Las Vegas myth busted: Rat Pack calls itself
Las Vegas has never had a show starring Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Joey Bishop and/or Peter Lawford as the Rat Pack.
That's because Sinatra hated the nickname. In 1987, when he, Martin and Davis announced a reunion tour, Sinatra seemed willing to offer a knuckle sandwich to a reporter who mentioned the "Rat Pack" in front of him. Sinatra's old blue eyes turned red and he called it "that stupid phrase."
The group has its own name. Initially, "The Clan" was favored, but once its racist overtones were recognized, it fell out of favor. Next up is the “Summit”. This comes from the name of the legendary show the quintet played at the Copa Room in Sands since 1960: "The Summit at the Sands."
When only one Summit member is booked to perform at Sands, others tend to spontaneously collaborate. Marquis began reading: "Dean Martin, maybe Frank, maybe Sammy."
But they had never read Rat Pack. Not even.
Scarring
"The Rat Pack" originally referred to a group of Hollywood friends surrounding movie star Humphrey Bogart in the late 1940s. Sinatra happened to be in this group, along with Judy Garland, her husband Sid Luft, manager Swifty Lazar, composer Jimmy Van Heusen, and well-known Actors David Niven, Katharine Hepburn, Spencer Tracy and Cary Grant.
Honorary members include Errol Flynn, Robert Mitchum, Nat King Cole, Mickey Rooney, Cesar Romero, Elizabeth Taylor, Audrey Hepburn, Angie Dee Kingson, Shirley MacLaine, and pretty much everyone else who hung out at the Holmby Hills mansion Bogart shared with his wife. Lauren Bacall.
According to most accounts, Bacall forever marked the group when some members came home disheveled from a drunken weekend in Las Vegas, saying: "You guys look like A bunch of damn rats."
Sinatra never liked the name, but when others formed a drinking club based on it, he agreed. The Rat Pack has its own emblem (a rat chewing on a man's hand) and its own motto ("Never a rat eating a rat"). Its members even gave each other titles: Sinatra was Pack Master, Bacall was Den Mother, and Garland was Vice President.
Although Boggi chose the title of "public relations director", he is the undisputed leader of the club. After he died of esophageal cancer in 1957, Sinatra took his place and became not only the club's leader, but also Bacall's most important confidant. They were engaged a year later, but Sinatra called off the engagement when Lazar revealed their planned wedding to the press.
In 1959, Sinatra, who had hoped to avoid Bacall his entire life, found himself with a whole new group of friends. He sang and insulted singers Martin and Davis, comedian Bishop and actor Lawford whenever he encountered him socially or on stage. (One of Sinatra's favorite quotes was that Martin got so tan because "he found a bar with a skylight.")
With the exception of Lawford, everyone performed solo on the Strip: Sinatra as opening act with Bishop at Desert Inn, Davis at The Final Frontier, Martin at Fire with Jerry Lewis Flamingo. After all contracts expired, they gathered at the Sands Summit.
Despite having no connection to the original Rat Pack, Hollywood gossip columnists still referred to everyone in Sinatra as his Rat Pack. They liked the name because it effectively devalued the stars' exclusive intimacy while undermining their dominance of pop culture. A quarter of a century later, another group of young, tight-knit Hollywood stars became known as the "Gremlins" for the same reason.
By 1960, The Summit had reached the pinnacle of cool. During the filming of Ocean's Eleven, they performed two shows a night at the Sands. In the film's final scene, their characters walk past the Sands Marquee and reveal their real names.
Myth Understanding
The erroneous assumption that Frank and company endorsed the Rat Pack name is based on a number of factors. On top of that are more than 60 years of entertainment headlines splashed across tabloid front pages.
Support was also given to albums such as "The Rat Pack Live at the Sands," a 1963 live recording that wasn't released until 2002, long after all members had died and Capitol Records' Gao, who sang lead vocals on the song, was Sinatra may also be released in 2002. No more slapping. Cover bands and acts, especially the still-performing Rat Pack is Back, founded in 1999 by former 1970s teen idol David Cassidy, add to the confusion.
Finally, in 2015, a bronze plaque was placed on the Venetian, cementing the unpopular and everlasting nickname. It pays homage to "The Rat Pack," whose famous 1960 photo was taken in front of the Sands marquee, which never had "The Rat Pack" written on it.
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