Originated as a group of friends led by Humphrey Bogart in Los Angeles, by the turn of the 1960s, it gave way to a new version, featuring Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Peter Lawford, and Joey Bishop among others, with Sinatra, Martin and Davis regarded as the lead members. Other “mascots” of the pack included Shirley MacLaine, Marilyn Monroe, Angie Dickinson, Juliet Prowse and Buddy Greco.
Between the late 1950s and late 1960s, the group released more than a dozen films, notably including Ocean’s 11 (1960), Sergeants 3 (1962) and Robin and the 7 Hoods (1964), while night by night they dazzled audiences on stage – mostly centered on the Las Vegas casino venue. As the original bad boys and the epitome of the era’s masculinity and swagger, their reputation was followed closely by their high-living, hard-drinking and womanizing lifestyle. After splintering apart in the late ‘60s, the three leading members of the group got together for a 29-date reunion tour called Together Again in 1987.
Let’s take a look back at the then unrivalled kings of showbiz:
Sammy Davis Jr. visited Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin at MGM Studios, where the duo were making ‘Some Came Running’ in 1958. Photo by Allan Grant/LIFE.
Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin shared a light moment in the recording studio, 1958. Photo by Allan Grant/LIFE.
Peter Lawford, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Frank Sinatra in ‘Ocean’s Eleven,’ 1960. Photo by Underwood Archives.
Members of the Rat Pack (Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Peter Lawford, Joey Bishop) posing in a full-length studio portrait, circa 1960. Photo by CBS Photo Archive.
Members of The Rat Pack at a photocall for the film ‘Ocean’s 11’ with the owner of the Sands Hotel, Jack Entratter, Las Vegas, February 1960. Photo by Bob Willoughby/Redferns.
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