Peter Lawford seemed to have it all—until Frank Sinatra cast him out of the Rat Pack. When Lawford died, he suffered a further betrayal, this time at the hands of his own children. While the singers and actors of the Rat Pack were known for their glamorous, hard-drinking lifestyle, there was a darker side to the group. Frank Sinatra was its unofficial leader, ruling with an iron fist.
Often, it was his way or the highway. As the five men aged, each paid a heavy price for their excesses. The story begins with a different Hollywood legend: Humphrey Bogart. Though not typically associated with the Rat Pack, Bogart led what most consider the original version of the group.
When Bogart returned from a trip to Las Vegas with his friends, his wife, actress Lauren Bacall, remarked that they looked like a “rat pack. ” But a new generation of “rats” was on the horizon. The only common link between the two groups was Frank Sinatra. Sinatra had socialized with Bogart and his circle, which included Errol Flynn and Jerry Lewis, but he later used the same name for his own group of younger, party-loving friends.
Sinatra’s rise to become the head of the Rat Pack was difficult. He nearly died at birth, later suffered from a perforated eardrum, and had severe acne scarring that made him a target for bullies at school. Despite a troubled childhood, he transformed himself into America’s first beloved heartthrob. His career hit a low point, however, when he left his wife, Nancy, for Ava Gardner, causing his popularity to plummet.
In 1953, his career was revived by his role in *From Here to Eternity*, though some claim he got the part through mafia connections—a persistent rumor mirrored in the character Johnny Fontane in *The Godfather*. He won an Oscar for the role and was ready to enjoy life as a superstar once more. Having regained his footing, Sinatra assembled “Rat Pack 2. 0,” bringing together friends Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr.
, Joey Bishop, and Peter Lawford. They sang together, acted in films together, and partied together. But the group was made up of artists with enormous talent and enormous egos. Peter Lawford soon learned not to anger the volatile Sinatra.
Lawford married into a famous family when he wed Patricia Kennedy, the sister of future president John F. Kennedy. His connection to the Kennedys brought him significant attention, and Sinatra quickly sought to bring him into the fold, calling him “Brother Lawford. ”
In 1962, Lawford arranged a meeting between Sinatra and John Kennedy.
Sinatra was so excited that he built a helipad specifically for Kennedy’s arrival. However, Kennedy backed out of the meeting at the last minute, allegedly due to Sinatra’s mob ties, and chose to stay with Bing Crosby instead. Sinatra was furious. He demolished the helipad in a rage and turned his anger directly on Lawford.
He immediately fired Lawford from his film *Robin and the 7 Hoods* and, in a bitter move, replaced him with Crosby. Lawford was officially out of the Rat Pack. In 1963, Sinatra’s son, Frank Sinatra Jr. , was kidnapped.
Sinatra, despite no longer speaking to Lawford, humbled himself and returned to his former friend for help, wanting to use Lawford’s connection to Robert F. Kennedy. With Kennedy’s assistance, Sinatra Jr. was safely returned.
But soon, another member, Joey Bishop, fell out of favor. Bishop was perhaps the funniest member of the group. Sinatra admired his comedy act and hired him as his opening act. Bishop’s star rose, and he eventually got his own television show.
But when he failed to show loyalty to Sinatra, he faced trouble. When Sinatra couldn’t attend a gig at the Cal-Neva Lodge and asked Bishop to fill in as a friendly favor, Bishop treated it as a business transaction and requested a $50,000 fee. Sinatra, likely feeling he had made Bishop a star, was offended. He simply kicked Bishop out of the Rat Pack and fired him from *Robin and the 7 Hoods*.
Shortly after, NBC canceled Bishop’s show. For the next member, Sammy Davis Jr. , Sinatra had genuine affection. Born in Harlem, Davis began performing in vaudeville at age four.
He became a major star and joined Sinatra’s circle in 1959. Sinatra initially wanted to call the group “The Clan,” but Davis, the only Black member, objected to the association with the Ku Klux Klan, and Sinatra dropped the name. In the late 1950s, Davis fell in love with actress Kim Novak, but their interracial relationship caused controversy. Rumors circulated that studio head Harry Cohn was furious and involved the mob, with some accounts claiming Davis was briefly kidnapped.
To appease them, Davis married dancer Loray White and paid her to stay with him for a year, a move that broke his heart. Later, the Rat Pack supported John Kennedy’s presidential run. They briefly called themselves the “Jack Pack. ” Kennedy, however, distanced himself from Davis because Davis was dating Swedish actress May Britt, and most Americans disapproved of interracial marriage.
Davis postponed his wedding until after the election, a gesture that reportedly brought tears to Sinatra’s eyes. Kennedy won, and Sinatra stood beside Davis at his wedding to Britt. However, Kennedy excluded Davis from his victory party guest list. Only Dean Martin refused to attend in solidarity.
Davis’s marriage to Britt lasted only eight years. Dean Martin was an unexpected member of the group. As a child, he was shy, had a severe stutter, and didn’t speak English, which led to relentless bullying. Once he started his singing career, he teamed up with comedian Jerry Lewis to form one of the greatest duos in entertainment history.
However, their partnership ended in 1956 when Martin, tired of playing second fiddle, split from Lewis. Many assumed Lewis would thrive and Martin would fade away. But Sinatra ensured that didn’t happen, welcoming Martin into the Rat Pack’s inner circle. Martin became a staple in Las Vegas.
While his persona was that of a heavy drinker, the Scotch in his hand was often just apple juice. Surprisingly, Martin was the most sober of the group. Years later, Sinatra shocked Jerry Lewis during a telethon by bringing Martin on stage. Lewis smiled, but it was clear he wasn’t happy about the surprise.
The Rat Pack had its headquarters at Sinatra’s stunning home in Chatsworth. They played poker for vast fortunes until the early morning hours. The house was also reportedly the meeting place for President Kennedy and Marilyn Monroe, around the time Monroe sang her famous “Happy Birthday” to the married president. The group also made the iconic film *Ocean’s 11* in 1960, starring all the Rat Pack members.
They felt at home in Vegas casinos, largely because Sinatra received poker chips from the mafia as a favor, sometimes worth thousands of dollars. This free ride ended when millionaire Howard Hughes bought the Sands casino. When Sinatra didn’t receive his stack of free chips, he became enraged. He poured hot coffee on casino manager Carl Cohen, who responded by punching Sinatra in the face.
It was the end of an era. Sinatra was known for standing up for Davis. When the Sands refused to serve him, Sinatra would have the offending employee fired. But for every good deed, there was a problematic one.
In 1956, as Humphrey Bogart lay dying of cancer, Lauren Bacall and Sinatra had begun an affair. Eventually, the Rat Pack faced their karma. In 1986, Dean Martin’s son, Dean Paul Martin, died in a plane crash during a routine National Guard training mission. Martin was devastated.
Sinatra, who had lost his mother in a plane crash nearby, tried to comfort him by convincing him to go on a singing tour. But the tour was a disaster; Martin was in a terrible psychological state and refused to socialize. He left the tour and was replaced by Liza Minnelli. He never recovered from his son’s death.
In 1993, Martin was diagnosed with lung cancer. He refused surgery and died at his home on Christmas Day at 78. Peter Lawford also died near Christmas, in 1984, on Christmas Eve. He died of cardiac arrest, also suffering from kidney and liver failure due to substance abuse.
Sadly, his sons refused to pay for his funeral. His widow had to ask the *National Enquirer* to witness her scattering his ashes in the Pacific Ocean. On the night of Sammy Davis Jr. ’s wedding to Loray White, the marriage he was forced into, he was so unhappy he drank heavily.
On their way to the honeymoon suite, he tried to strangle her. Later that night, his personal assistant found him in his hotel room with a gun pointed at his head, crying, “Why won’t they let me live my life? ” The assistant was able to defuse the situation. Davis divorced White after six months.
Davis was a heavy smoker and developed throat cancer. Doctors offered to remove part of his throat to save his life, but Davis famously said he wanted to keep his voice. He died on May 16, 1990, at 64, leaving his widow crippling debt instead of a fortune. By the late 1990s, Sinatra was suffering from high blood pressure, bladder cancer, and heart and respiratory problems.
In February 1997, he had a heart attack. His last words were, “I’m dying. ” The Empire State Building lit up blue in his memory, and for one minute, the Las Vegas casinos stopped spinning. The last surviving member was Joey Bishop.
Unlike his cohorts, he stayed married to the same woman for 58 years, which may be why he outlived them all. He died of multiple organ failure on October 17, 2007, at 89. His ashes were also scattered in the Pacific Ocean. Before his death, Bishop passed the torch in 1990 when he appeared in *Betsy’s Wedding*.
The film also starred Molly Ringwald and Ally Sheedy, members of the “Brat Pack,” along with stars like Demi Moore, Emilio Estevez, and Rob Lowe. And with that, the Rat Pack’s legacy as beloved night owls who brought unprecedented glamour to Las Vegas was cemented.