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The pack began to fine tune their wild lifestyle, and staked out the Sands Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas as their unofficial hangout. The quintet are pictured outside the venue in 1960.
The group filmed by day and performed at the Sands Copa Room by night, drinking and singing on stage into the small hours.
In 1960, the pack starred in the heist movie 'Ocean's 11.' Filmed in Las Vegas and centered on a series of casino robberies, the film cemented the Rat Pack's notoriety.
The comedy Western 'Sergeants 3' again starred all five members of the pack. But it also marked the last time the quintet appeared together on celluloid. Peter Lawford's tenure was soon to end in spectacular and controversial fashion.
Missing also from the cast was Joey Bishop. By the mid-1960s, Bishop was hosting his own television comedy shows and was seen less and less in the company of Sinatra and co.
Frank Sinatra, Kim Novak, Lauren Bacall, and Humphrey Bogart attend the premiere of 'The Desperate Hours' in Los Angeles in October 1955. By this time Bogart was ill, and following his death in 1957 Sinatra became the de facto leader of the Rat Pack.
Kennedy took office as the 35th President of the United States in January 1961. Lawford's brother-in-law was now one of the most powerful and influential men in the world. The pair are seen sailing aboard Kennedy's yacht Manitou off the coast of Johns Island, Maine, in August 1962.
Peter Lawford was married to Patricia Kennedy (1924–2006), a younger sister of then-senator John F. Kennedy (Sinatra famously dubbed him "Brother-in-Lawford" at this time).
Lawford, along with other members of the Rat Pack, helped campaign for Kennedy and the Democratic Party in the run-up to the 1960 presidential election. In this photograph, Sinatra is seen seated next to the presidential hopeful at the July 1960 Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles. The two men became good friends over the course of the campaign, and Sinatra even sang the campaign theme song 'High Hopes.'
Sinatra was furious and blamed Lawford for not interceding with the Kennedys on his behalf. Their friendship over, Lawford was immediately banished from the Rat Pack. The pair never spoke again.
The Rat Pack perform on stage in Las Vegas. Their act became known as the "Summit at the Sands," and combined songs, gags, and wisecracks.
Joseph Abraham Gottlieb, known professionally as Joey Bishop, made his name as a comedian in television in the late 1940s. He later starred in his own weekly comedy series playing a talk/variety show host.
From the 1940s to the 1960s, English-born American actor and socialite Peter Lawford was a well-known celebrity, a status lent an edge by the fact that he was also the brother-in-law of US President John F. Kennedy and senators Robert F. Kennedy and Edward Kennedy.
The leader of the pack, Frank Sinatra is regarded as one the greatest and most influential musical artists of the 20th century.
Born Dino Paul Crocetti, Dean Martin enjoyed great success in music, film, television, and the stage, and was one of the most popular and enduring entertainers of the mid-20th century.
With a background in vaudeville, Sammy Davis Jr. grew up to become an entertainment legend. Indeed, he was often billed as the "greatest living entertainer in the world."
As the singers in the pack, Sinatra, Martin, and Davis often recorded together in the studio. They would then perform live across the United States as a all-singing, all-drinking trio.
Lawfords' role in the spoof gangster movie 'Robin and the 7 Hoods' was written out, his part instead going to Bing Crosby.
Sinatra, Martin, and Davis announced a 29-date US tour called Together Again in December 1987. Concerts across the nation sold out quickly. But after just five shows, Martin withdrew after an old kidney ailment flared up to force his departure. Liza Minnelli was drafted in as his replacement.
Frank Sinatra died in 1998, leaving Joey Bishop as the last surviving member of the pack. As a professional comedian, Bishop anchored the group's anarchic stage performances and conceived much of its material. His role was pivotal, but was often undermined by the glamor and razzmatazz surrounding his buddies. He is pictured pouring over fond memories of his good friend Frank Sinatra shortly after he passed away. Bishop himself died in 2007.
The reemergence of Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and Sammy Davis Jr. sparked renewed interest in the by now largely forgotten Rat Pack. A revival was on the cards.
While Sinatra wanted nothing more to do with Peter Lawford, Sammy Davis Jr. remained loyal. He secured the banished Brit supporting roles in a number of movies, including 'A Man Called Adam' (1966) and 'Salt and Pepper' (1967). The pair are pictured in London in 1967.
The Rat Pack are gone but not forgotten. In 1998, 'Rat Pack' was released, a television movie dramatizing the lives and careers of the members of one of entertainment's most notorious clubs. It stars Ray Liotta as Frank Sinatra, Joe Mantegna as Dean Martin, Don Cheadle as Sammy Davis Jr., and Angus Macfadyen as Peter Lawford.
Sources: (CBS News) (Time) (The Daily Beast) (The Desert Sun) (Britannica) (AP News)
See also: The best ever stage-to-screen musicals
Crosby appears with Sinatra and Martin in one of the film's most famous musical numbers, 'Style' (pictured).
Director Lewis Milestone talking through a scene on set with Dean Martin, Joey Bishop, and Sammy Davis Jr.
'Ocean's 11' costarred Angie Dickinson (pictured with Sinatra) and included a cameo performance by Shirley MacLaine. Along with Juliet Prowse and Marilyn Monroe, these actresses were often referred to as the "Rat Pack Mascots." In fact, MacLaine eventually became an honorary member of the closed circle.
The Rat Pack originated as an informal group of Hollywood A-listers who convened casually at the home of celebrity power couple Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall.
The Rat Pack's circle of friends extended to Robert Kennedy, the US Attorney General. Robert Kennedy, however, was wary of Sinatra's alleged associations with the Mafia.
By the late 1960s, the Rat Pack had effectively dissolved. But in 1984, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and Sammy Davis Jr. were persuaded to appear in the comedy road movie 'Cannonball Run II.' This marked the trio's first feature film appearance since 1964's 'Robin and the 7 Hoods.'
Sinatra quickly recruited his cronies to form the definitive Rat Pack quintet, the ones who along with Ol' Blue Eyes are most associated with the term today—Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Peter Lawford, and Joey Bishop.
In March 1962, Lawford asked Sinatra if he would host the president at his Palm Springs house. The singer went to great lengths to accommodate such an illustrious guest. But Robert Kennedy advised against the visit, citing Sinatra's alleged association with Mafia figures such as Sam Giancana. President Kennedy cancelled his stay and instead ensconced himself at Bing Crosby's estate.
The Rat Pack was one of the entertainment world's most notorious clubs. A rough-and-tumble quintet that consisted of buddies Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Peter Lawford, and Joey Bishop, the pack sang and acted together, and enjoyed a life of booze, broads, and bright lights. But did you know that the group originally centered around Humphrey Bogart and that one of its founding members was a woman—Lauren Bacall?
Click through and enter the wild and hedonistic world of the Rat Pack.
In 1955, so the story goes, Frank Sinatra joined Bogie, Bacall, Judy Garland, and British actor David Niven on an especially wild long weekend in Las Vegas. Bacall noted that her drunken and disheveled pals looked "like a goddamn rat pack." She repeated the phrase a few days later, and the name stuck.
In fact, the pack garnered a reputation for boozing and "chasing broads." Years later, however, in an interview for Time magazine, Joey Bishop refuted claims that they were always drunk on stage. "I never saw Frank, Dean, Sammy or Peter drunk during performances," he said. "That was only a gag!"
Remembering the Rat Pack
Enter the wild and hedonistic world of one of entertainment's most notorious circles
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The Rat Pack was one of the entertainment world's most notorious clubs. A rough-and-tumble quintet that consisted of buddies Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Peter Lawford, and Joey Bishop, the pack sang and acted together, and enjoyed a life of booze, broads, and bright lights. But did you know that the group originally centered around Humphrey Bogart and that one of its founding members was a woman—Lauren Bacall?
Click through and enter the wild and hedonistic world of the Rat Pack.