

Sinatra was the leader, Dean Martin would play the wino, regardless of whether he was drinking or not, and Davis was the triple threat talent who was often the butt of politically incorrect jokes. The group members settled into their roles. It was startling to see grown men in tuxedos behaving this way.” According to James Kaplan, “to paying customers… it was all new and profoundly startling. They developed their show with singing, dancing, impressions and off-color jokes, playing off each other the entire time. Sinatra would storm on stage and prevent Davis Jr. Martin would interrupt Sinatra’s singing with a witty response to a specific lyric. They instead enlisted Lewis Milestone to direct.Įventually the trio performed on stage, interrupting each other with playful jabs. According to Sinatra biographer James Kaplan, the idea for the film came from a conversation B-movie director Gilbert Kay had with a gas station attendant who shared an idea for a movie: “a group of World War II veterans, former commandos, join forces to rob five Las Vegas casinos simultaneously.” Kay wanted to direct, but Lawford and Sinatra nixed the idea. Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Peter Lawford, Joey Bishop, and others were in town to film scenes for Ocean’s 11, a casino heist film. The Rat Pack was the original collab to go viral and it all went down in Las Vegas. The Rat Pack would soon be reborn a few years later with the making of the film Ocean’s 11 (1960). The Bogart Rat Pack would eventually dissolve when Bogart got sick with cancer and passed away in 1957, leaving Sinatra with a new group that he could lead. In fact, he had his own group in the 1940s called The Varsity which consisted of music industry types, actors, and prizefighters. Sinatra specifically hated being bored and lonely and would constantly surround himself with cohorts to fill the time. Sinatra and Bogart had similar temperaments. The name “Rat Pack” came from Bacall, who was dubbed the “den mother” and once remarked upon seeing the group: “I see the rat pack is all here.” In her memoir Bacall wrote, “in order to qualify, one had to be addicted to nonconformity, staying up late, drinking, laughing, and not caring what anyone thought or said about us.”

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"The Rat Pack - Frank Sinatra" presents a candid look at Old Blue Eyes' amazing reign as America's greatest entertainer - one you won't want to miss. Their legendary take-no-prisoners partying made them staples of the top gossip columns and endeared them to legions of fans.Īnd as their leader, Sinatra always set the agenda and never looked back. Sinatra's stardom came quickly and from 1940 to 1980, he scored an extraordinary 209 hits on Billboard's pop singles charts, from "Polka Dots and Moonbeams" and "Love and Marriage" to "The Lady is a Tramp" and "New York New York," many of which he performs here.īut part of Sinatra's celebrity appeal was the hard-drinking, chain-smoking, skirt-chasing lifestyle he led with pals, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Joey Bishop and Peter Lawford. "The Rat Pack - Frank Sinatra" airs this Saturday, March 4 at 7:30 p.m., only on Newsmax TV, America's weekend destination for compelling films and award-winning documentaries. Frank Sinatra was the leader of the pack - The Rat Pack - the legendary group of entertainers who used Hollywood, New York and Las Vegas as their own personal playground.Īnd now Newsmax TV proudly presents an entertaining look at the beloved Chairman of the Board, from his humble beginnings in the rough and tumble New Jersey city of Hoboken, to his meteoric rise to fame as a velvet-voiced crooner and matinee idol, and ascension to American icon.
