Elvis & Dean and THE SOLDIERS' REUNION

 

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Dean Martin's daughter: "Elvis Called My Dad 'The King of Cool'": You know you're a lucky kid when Elvis Presley thinks your father is the greatest thing since sliced focaccia. And that's precisely what Dean Martin's daughter Deana Martin came to realize one day during the swinging '60s, as she recounts this week.  "Elvis adored Dean Martin," Deana (below, as a teen, at a recording session with Dino). "Elvis was doing a movie at Paramount, and so was my dad. I went to visit dad at the studio and we were standing outside [dad's] dressing room. And in those days, you rode around the studio on bicycles," Deana - who like her legendary father, is a big-band crooner. "And Elvis Presley comes riding up on his bicycle. And he gets off the bike when he sees my dad… And he says hi to my father. And dad introduces me," continues Deana, whose new CD is titled Volare. "He says, 'Deana, this is Elvis Presley. And, Elvis, this is my daughter Deana.' "And Elvis leans down to me and says, 'Deana, they call me the King of Rock 'n' Roll. But your dad is the King of Cool.' "And I thought, Oh my gosh. It must be true. Elvis Presley said so!" Elvis with Deana (above left) and her siblings. Later in the show, Deana chats about hanging out with her dad in Las Vegas during his Rat Pack days, when Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr. would join them after and sometimes during Dino's performances. "They'd walk out into the casino and deal. My dad would take over for one of the blackjack dealers. And he would deal. "And people would come up to the table and go, 'Are you Dean Martin?' "And he'd go, 'Nope. I'm the dealer.'" To hear Deana's full interview, click here. Go HERE for EIN's Spotlight on Influences on The King - ' Dean Martin and Elvis':