Spotlight on Desi Arnaz Jr.
A Visit with Ricci, Desi & Billy!
Ricci Martin was a good friend of Desi Arnaz Jr. and Billy Hinsche, having grown up with them in Beverly Hills. So it made sense that, when Arnaz and Hinsche revived their sixties pop group Dino, Desi & Billy, they would ask Ricci to take the place of his late brother, Dean Martin, Jr.
The group’s revival was a success for several years; it routinely played Vegas and other venues across the country.
My sister, Diane, who is as much of a Dean Martin fan as I am a Lucy fan (translation: she worships and adores him) saw Ricci, Desi & Billy perform at Arnaz’s Boulder Theater in Boulder City, Nevada, in 2003. She filed this report.
"Being a tremendous (insane?) Dean Martin fan, you can imagine my delight and hysteria when, surfing the Web, I saw that Dean’s son Ricci was performing in a show titled "A Tribute to Dean Martin" in Boulder City, Nevada, during the very dates my husband and I would be in nearby Las Vegas. I immediately called the theater — which is owned by Desi Arnaz Jr. and his wife, Amy — and got the best seats I could: third row, left side.
"The tickets were for the final night of our Vegas trip and I was very excited. I re-read Ricci’s book [That’s Amore: A Son Remembers Dean Martin, 2002] and noted that Dean’s favorite cologne was Woodhue, by Fabergé; Ricci wrote that every time he smelled it he was reminded of his father. Ricci also liked it. But Fabergé had stopped making it a while ago.
"My fabulous, kind, dear, loving and thoughtful brother, Michael Karol [Note: I did not pay or ask her to write this ;-)] — author of two books about Lucille Ball, Lucy A to Z and Lucy in Print — understanding my obsession, had found a small bottle of Woodhue on eBay and got it for me as a gift. I decided to bring the Woodhue with me to Vegas and present it to Ricci; I knew there’d be a Q&A at the end of the show.
"On the final day of our trip, we rented a car and took a leisurely ride to Boulder City, which had been built to house the men who worked on the Hoover Dam and their families. We got into Boulder around 3:30 p.m. and my first impression was that it was a very clean, quaint town. No gambling, nothing like Las Vegas. Stores were open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and the Dairy Queen was the big event of the night. We shopped and asked about a place to have dinner, and were recommended a small Italian restaurant. With a lot of time on our hands before the show, we took a ride to Lake Mead. What a sight, with the mountains behind the lake — it was very beautiful and serene.
"We had dinner — the best meal we had during our eight-day trip — and headed to the theater. We arrived early and were greeted very warmly by Desi’s wife, Amy, whom everyone in Boulder calls Miss Amy. She has a wonderful personality and made us feel like this was a family event. She’s a dance teacher and had just finished renovating the theater. It was lovely!
"We took our seats (they were great) and waited for the big event to start. Miss Amy knew many of the people in the audience that night, and the whole environment was warm and pleasant. Finally the band emerged: Billy Hinsche and three other great musicians. Ricci was introduced and came onstage, and began singing his father’s songs. What a surprise to me — I had no idea he was a singer. He has a great voice (okay, not like his father’s but very good). Even better, he has a wonderful, warm personality and lit up the stage. He told stories about his family as slides ran in the background. For anyone who loved Dean Martin, this was a good as it gets.
"Eventually, Ricci asked for questions from the audience, and walked around answering them. He was very quick-witted, and it was fun. Afterward he took a short break, during which the band played a Frank Sinatra tune [Sinatra had engineered the group’s first recording contract in the 1960s].
Lucy fans, alert: "Then Desi Jr. jumped on stage and played drums on two songs with the band, including one of their two Top Forty hits from the 1960s [that would be either "I’m a Fool" or "Not the Loving Kind"]. He was excellent!
"Ricci came back on and sang a few songs with each band member. He ended the show with — of course — "Everybody Loves Somebody Sometime." The audience went nuts. Afterward, Billy and Ricci came out to meet and greet the fans. Billy told us they’d be performing in Connecticut in December (2003) and I told him I’d be there, too.
"When Ricci came out. I handed him my small package containing the Woodhue. He have me an apprehensive look (as if to say, "This ain’t gonna blow up, is it, lady?") and I assured him it wouldn’t hurt. When he saw the cologne, he reached across the table and kissed me three times. He was so excited to get his father’s favorite cologne, and I was on cloud nine getting a few kisses from Dean’s boy. All in all, an excellent trip, highly recommended for fans."
Thanks sis, for sharing.
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