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, Frank Sinatra , Sammy Davis, Jr. , Dean Martin , and Joey Bishop (not shown)]] The Rat Pack is the nickname given to a group of entertainers most active between the mid- 1950s and mid- 1960s . Its most famous line-up featured Frank Sinatra , Dean Martin , Sammy Davis Jr. , Peter Lawford and Joey Bishop , who appeared together in films and on stage in the early 1960s. Despite its reputation as a masculine group of people, the Rat Pack did have female participants, such as movie icons Lauren Bacall and Judy Garland . THE FIFTIES RAT PACK The name "Rat Pack" was first used to refer to a group of friends in Hollywood first informally organized around Humphrey Bogart , a group that included the young Frank Sinatra. The term "Rat Pack" was supposedly assigned to the original Bogart group by "Den Mother" Lauren Bacall , after seeing them return from a night on the town. (The term ''rat'' is presumably meant in the sense of a dubious person or scoundrel.) According to another explanation, the term "Rat Pack" was not Bacall's idea at all. It had started with Humphrey Bogart , Bacall's husband and frequent film co-star and a pal of Sinatra's, who named a group of his drinking buddies the Holmby Hills Rat Pack, after the location of one of Judy Garland and her husband Sid Luft 's houses (a frequent hangout). According to Stephen Bogart members of the Holmby Hills Rat Pack were Frank Sinatra (pack master), Judy Garland (first vice-president), Lauren Bacall (den mother), Sid Luft (cage master), Humphrey Bogart (rat in charge of public relations), Irving Lazar (recording secretary and treasurer), Nathaniel Benchley (historian), David Niven , Michael Romanoff and James Van Heusen . According to this the explanation, confirmed in David Niven 's autobiography ''The Moon's a Balloon'', the Rat Pack originally contained David Niven and did not contain either Davis or Martin, and moreover did involve real ( White ) rats. THE SIXTIES RAT PACK The 1960s version of the group included actors and singers Frank Sinatra , Dean Martin and Sammy Davis, Jr. ; writer-comedian Joey Bishop ; and actor Peter Lawford , brother-in-law of John Fitzgerald Kennedy , then a Massachusetts senator who was destined for the White House . Actress Angie Dickinson was often referred to as the "Rat Pack Mascot". Actress-dancer Shirley MacLaine was also considered an honorary member of the Rat Pack and was the only female to be considered "one of the boys." The group 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. As a result of Lawford's relation to John F. Kennedy and Sinatra's connections to the Mafia , and the role the group played in campaigning for Kennedy and the Democrats , the Rat Pack had not only influence in entertainment and social circles but some influence politically as well. Sinatra expected that he would be part of Kennedy's circle after the election but was excluded, which in turn led to Peter Lawford exclusion from the group after 1962. The Rat Pack often performed in Las Vegas , Nevada and were instrumental in the rise of Las Vegas 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 Davis, an African American . Once Rat Pack appearances became popular and the subject of media attention, the Las Vegas properties felt 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 amongst audiences, and return visits. 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 might read "DEAN MARTIN - MAYBE FRANK - MAYBE SAMMY". 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. Although its individual members remained hugely popular with the public, the Rat Pack as such had ceased to exist by the end of the 1960s. REVIVAL '' The Rat Pack '' was a 1998 TV Movie about the group. The movie featured Ray Liotta as Frank Sinatra , Joe Mantegna as Dean Martin , and Don Cheadle as Sammy Davis, Jr. In a smaller role was William Petersen as President John F. Kennedy . The production of the film was part and parcel of a "Rat Pack Revival." Currently, Rat Pack movies, recordings and filmed performances are again very popular. This reinvigorated popularity led to a memorable remake of ''Ocean's Eleven'' starring George Clooney , Brad Pitt , Andy Garcia , Julia Roberts and Carl Reiner , and a less-than-memorable sequel, ''Ocean's Twelve'', with the same cast. As Of 2006 , Joey Bishop is the only male member of the Rat Pack who is still alive. RAT PACK FILMS
LIVE CONCERT ALBUMS
SEE ALSO
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