One-Man Rat Pack Tribute Acts: The Rat Pack is back (show) The Rat Pack was a nickname given to a group of 1950s entertainers, which included Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Jr., Joey Bishop, and Peter Lawford. The Rat Pack often performed in Las Vegas and were part of the reason that Las Vegas became such a popular entertainment destination. The Rat Pack started when Sinatra turned to longtime pals Sammy Davis, Jr., and Dean Martin, then added writer-comedian Joey Bishop and actor Peter Lawford, brother-in-law of a Massachusetts senator who was destined for the White House, John F. Kennedy. Sinatra had no idea his band of five would make entertainment history. 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 and return visits. They sold out almost all of their appearances, and people would come pouring into Vegas (sleeping in cars and lobbies when they could not find rooms) just to be part of the entertainment. The Rat Pack made several movies together which include: Ocean's Eleven (1960) and Robin and the Seven Hoods (1964). The term "rat pack" was assigned to the group by Lauren Bacall, after seeing them return from a night of partying. (The term rat is presumably meant in the sense of a dubious person or scoundrel.) Shirley MacLaine was considered an honorary member of the Rat Pack and the only female to be considered "one of the boys." Davis said when Sinatra called the gathering, 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 high rollers, VIPs, celebrities and entertainment buffs responded by the thousands. Trivia According to rumor, the Rat Pack was not Bacall's, or even Sinatra's, idea. 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. An alternative explanation, given in David Niven's autobiography The Moon's a Balloon, holds that the Rat Pack originally also contained David Niven and did not contain either Davis or Martin, and moreover did involve real (white) rats. The Rat Pack was the subject of a 1998 TV movie. 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.
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