The Untold Truth Of The Rat Pack

Was there a more quintessentially cool group of men besides the legendary entertainers known as the Rat Pack? Sure, their style and swagger have tried to be reproduced time and time again (think: Leonardo DiCaprio's "Wolf Pack," or the iconic 1980s Brat Pack), yet all modern iterations pale in comparison to the cultural explosion of the original quintet.

The Rat Pack consisted of singers and actors, led by the group's ringleader, Frank Sinatra. Making up the other core members were Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Peter Lawford, and Joey Bishop. According to Biography, the Rat Pack was responsible for putting Las Vegas on the map as the ultimate glam tourist destination, and at the height of their popularity in the early '60s, the men attracted a whopping 34,000 fans in a mere four weeks at the Sands Hotel and Casino, all coming to watch them sing, dance, quip, and booze on stage. Sure enough, the men changed popular culture forever, and as Vanity Fair wrote in 1997, it's their "unfading legend" that continues to influence, from the concept of "cocktail hour," to even nostalgic Vegas-based movies such as "Casino," or the 2001 "Ocean's 11" remake.

The public's interest in the Rat Pack is still relevant to this day, as seen with the success of tribute shows that still exist decades later. As such, let's take a look at the untold truth of the Rat Pack.

If the Rat Pack already seemed intimidating to the uninitiated, the posse had their own entire lexicon, as well. "[They] communicated in a language of their own," explained socialite Judith Exner in her memoir, "Judith Exner: My Story" (via The Intermediate Period)," noting that the Rat Pack language was a "mixture of slang" combined with the jargon "that originated with hip musicians, comics, hoodlums, and teenagers."

According to CBS News, some examples included calling death "the big casino," while a regular man on the street was referred to as "Clyde." Considering they also saw Las Vegas as the central party hub of the country, the Rat Pack referred to anywhere else as "Dullsville, Ohio." As for ringleader Frank Sinatra himself? As Exner notes, the entertainer had various monikers, including "The Leader," "The General," "The Dago," and even "The Pope."

Interestingly enough, while everyone else referred to the group as the Rat Pack, it wasn't a name that Frank Sinatra was fond of. In fact, he hated it. As revealed by the Las Vegas Sun, while it was a name that the press adopted, the group actually referred to themselves as "The Summit" — a take on "the planned Four Powers Paris Summit in 1960" that was set to include President Dwight Eisenhower, Nikita Khrushchev, Harold Macmillan, and Charles de Gaulle. It never happened due to the U2 spy-plane incident, and as such, Sinatra declared he would host his own "conference of cool."

Joey Bishop was a Rat Pack member that wasn't talked about as much but was a crucial part of the group's success. As revealed by TCM, Bishop took an interest in singing, dancing, and music at a young age. Soon enough, by 18, he "[formed] a comedy vaudeville act" with his brother and eventually began performing comedy routines on his own. By the early '50s, his comedy club routine was noticed by Frank Sinatra, who took him under his wing "as an opening act."

In the early 1960s (the Rat Pack's heyday), audiences were wowed by the casual banter on stage -– notably from Sinatra and Dean Martin. "[Bishop] wrote almost all the jokes they all did," recalled comedian Sandy Hackett after Bishop's death (via Tampa Bay Times). As Deadline notes, it was the comedian's quippy retorts and "deadpan delivery" that Sinatra appreciated — and was particularly useful in front of audiences.

Sadly, Bishop never saw the same sort of incredible success as his Pack peers. Per TCM, this meant he was generally "overshadowed" by Sinatra, Martin, and Sammy Davis Jr., while fellow member Peter Lawford was the brother-in-law of President John F. Kennedy. As Richard Lertzman, author of "Deconstructing the Rat Pack" told Deadline, after his Rat Pack success in the '60s, Bishop became the star of his own sitcom, yet it was an "uneasy fit," and he was bitter that "aspects of his career [outside the Rat Pack] were being ignored." "The Joey Bishop Show" lasted only two seasons.

In 1958, Life magazine dubbed Frank Sinatra a "social monarch" of the times, with the Rat Pack becoming the new A-list posse that "really matter[ed]." As Rat Pack biographer, Richard A. Lertzman, told Fox News in 2021, "to this day," the group of entertainers was known for their hard-partying antics both before and after shows, and to a degree, this was correct–– at least for a few members. It's something Sammy Davis Jr. elaborated on during the Rat Pack's 1958 Life feature, dubbing himself and Sinatra as the "troublemakers."

And while Davis was ready to party with Ol' Blue Eyes, not everyone was quick to follow his lead — and this would bother Sinatra. According to the Desert Sun, while Dean Martin may have shared the closest relationship with Sinatra, he always put his family first, refusing to stay up late boozing with his pals. "If Dean wanted to go to bed, Dean would go to bed," recalled Sinatra's opening comic, Tom Dreesen. "It would piss Frank [off]."

But Martin wasn't the only one who got on the singer's nerves. In fact, a spat with fellow Pack member Joey Bishop resulted in his ejection from the group. As Lertzman revealed to Fox News, Bishop let the Rat Pack fame get to his head, and when Sinatra asked him to go do a performance as a favor, the comic demanded "$50,000 and a private jet." This didn't sit well with Sinatra, who immediately ousted him from the group.

There's no denying the camaraderie and warmth that the core Rat Pack members shared, yet the relationship between Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra was probably the strongest of them all. "To watch them on stage together was brilliant because you could see the love in their eyes, the respect for each other," Dean's daughter, Deana Martin, shared with the Desert Sun in 2015.

The two performers were friends for an incredible 40 years, and were so close, in fact, that Sinatra had "matching pinky rings ... each with an emerald-cut diamond" made for the both of them. Of course, with such a strong bond, it's natural that this extended to their families, as well. Per Desert Sun, both the Martins and the Sinatras spent a lot of time together, and as Deana revealed in her book, "Memories Are Made of This: Dean Martin Through His Daughter's Eyes," she even considered Frank's daughter, Tina Sinatra, her "best friend" at one point. "The Sinatras were a big part of our lives," Dean's daughter wrote, adding, "Tina and I hung out together all the time."

That's not to say the two performers didn't have their squabbles, either. As Tom Dreesen, Frank's opening comic, told Desert Sun, the pair began to have a "falling out" when Dean would refuse to party with his longtime chum. Thankfully, as Dreesen noted, the duo became close again "before they died," after Dean "checked himself into the hospital for kidney issues."

Long before President Joe Biden had the support of celebrity endorsements such as that of Taylor Swift and Cardi B, America's 35th President, John F. Kennedy had his very own "Jack Pack." According to Biography, while it's unclear when the Rat Pack was first introduced to JFK, they had a mutual connection through Pack member Peter Lawford — who was married to Kennedy's sister, Patricia. As the outlet notes, nearing the end of the '50s, they all knew each other quite well.

As noted by The Pop History Dig, during Kennedy's election run in 1960, he received support from the Rat Pack members, backing him by appearing at various fundraisers and dinners held at restaurants owned both by Lawford and Frank Sinatra. If that's not all, whenever JFK would come to a Rat Pack show, he was usually sat at the front — an easy spot for Sinatra to declare things like, "Ladies and gentlemen, Senator John F. Kennedy from the great state of Massachusetts, the next President of the United States."

Of course, the star power of the legendary performers simply worked. As Biography explains, Sinatra "represented the glamor of Hollywood," while the rest of the men (Lawford, Joey Bishop, Sammy Davis Jr., and Dean Martin) "projected an image of urban sophisticates" who gave off an air of ease on stage and played by their own rules. Sadly, just as quickly as Sinatra's friendship with Kennedy blossomed, it also eventually came to an abrupt stop, too.

During their heyday, the Rat Pack personified the glitz and glam of the late '50s and early 1960s. As Biography so perfectly puts it, the men "taught America to swing in the first half of the sixties" — yet that all changed after a few significant (and jarring) occurrences.

According to "The Immortal Marilyn: The Depiction of an Icon," the downfall of the Rat Pack began with John F. Kennedy becoming president in 1961. After Kennedy started distancing himself from Frank Sinatra mainly due to his alleged mob connection, the singer put the blame on fellow Pack member Peter Lawford — JFK's brother-in-law. Cutting Lawford out of the group meant the rest of the men slowly drifted apart, as well, while one of their Rat Pack "mascots," Marilyn Monroe, was found dead the following year. Terrible news only kept coming with Kennedy's assassination in 1963, and as "The Immortal Marilyn" writes, an era was suddenly "[coming] to a bitter ending."

1963 also signified a massive change in the consumption of pop culture. According to Biography, the "British Invasion" of The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and other rock bands was a complete change from the Rat Pack. As author of "Deconstructing the Rat Pack," Richard Lertzman told Deadline, the "five puffy nightclub performers in tuxedos became the very antithesis of cool."