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(#8) When One Of The Members Performed In Vegas, The Others Would Show Up, Too
Rat Pack members performed in Las Vegas, often at the Copa Room at the Sands Hotel. The marquee may have featured Martin's name, but there were usually taglines to keep audiences guessing, such as "maybe Frank - maybe Sammy and Peter and Joey?" The group regularly appeared at each other's shows, telling jokes at one another's expense - Davis Jr. was a common target - and rounded out the night by drinking into the early morning.
The city of Las Vegas and the Sands reaped the financial benefits of having the Rat Pack and their fellow movie star friends hanging out in the area.
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(#7) Sammy Davis Jr. Wasn't Allowed To Perform At JFK's Inaugural
In 1960, Davis Jr. married a Swedish actress named May Britt. At the time, interracial marriage was illegal in most of the United States; the couple received hate mail and threats. Sinatra asked the pair to postpone their wedding so it wouldn't threaten John F. Kennedy's election campaign that same year. JFK had close ties to Sinatra and the Rat Pack, but Davis Jr. and Britt went through with their nuptials.
What Davis Jr. never forgot, however, was his exclusion from the gala Sinatra organized for JFK in 1961. Peter Lawford had married into the Kennedy family - he wed Patricia Kennedy, JFK's sister, in 1954. Sinatra's connections to the Kennedy family came through his associations with Sam Giancana and the thugs of Chicago. Davis Jr. had worked for the Kennedy campaign as well; however, to prevent any political backlash after Kennedy's electoral victory, Davis Jr. was left out of the celebratory event.
Davis Jr. wasn't the only Rat Pack member who wasn't present - Martin chose not to attend. It's unclear if this was on behalf of Davis Jr. or because Martin felt skeptical about the new president.
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(#1) Humphrey Bogart Surrounded Himself With Friends Who Became Known As 'The Rat Pack'
The Holmby Hills Rat Pack, as it became known, formed during the 1940s and '50s; the group centered around Bogart. Sinatra was a member of the esteemed group, which included Bogart's wife, Lauren Bacall; actress Judy Garland and her husband, Sid Luft; and actor David Niven and his wife, Hjördis.
Bogart took Sinatra under his wing, where the musician enjoyed the group camaraderie. The pack spent a lot of time in California and migrated to Las Vegas on occasion for parties and nights out.
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(#3) After Bogart Passed, Sinatra Wanted To Create Another Group
Bogart passed in 1957, and the original Rat Pack fell by the wayside. Sinatra missed the friendships he had established and sought to recreate the experience with another group. He first reached out to the witty and charming Dean Martin, his co-star in 1958's Some Came Running. Martin had recently split up from his comedy partner, Jerry Lewis.
Sinatra soon brought Sammy Davis Jr. into the fold, a dancer that he had met years before. British actor Peter Lawford and comedian Joey Bishop soon followed, rounding out the original five.
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(#2) Lauren Bacall Gave The Rat Pack Their Name
Actress Lauren Bacall met Humphrey Bogart on the set of To Have and Have Not in 1944, and the two quickly became romantically involved. Bogart was 25 years older than Bacall and already married at the time. Bogart soon divorced his wife, then married Bacall in 1945.
Bacall became the "Den Mother" of her husband's group. As the story goes, after Bacall came upon the lot after they returned from a long night of drinking, she reportedly said, "You look like a godd*mn rat pack!"
The name stuck. Bogart and his friends designed a coat of arm, established a motto ("never rat on a rat"), and claimed to live a bohemian lifestyle.
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(#4) Members Of The Rat Pack Didn't Adopt The Nickname
The media described Sinatra, Martin, Davis Jr., Lawford, and Bishop as the "Rat Pack" - however, the members did not adopt the name. When the group first formed, they considered being called "The Clan," though Sinatra reportedly hated the name because of its connotation. Some also referred to the members as "The Summit," which is how Sinatra became known as the "Chairman of the Board."
Once, when a reporter called the group the Rat Pack to Sinatra's face, the musician supposedly told him that it was a "stupid phrase."
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The Rat Pack is a swing singer group composed of Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr, Joey Bishop, and Peter Lawford. Later, they began to perform together in guest singing, which was very popular, and even President Kennedy also watched. They are most praised for the image of the handsome men who wear suits and knows how to enjoy life. The Rat Pack has become one of the marks of popular culture.
The Rat Pack is a singing group that was active on stage in the 1950s and 1960s. There were no fixed members and the number of them was variable. The random tool introduced 10 facts about the Rat Pack you must be interested in.
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