Martin's parents were singer and entertainer Dean Martin and his second wife, Jeanne Biegger. Dean Paul was the fifth of Dean Martin's eight children, and was Jeanne's eldest son. He attended the Urban Military Academy in Brentwood, California. As a youth, Martin was encouraged toward a singing career. At age 13 he joined Desi Arnaz Jr. and Billy Hinsche in the pop group Dino, Desi, & Billy, which had a few minor hits in the US between 1965 and 1968, landing in the Top 30 twice.
Martin began to go by his given name of Dean Paul instead of the nickname "Dino" in his late teens. He became a successful tennis player (he competed in a junior competition at Wimbledon) and an actor. He co-starred with Ali MacGraw in the 1979 film Players, starring as a professional tennis player, for which he was nominated for a Golden Globe Award as Best New Star of the Year—Male.
Martin, an avid pilot, obtained his pilot's license at age 16 and became an officer in the California Air National Guard in 1981. He rose to the rank of captain. He died in 1987 when his Air National Guard F-4 Phantom jet fighter departed March Air Force Base and crashed in California's San Bernardino Mountains during a snowstorm, killing him and his Weapons Systems Officer, Captain Ramon Ortiz. He was 35 years old.
He later starred in the TV series Misfits of Science which aired during the 1985-1986 television season. The series co-starred Courteney Cox.
His final film appearance came in Backfire, co-starring Karen Allen and Keith Carradine, released in 1988 after Martin's death.
