Dewey Martin

Dewey Martin passed away March 11, 2018 at his home in San Pedro, Ca. at the age of 94, with his common law wife of over 35 years Tiko Martin, stepson and grandson by his side. He was the kindest man I'd ever known.

Personally, and people may disagree with me, that Martin and all the men that came after were users. They weren't popular anymore and used Peg. She was smart enough to realize this. Hats off to Peg for never marrying users again. She did not need them. What a WOMAN!

Well, the label "Mr. Peggy Lee" was something of a painful, embarrassing branding to some of her husbands' egos.

Still, I wouldn't go as far as to say that this particular husband was using her, or anything of the sort. He did have his own acting career in motion pictures and television, where he found minor-to-moderate success from the 1950s to the 1970s. There is no indication that he ever wanted to piggyback on her celebrity, or take advantage of any material possessions of hers. On the contrary, he appears to have been extremely uneasy with the notion, going as far as to ask her to sell her previous house to him, or to sell her old home and come to live into one newly bought by him. (I forgot the specifics; I'll have to check.)

Overall, the impression that I get is that of someone who wanted to be "the man of the house," in the traditional American sense of that notion. While married to our North Dakotan lass, this Texan stud does seem to have exhibited the type of behavior which ultimately stems from a conservative worldview common to patriarchal societies, and to certain brands of religion. (Of course, he might have changed his ways as he became wiser and older.)

Naturally, Peggy Lee could not possibly be a model of perfection, either. She was human, too, and, like all of us, a product of the culture within which she grew up.

This being a marriage relationship, there had to be ups and downs. The most publicized point of contention was one in which neither party can categorically be deemed guilty. For many years, she had led a jazz musician's life. Such a life included a post-concert routine of celebration and winding down with fellow musicians at her home -- a routine lasting until the wee small hours of the morning. That's probably how she had been operating since the mid-1940s, while doing professional work with husband #1, a musician. Husband #3 had no interest in partaking on routines of that type. He was not a musician. He expected peace, quiet, and solitude in HIS home (at least, after a certain hour). There were times in which he exploded in frustration, resulting in loud arguments between husband and wife, while the musicians were still in the house. There were also times in which he threw them out of the house in no uncertain terms.

Specifics are murky, but it seems that Peggy eventually decided to retire from her music career, in an attempt to make the marriage work. Her attempt at retirement did not last long, though, for reasons that are not fully known to me. Perhaps she just couldn't stay away from the world of music, which she perennially breathed like air. Or perhaps, during this short period of retirement, certain unsavory traits of husband #3's personality came into full relief (as suggested from anecdotes privately shared by witnesses), and she could not ignore such traits for long.

In the end, they divorced, which was probably the best decision for both of them. She might have learned that, as long as she wanted to live the typical life of a session musician, remaining single or being married to another musician were more suitable courses of action. He might have learned a few things from the failure of the relationship, too. Perhaps, for his next domestic relationship, he proceeded to search for a partner more meek and submissive. Or, better yet, perhaps he became a bit more mature, self-controlled and discerning, as he moved on to his next love relationship. (Speculation on my part, most of this paragraph.)

Ivan

Dewey Martin was like a father to me for over 35 years. My mother, son, his wife, my wife and myself were with Dewey when he died. Let me make it perfectly clear, Dewey left Peggy Lee. He told me many stories over the years. I know this is a Peggy Lee page and so I won't get into it. But I do resent the fact people who didn't know any of these people can sit here and speculate that Dewey married Peggy to further his career. Nothing could be further from the truth. She had serious tax problems when they got married and it was he who had to help her financially.