Plot
When lounge singer Dean Martin (Northam) and burlesque comic Jerry Lewis (Hayes) clicked during an impromptu pairing in 1946, neither anticipated their unparalleled success as a team. Lewis was going nowhere fast with an act built around miming to records, while Martin was making a subpar living as a crooner, sleeping on his agent's couch. Lewis had beseeched his agent to reteam him with the reluctant Martin; Lewis instigated their act and adopted the jaded pro as his unofficial big brother. Ever aloof, Martin is content to cash in on the bonanza and continue his sideline in womanizing. But as Lewis assumes more control, Martin’s mistress, Jeanne (Levering), nags him to take more credit. From bistros to radio to television, the seductive singer and the wacky stooge click with audiences. As the act takes Hollywood by storm in 1949, Lewis becomes paranoid about Martin’s popularity; psychosomatic stomach pains become his way of grabbing attention. Handsome and effortlessly charming, Martin successfully launches a solo acting career, in part to escape Lewis’s directorial aspirations and oppressive neediness. When Martin is called on the carpet by his wife, Betty (Cale), he walks out on his family; his frustration and resentment at being part of a two-headed showbiz monster only increases. Engineered by managers and agents, the last lap of the Martin-Lewis partnership is a cheerless financial arrangement, and though each triumphs after the official split in 1956, neither ever recaptures the elation of their early chemistry.
Dean Martin was an American singer, actor and comedian. One of the most popular entertainers of the mid-20th century, he was nicknamed "The King of Cool". Martin gained his career breakthrough together with comedian Jerry Lewis, billed as Martin and Lewis, in 1946. They performed in nightclubs and later had numerous appearances on radio and television and in films.
Stockard Channing is an American actress. She played Betty Rizzo in the film Grease (1978) and First Lady Abbey Bartlet in the NBC television series The West Wing (1999–2006). She also originated the role of Ouisa Kittredge in the stage and film versions of Six Degrees of Separation; the 1993 film version earned her an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress.
Sean Patrick Hayes is an American actor, comedian, and producer. Known for his performances on stage and screen, he gained acclaim for his role as Jack McFarland on the NBC sitcom Will & Grace, for which he won a Primetime Emmy Award and four Screen Actors Guild Awards. He has also received nominations for six Golden Globe Awards and two Tony Awards, winning one of the latter.
Héctor Elizondo is an American character actor. He is known for playing Phillip Watters in the television series Chicago Hope (1994–2000) and Ed Alzate in the television series Last Man Standing (2011–2021). His film roles include The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974), American Gigolo (1980), Leviathan (1989), Pretty Woman (1990), Beverly Hills Cop III (1994), Runaway Bride (1999), The Princess Diaries (2001), and Valentine's Day (2010).
Jeanne Marie Tripplehorn is an American actress. She began her career on stage, acting in several plays throughout the early 1990s, including Anton Chekhov's Three Sisters on Broadway. Her film career began with the role of a police psychologist in the erotic thriller Basic Instinct (1992). Her other film roles include The Firm (1993), Waterworld (1995) and Sliding Doors (1998). On television, she starred as Barbara Henrickson on the HBO drama series Big Love (2006–2011) and as Dr. Alex Blake on the CBS police drama Criminal Minds (2012–2014), and she received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for her performance as Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis in the 2009 HBO movie Grey Gardens.
Suzanna Celeste de Passe is an American businesswoman, television, music and film producer. De Passe serves as the co-chairwoman of de Passe Jones Entertainment Group.
Kate Levering is an American actress and dancer. She was nominated for a Tony Award for her role in the 2001 musical 42nd Street. She is best known for her role as Kim Kaswell in the Lifetime comedy-drama series Drop Dead Diva.
Martin and Lewis were an American comedy duo, comprising singer Dean Martin and comedian Jerry Lewis. They met in 1945 and debuted at Atlantic City's 500 Club on July 25, 1946; the team lasted ten years to the day. Before they teamed up, Martin was a nightclub singer, while Lewis performed a comedy act lip-synching to records.
Edgar J. Scherick was an American television executive and producer of television miniseries, made-for-television films, and theatrical motion pictures.
Christopher David Gorham is an American actor. He is best known for his work on television, particularly for playing Henry Grubstick on the ABC comedy-drama series Ugly Betty, Auggie Anderson on the action-drama series Covert Affairs, Bob Barnard on the dark comedy-drama series Insatiable, Harrison John on The WB’s teen comedy-drama series Popular, Henry Dunn in the limited slasher series Harper's Island, and Trevor Elliott on the legal drama series The Lincoln Lawyer.
The Rat Pack is a 1998 American HBO made-for-television drama film about the Rat Pack. The movie stars Ray Liotta as Frank Sinatra, Joe Mantegna as Dean Martin, Don Cheadle as Sammy Davis Jr., and Angus Macfadyen as Peter Lawford. Despite his membership in the Pack, Joey Bishop is given minimal screen time, while John F. Kennedy, depicted as an on-and-off friend of Sinatra's, is given a more central role.
My Friend Irma is a 1949 American comedy film starring John Lund, Diana Lynn, Don DeFore, and Marie Wilson. Directed by George Marshall, it featured the motion picture debut of the Martin and Lewis comedy team of Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis. The film is based upon the CBS radio series My Friend Irma that first aired in 1947. Released by Paramount, it premiered in New York City on September 28,1949.
Morton Stevens was an American film score composer. In 1965, he became director of music for CBS West Coast operations. He is probably best known for composing the theme music for Hawaii Five-O, a CBS television series for which he won two Emmy Awards in 1970 and 1974, and was a gold record for The Ventures. Stevens was taught by Oscar-winning composer Jerry Goldsmith, with whom he frequently collaborated on other projects.
Joseph Sargent was an American film director. Though he directed many television movies, his best known feature-length works were arguably the action movie White Lightning starring Burt Reynolds, the biopic MacArthur starring Gregory Peck, and the horror anthology Nightmares. His most popular feature film was the subway thriller The Taking of Pelham One Two Three. Sargent won four Emmy Awards over his career.
Christian Duguay is a Canadian film director.
Muse Entertainment, commonly referred to as Muse, is one of the largest independent film and television production companies in Canada. It was founded by Michael Prupas in 1998.
Inherit the Wind is a 1999 American made-for-television film adaptation of the 1955 play of the same name which originally aired on Showtime on May 29, 1999. The original play was written as a parable which fictionalized the 1925 Scopes "Monkey" Trial as a means of discussing the 1950s McCarthy trials. It was George C. Scott's final film role. In the 1996 Broadway revival, he had played Drummond.
Bill Kerby was a screenwriter for several Hollywood films and television series who wrote and co-wrote the 1970s films Hooper and The Rose.
Return to Zero is a drama film written and directed by Sean Hanish and stars Minnie Driver, Paul Adelstein, Alfred Molina, Connie Nielsen, Andrea Anders, Kathy Baker, and Sarah Jones with Peter Jason. It was first shown at the Cinequest Film Festival on March 8, 2014, then had an international premiere on the Lifetime Network on May 17, 2014. It was the first Lifetime original to receive a simultaneous international release.
Gleason is a 2002 television film directed by Howard Deutch and starring Brad Garrett as Jackie Gleason. The film premiered on CBS on October 13, 2002.
