Rat Pack
The Rat Pack was an informal group of entertainers, the second iteration of which ultimately made movies and appeared together in Las Vegas casino venues.
They originated as a group of A-list show business friends who met casually at the Los Angeles home of Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall.
1950's
The name "Rat Pack" was first used to refer to a group of friends in New York, and several explanations have been offered for the name. According to one version, Lauren Bacall saw her husband Humphrey Bogart and his friends returning from a night in Las Vegas and said, "You look like a goddamn rat pack." "Rat Pack" may also be a shortened version of "Holmby Hills Rat Pack", a reference to the home of Bogart and Bacall which served as a regular hangout.
Visiting members included Errol Flynn, Ava Gardner, Nat King Cole, Robert Mitchum, Elizabeth Taylor, Janet Leigh, Tony Curtis, Mickey Rooney, Lena Horne, Jerry Lewis, and Cesar Romero. According to Stephen Bogart, the original members of the Holmby Hills Rat Pack were Frank Sinatra (pack master), Judy Garland (first vice-president), Sid Luft (cage master), Bogart (rat in charge of public relations), Swifty Lazar (recording secretary and treasurer), Nathaniel Benchley (historian), David Niven, Katharine Hepburn, Spencer Tracy, George Cukor, Cary Grant, Rex Harrison, and Jimmy Van Heusen.
1960s
The 1960s version of the group included Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Peter Lawford, and Joey Bishop. Marilyn Monroe, Angie Dickinson, Juliet Prowse, Buddy Greco, and Shirley MacLaine were often referred to as the "Rat Pack Mascots". Comedian Don Rickles wrote that "I never received an official membership card, but Frank made me feel part of the fun.".
Peter Lawford was a brother-in-law of President John F. Kennedy (dubbed "Brother-in-Lawford" by Sinatra) and Kennedy spent time with Sinatra and the others when he visited Las Vegas, during which members sometimes referred to the group as "the Jack Pack". Rat Pack members played a role in campaigning for Kennedy and the Democrats, appearing at the July 1960 Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Los Angeles. Lawford asked Sinatra if he would have Kennedy as a guest at his Palm Springs house in March 1962, and Sinatra went to great lengths to accommodate the President, including the construction of a helipad. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy advised his brother to sever his ties to Sinatra because of his association with Mafia figures such as Sam Giancana, and he cancelled the visit. Kennedy instead stayed at Bing Crosby's estate, which further infuriated Sinatra. Lawford was blamed for this, and Sinatra "never again had a good word" for him. Lawford's role was written out of the upcoming film "4 for Texas", and his part in "Robin and the 7 Hoods" was given to Bing Crosby.
Revival
Sinatra, Davis, and Martin announced a 29-date tour called "Together Again" in December 1987. At the press conference to announce the tour, Martin joked about calling it off, and Sinatra rebuked a reporter for using the term "Rat Pack", referring to it as "that stupid phrase".
Dean Martin's son Dean Paul Martin died in a plane crash in March 1987 on the San Gorgonio Mountain in California, the same mountain where Sinatra's mother was killed in a plane crash ten years earlier. Martin had since become increasingly dependent on alcohol and prescription drugs. Davis had hip replacement surgery two years previously, and was estranged from Sinatra because of Davis' use of cocaine. Davis was also experiencing severe financial difficulties, and was promised by Sinatra's people that he could earn between six and eight million dollars from the tour.
Martin had not made a film or recorded since 1984 and Sinatra felt that the tour would be good for Martin, telling Davis, "I think it would be great for Dean. Get him out. For that alone it would be worth doing". Sinatra and Davis still performed regularly, yet they had not recorded for several years. Both Sinatra and Martin had made their last film appearances together in 1984's "Cannonball Run II", which also starred Davis. This marked the trio's first feature film appearance since 1964's "Robin and the 7 Hoods". Martin expressed reservations about the tour, wondering whether they could draw as many people as they had in the past. Sinatra and Davis complained during private rehearsals about the lack of black musicians in the orchestra. The tour began at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena on March 13, 1988 to a sold-out crowd of 14,500.
Davis opened the show, followed by Martin and then Sinatra; after an interval, the three performed a medley of songs. During the show, Martin threw a lit cigarette at the audience. He withdrew from the tour after just five shows, citing a flare-up of a kidney problem. Sinatra and Davis continued the tour under the title "The Ultimate Event" with Liza Minnelli replacing Martin as the third member of the trio.
Davis's associate stated that Sinatra's people were skimming the top of the revenues from the concerts, as well as stuffing envelopes full of cash into suitcases after the performances. In August 1989, Davis was diagnosed with throat cancer which caused his death in May 1990. He was buried with a gold watch that Sinatra had given him at the conclusion of The Ultimate Event Tour.
A 1988 performance of "The Ultimate Event" in Detroit was recorded and shown on Showtime the following year as a tribute to the recently deceased Davis. A review in The New York Times praised Davis's performance, describing it as "pure, ebullient, unapologetic show business."
Reputation
Concerning the group's reputation for womanizing and heavy drinking, Joey Bishop stated in a 1998 interview: "I never saw Frank, Dean Martin, Sammy or Peter drunk during performances. That was only a gag! And do you believe these guys had to chase broads? They had to chase 'em away!"
Films
- "It Happened in Brooklyn" (1947) (Frank Sinatra and Peter Lawford)
- "Meet Me in Las Vegas" (1956) (Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr. – cameo appearances)
- "Some Came Running" (1958) (Sinatra and Dean Martin, co-starring Shirley MacLaine)
- "Anna Lucasta" (1958)
- "Never So Few" (1959) (Sinatra, Lawford, and initially Davis, who was replaced by Steve McQueen)
- "Ocean's 11" (1960) (Sinatra, Martin, Davis, Lawford, Angie Dickinson, Joey Bishop, cameo by MacLaine)
- "Pepe" (1960) (Sinatra, Martin, Davis, Lawford, and Bishop – all cameos)
- "Sergeants 3" (1962) (Sinatra, Martin, Davis, Lawford, and Bishop)
- "The Road to Hong Kong" (1962) (Sinatra and Martin – cameos)
- "Come Blow Your Horn" (1963) (Sinatra; cameo by Martin)
- "Johnny Cool" (1963) (Davis and Bishop; Peter Lawford, executive producer; Henry Silva of Ocean's 11 starred)
- "4 for Texas" (1963) (Sinatra and Martin)
- "Robin and the 7 Hoods" (1964) (Sinatra, Martin, Davis, and initially Lawford, who was replaced by Bing Crosby)
- "Marriage on the Rocks" (1965) (Sinatra and Martin)
- "The Oscar" (1966) (Sinatra uncredited, and Lawford)
- "A Man Called Adam" (1966) (Davis and Lawford)
- "Texas Across the River" (1966) (Martin and Bishop)
- "Salt and Pepper" (1968) (Davis and Lawford)
- "One More Time" (1970) (Davis and Lawford)
- "The Cannonball Run" (1981) (Martin and Davis)
- "Cannonball Run II" (1984) (Sinatra, Martin and Davis, plus MacLaine and Silva)
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