along. The best part of it was, the writers and any agents or managers were not allowed at rehearsals so we just had the guests and us. The guests were always on their best behavior because they wanted to be part of a hit show so they didn’t give me any trouble…” copyright, Beyond Our Wildest Dreams 2012 – 2013
What are the odds? Two brothers are coaching the dueling teams in the Super Bowl game. The San Francisco 49ers coach, Jim Harbaugh competes against the Baltimore Ravens coach, John Harbaugh.
Musically, the Super Bowl started with a touching rendition of “America the Beautiful” by the Sandy Hook Elementary School Choir with Jennifer Hudson taking the lead to give it a gospel feel. Then, Alicia Keys gave a respectful rendition of the ”National Anthem” with a touch of jazz influence using just her voice and piano. The half-time was spectacular starring Beyonce. The production had an abundance of flashing lights, special effects and ‘girl power’; shortly after there was a power outage.
When the lights were all turned on, Baltimore took the win, a sweet victory for Raven’s star linebacker, Ray Lewis, who after 17 years is retiring. At the game conclusion, the brothers spoke the words, “I love you… congratulations.”
Love goes deep in families and sibling rivalry is natural but the competition can help us to be the best we can be.
~~~
Excerpts from “Beyond Our Wildest Dreams”
Maria and Linda: “What are the chances? The odds certainly were against us but out of thousands of young women, two humble girls from a family of nine children were chosen to be featured singers and dancers on The Dean Martin Comedy Hour.”
Dean Martin with The Alberici Sisters: Linda Eichberg & Maria Lauren
Maria and Linda: “Working with Dean was a safe haven for us and we continued performing with him until he retired in 1991.
Those were the happiest of times. We also felt Dean’s profound loss as he dealt with the tragic death of his son and we were there when Dean shared the details of his falling out with Frank Sinatra.
Looking back, it was a blessing to have each other to share this journey. There were many more adventures to challenge us and surprises beyond our wildest dreams but those are stories for another day.”
~~~
My sister, Linda Eichberg and I had the good fortune to entertain with super star legends as The Golddiggers and open for Dean Martin in Las Vegas until his last years before retirement. Dear to our hearts are the times in between our performances. We were like family sharing laughs, sorrows and tender moments.
Wishing you joyful moments. ~ Maria Lauren (aka) Maria Elena Alberici – Riccio
Linda Alberici Eichberg [Dean Martin Golddigger & Co-Author]: “We would be chastised if we were even a minute late for our backstage call time, they would threaten to dock our pay. It was very, very strict. Dean gave his big dressing room to us along with the flowers and fruit that were meant for him. Dean would show up fifteen minutes before the show in a special room built for him on the side of the stage. He liked to come by private elevator directly from his hotel room to the stage, dressed and ready to go. I don’t think there was even a door on his little room but we all gathered there at a certain time every night to say hi to Dean before we went on. He had his water, snacks and drinks in there; all he had to do was stroll on to the stage a few feet away when it was time for him to make his entrance.
For Dean we did twenty minutes ahead of his act. When we worked with different artists the time would vary.”
Between taping the television show with Dean and traveling with him back and forth to Las Vegas to do our live show, we got an inside scoop into some of his personal life, including his tumultuous marriage to his third wife, Cathy Hawn.
Patti (Pivarnik) Gribow, Golddigger 1973-1985: “Before the shows with Dean at the MGM we would often hear his wife, Cathy, stomp into his dressing room, scream at him, and then stomp off. We knew she was most unhappy that he was performing with the Golddiggers.
Dean once commented that he didn’t understand her anger, saying, “It’s just my image!” The truth is that our relationship with Dean was platonic, yet caring. Traditionally, prior to the performances, we would each give Dean a hug and a peck on the cheek for good luck.
Both Dean and “his girls” looked forward to these innocent and special show biz moments.”
Martin married 26-year-old Catherine Hawn, on April 25,1973. She had been the receptionist at the chic Gene Shacrove hair salon in Beverly Hills. They divorced November 10, 1976…
Read more in our book “Beyond Our Wildest Dreams.”
Beyond Our Wildest Dreams is available now on Amazon!
Authors: The Alberici Sisters, Linda Eichberg and Maria Lauren
Copyright, all rights reserved
Beyond Our Wildest Dreams 