thumb, Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis, Jr. and Dean Martin
The Rat Pack
was a group of popular entertainers originally centered on Humphrey Bogart. In the mid-1960s it was the name used by the press and the general public to refer to a group that called itself "the summit" or "the clan," featuring Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Jr., Peter Lawford and Joey Bishop, who appeared together on stage and in films in the early-1960s, including the movie Ocean's Eleven
. [1] Despite its reputation as a masculine group, the Rat Pack did have female participants, including movie icons Shirley MacLaine, Lauren Bacall, Angie Dickinson, Marilyn Monroe, and Judy Garland.
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THE RAT PACK TICKETS
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The fifties Rat Pack
The name "Rat Pack" was first used to refer to a group of friends in
Hollywood informally organized around
Humphrey Bogart and including the young
Frank Sinatra.
[2] [3] Several explanations have been offered for the famous name over the years. According to one version, the group's original "Den Mother,"
Lauren Bacall, after seeing her husband (Bogart) and his friends return from a night in
Las Vegas, said words to the effect of "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
Humphrey Bogart and
Lauren Bacall [3] which served as a regular hangout.
The name may also refer to the belief that an established pack of rats will belligerently reject an outsider who tries to join them ("Never rat on a rat"
). Garland's daughter
Lorna Luft tells the story that a certain gossip columnist (probably
Hedda Hopper or
Louella Parsons) wanted to be invited to the group's parties. The group didn't want their private parties becoming the subject of the writer's next column, and so the columnist was never invited. Later, she was said to have written about "that rat pack in Holmby Hills," which Garland found incredibly funny. Garland later had stick pins made for the group in the shape of rats with rubies for eyes. Thus, the "Rat Pack" was born. So called "visiting members" included
Errol Flynn,
Nat King Cole,
Mickey Rooney and
Cesar Romero.
According to Stephen Bogart, the original members of the
Holmby Hills Rat Pack
were Sinatra (pack master), Garland (first vice-president), Bacall (den mother),
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.
[3] In his autobiography
The Moon's a Balloon
, Niven confirms that the Rat Pack originally included him but not Sammy Davis Jr. or Dean Martin.
The sixties Rat Pack
The 1960s version of the group included
Frank Sinatra,
Dean Martin,
Sammy Davis, Jr.,
Joey Bishop,
Peter Lawford, and for a brief stint,
Norman Fell.
Marilyn Monroe,
Angie Dickinson,
Juliet Prowse, and
Shirley MacLaine were often referred to as the "Rat Pack Mascots", a title which reportedly made these ladies feel like "one of the boys". The post-Bogart version of the group (Bogart died in 1957) was reportedly never called that name by any of its members — they called it the Summit or the Clan. "The Rat Pack" was a term used by journalists and outsiders, although it remains the lasting name for the group.
Lawford was a brother-in-law of
John F. Kennedy, and the group played a role in campaigning for him and the
Democrats. Sinatra expected that he would be part of Kennedy's inner circle after the election but was excluded due to JFK's concerns about Sinatra's perceived ties to the
mafia. This in turn led to Peter Lawford's exclusion from the group after 1962. Lawford's role in
Robin and the Seven Hoods
was given to
Bing Crosby and beefed up with several songs added.(It wasn't the first time Sinatra had treated a Rat Packer that way; Davis's role in
Never So Few
was given to
Steve McQueen when Sinatra and Davis had a temporary falling-out.)
The Rat Pack often performed in
Las Vegas and were instrumental for its rise as a popular entertainment destination. They played an important role in the
desegregation of Las Vegas hotels and casinos in the early 1960s. Sinatra and the others would refuse to play in or patronize those establishments that would not give full service to
African American entertainers, including Davis.
[6] Once Rat Pack appearances became popular and the subject of media attention, the Las Vegas properties were forced to abandon segregation-based policies.
Sinatra and friends had no idea this band of five would make entertainment history. The group was remarkable for its upbeat entertainment style and smooth musical and comedy routines, many of which were ad-libbed. Davis said when Sinatra called the initial gathering of the Rat Pack, U.S. President
Dwight D. Eisenhower, French President
Charles de Gaulle, and Soviet leader
Nikita Khrushchev were planning a
Paris Summit Conference. Not to be outdone, Sinatra observed, "We'll have our own little Summit meeting." The Vegas Summit did not draw diplomats, but it did draw high rollers, VIPs, celebrities, and entertainment buffs, who responded by the thousands.
Often, when one of the members was scheduled to give a performance, the rest of the Pack would show up for an impromptu show, causing much excitement among audiences, resulting in return visits.
[clarification needed] They sold out almost all of their appearances, and people would come pouring into Las Vegas, sometimes sleeping in cars and hotel lobbies when they could not find rooms, just to be part of the Rat Pack entertainment experience. The marquees of the hotels at which they were performing as individuals would read, for example, "DEAN MARTIN - MAYBE FRANK - MAYBE SAMMY" as seen on a
Sands Hotel sign .
On June 20, 1965 Sinatra, Martin and Davis with
Johnny Carson as the emcee (subbing for Bishop who was out with a bad back) performed their only televised concert together during the heyday of the pack at the
Kiel Opera House in St. Louis, a closed-circuit broadcast done as a fundraiser for Dismas House (the first halfway house for ex-convicts). After being thought lost for thirty years
Paul Brownstein tracked down a print of the show that had been sitting in a closet in St. Louis. It has since been broadcast on Nick at Night (in 1998) as part The
Museum of Television & Radio Showcase series and released on DVD as part of the Ultimate Rat Pack Collection: Live & Swingin.
Although the Rat Pack members remained close (with the exception of Peter Lawford), the Rat Pack began to fade in popularity with the rise of the
1960s counterculture, which sent their form of sophisticated "Establishment" entertainment into decline. While its individual members remained popular with the public, the Rat Pack, as such, had ceased to exist by the end of the 1960s.
Many years later, Martin and Davis appeared together in the movie
Cannonball Run
, and were joined by Sinatra in the movie
Cannonball Run II
. This would be the last time that the three would appear in a movie together. (Shirley MacLaine also appears in the latter film).
Lawford died on December 24, 1984 of cardiac arrest complicated by kidney and liver failure at the age of 61. Sammy Davis, Jr. died at the age of 64 on May 16, 1990, of complications from throat cancer. Dean Martin died at home on Christmas morning 1995, aged 78. Frank Sinatra died on May 14, 1998, at the age of 82. Joey Bishop, the last surviving and longest-lived (89) male Rat Pack member, died on October 17, 2007.
Revival
In December 1987, at
Chasen's restaurant in Los Angeles, Sinatra, Davis, and Martin announced a 29 date tour, called
Together Again
, sponsored by
Home Box Office and
American Express. At the press conference to announce the tour, Martin joked about calling the tour off, and Sinatra rebuked a reporter for using the term "Rat Pack," referring to it as "that stupid phrase".
[7]
Dean Martin's son,
Dean Paul Martin, had died in a plane crash in March 1987 on the
San Gorgonio Mountain in California, the same mountain where Sinatra's mother, Dolly, had been killed in a plane crash ten years earlier. Martin had since become increasingly dependent on alcohol and prescription drugs. Davis had had hip replacement surgery two years previously, and been estranged from Sinatra because of his usage of cocaine.
[8] 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.
[9]
Martin had not made a film or recorded since 1983, 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".
[10] Sinatra and Davis still performed regularly, yet had not recorded for several years. Both Sinatra and Martin had made their last film appearances together, in 1984's
Cannonball Run II
, a film which also starred Davis. This marked the trios last 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. After private rehearsals, at one of which Sinatra and Davis had complained about the lack of black musicians in the orchestra,
the tour began at the
Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum on March 13, 1988.
To a sold-out crowd of 14,500,
[10] 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;
[12] this, coupled with his increasingly blasé attitude to the tour and his frustration with Sinatra's anger over hotel accommodation in Chicago, led to him leaving the tour after only four performances. Martin cited 'kidney problems' as the reason for his departure. Eliot Weisman, Sinatra's representative, suggested replacing Martin with his client,
Liza Minnelli. With Minnelli, the tour was called
The Ultimate Event
, and continued internationally to great success.
Davis's associate recalled Sinatra's people skimming the top of the revenues from the concerts, as well as stuffing envelopes full of cash into suitcases after the performances.
[13] Eliot Weisman had already been convicted of skimming, the act of taking money before it has been accounted for taxation purposes, after a series of Sinatra performances at the Westchester Premier Theatre in 1976, eventually being sentenced to six years in prison for the offence.
[14] In August 1989, after Davis experienced throat pain, he was diagnosed with lung cancer; he would die of the disease in May 1990. Davis was buried with a gold watch that Sinatra had given him at the conclusion of
The Ultimate Event Tour
.
[15]
A 1989 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 him as "pure, ebullient, unapologetic show business."
[16]
The Rat Pack
was a 1998
HBO TV movie about the group. The movie featured
Ray Liotta as
Frank Sinatra,
Joe Mantegna as
Dean Martin,
Don Cheadle as
Sammy Davis, Jr.,
Bobby Slayton as
Joey Bishop,
Angus Macfadyen as
Peter Lawford, and
William Petersen as
John F. Kennedy.
The production of the film was part of a "Rat Pack Revival." Currently, Rat Pack movies, recordings, and filmed performances are again popular. This reinvigorated popularity led to a remake of
Ocean's Eleven
starring
George Clooney,
Brad Pitt,
Matt Damon,
Don Cheadle,
Andy Garcia,
Julia Roberts,
Bernie Mac, and
Carl Reiner, and its sequels.
Legacy
Interest in the "Sin City" era of Las Vegas has spawned a number of Rat Pack "tribute" acts, which feature celebrity impersonators performing on stage with musical accompaniment. One such show, "The Rat Pack Is Back: The Tribute to Frank, Sammy, Joey and Dean", performs nightly at the
Plaza Hotel & Casino Plaza Theater in Las Vegas.
Concerning the group's reputation for womanizing and heavy drinking, Joey Bishop stated in a 1998 interview: "I never saw Frank, Dean, 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!
[17]
Rat Pack films
- Some Came Running
(1958) (Sinatra, Martin, MacLaine)
- Never So Few
(1959) (Sinatra, Lawford)
- Ocean's Eleven
(1960) (Sinatra, Martin, Davis, Lawford, Bishop)
- Sergeants 3
(1962) (Sinatra, Martin, Davis, Lawford, Bishop)
- 4 for Texas
(1963) (Sinatra, Martin)
- Robin and the Seven Hoods
(1964) (Sinatra, Martin, Davis)
- Marriage on the Rocks
(1965) (Sinatra, Martin)
- Texas Across the River
(1966) (Martin, Bishop)
Martin and Davis also had roles in
The Cannonball Run
, and Sinatra joined them in
Cannonball Run II
, as did Shirley MacLaine.
MacLaine also had a major supporting role and Sinatra a cameo in the 1956
Oscar-winning film
Around the World in Eighty Days
. MacLaine played a Hindu princess who is rescued by, and falls in love with,
David Niven, and Sinatra had a non-speaking, non-singing role as a piano player in a saloon, whose identity is concealed from the viewer until he turns his face toward the camera.
Live concert albums
- 1993 The Clan in Chicago, Live at the Villa Venice, Chicago 1962
- 1999 Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Jr. - The Summit in Concert 1962
- 2001 Ratpack: From Vegas to St. Louis: Sands Hotel Las Vegas Sept 6th 1963; St. Louis 1965
- 2001 The Rat Pack Live at the Sands
- 2003 A Night on the Town With the Rat Pack
- 2003 The Ultimate Rat Pack Collection: Live & Swingin
- 2004 The Rat Pack on Stage: Las Vegas/St. Louis
See also
- Brat Pack - 1980s
- Frat Pack - 1990s & 2000s
- Typecasting
- Liberal Party of Canada Rat Pack
References
- UNLV Libraries, The Rat Pack, retrieved May 2, 2007
- Shawn Levy, "Rat Pack confidential", Doubleday, 1998
- Lawrence J. Quirk and William Schoel, "The Rat Pack, Taylor Publishing Company 1998
- Lawrence J. Quirk and William Schoel, "The Rat Pack, Taylor Publishing Company 1998
- Lawrence J. Quirk and William Schoel, "The Rat Pack, Taylor Publishing Company 1998
- Sammy Davis jr, "Hollywood in a suitcase", William Morrow and company, 1980
- Levy, Shawn. ''Rat Pack Confidential''. Fourth Estate. London, 1999. p. 339
- Haygood, Wil. ''In Black and White: The Life of Sammy Davis, Jr.''. Random House. New York, 2003. p. 450
- Haygood p. 466
- Levy, p. 339
- Levy, p. 339
- Summers, Anthony, Swan, Robbyn. ''Sinatra: The Life''. Corgi. New York, 2006 p. 440
- Birkbeck, Matt. ''Deconstructing Sammy''. Amistad. New York, 2008. p. 213
- Birckbeck, p. 181
- Summers, Swan, p. 440
- With Sammy Davis, the Spirit Lingers
- time.com{{ndash}}
And Then There Was One