In the early 1950s, Frank Sinatra and his crew had been a part of the Holmby Hills Rat Pack, a Hollywood drinking group that gathered around Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall. That group also included Judy Garland, Sid Luft, Swifty Lazar, Jimmy Van Heusen, David Niven and Kay Thompson.
When Bogart died in 1957, Sinatra took over. Most of the original members quit and the new group formed around Frank’s friends, Dean Martin, Joey Bishop, and Sammy Davis, Jr. Peter Lawford joined later. On the fringes of the central group were others like Shirley McLaine, Angie Dickinson, Juliet Prowse, Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh (the women were never official members of the Rat Pack).
The Rat Pack came to prominence in January 1959. That year Sinatra conducted the orchestra on Dean’s album Sleep Warm. The film Some Came Running with Sinatra, McLaine and Martin opened. And Sinatra joined Dean onstage at the Sands for the first time. It would become a routine. And they would become legend in Las Vegas.
Sinatra changed the name from Clan to the Rat Pack when Sinatra was courting the Kennedy clan in 1960. Kennedy came to see them perform at the Sands and was royally entertained by Jack Entratter and company. The Pack sang the national anthem to open the 1960 Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles, which nominated Kennedy for President. They christened their Sands performances Rat Pack Summits in honor of the Kennedy-Kruschev Summit.
Ocean’s 11, the Pack’s legendary film shot in Las Vegas in 1960, perpetuated the Rat Pack manner. It was about 11 army buddies from World War II who plan to rob five of the biggest Las Vegas casinos. They all had parts. Sinatra produced the movie and starred as Danny Ocean, the mastermind of a five-casino heist carried out with his World War II buddies.
This 1960 film also supplied the foundational story for the next-century sequels: Ocean’s Eleven (2001), Ocean’s Twelve (2004), and Ocean’s Thirteen (2007).
Ocean’s Eleven, the first installment in this Ocean’s film trilogy, is a reboot of the original 1960s storyline and follows friends Danny Ocean and Rusty Ryan, who plan a heist of $160 million from casino owner Terry Benedict, who is the lover of Ocean’s ex-wife Tess. It stars an ensemble cast that includes George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Andy García, Julia Roberts, Casey Affleck, Scott Caan, Elliott Gould, Don Cheadle, Bernie Mac, and Carl Reiner. This film also features cameo appearances by Holly Marie Combs, Topher Grace, Joshua Jackson, Barry Watson, Shane West, Jerry Weintraub, Siegfried & Roy, Wayne Newton, Eydie Gormé, Steve Lawrence, Wladimir Klitschko, Lennox Lewis, Larry Merchant, and Henry Silva and Angie Dickinson (both appeared in the original 1960 film).
The second installment in the new Ocean’s film trilogy franchise and the sequel to Ocean’s Eleven, Ocean’s Twelve features an ensemble cast including George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Andy García Don Cheadle, Bernie Mac, Julia Roberts, Casey Affleck, Scott Caan, Vincent Cassel, Eddie Jemison, Carl Reiner, and Elliott Gould. The film received mixed reviews from critics, but did well with worldwide audiences, becoming the tenth-highest-grossing film of 2004.
Ocean’s Thirteen is the final installment in the Ocean’s film trilogy and the sequel to Ocean’s Twelve. The film features an ensemble cast including George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Andy García, Don Cheadle, Bernie Mac, Ellen Barkin, Al Pacino, Casey Affleck, Scott Caan, Eddie Jemison, Shaobo Qin, Carl Reiner, and Elliott Gould. The film was screened as an “Out of Competition” presentation at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival and later received generally positive reviews from critics and the worldwide viewing audience.
And a whole new twist unfolds in Ocean’s Eight, a sequel-type spinoff about the crew of specialists recruited by Debbie Ocean, sister of the lead character in the original film (Danny Ocean), to plan and execute the jewelry heist of the century at New York City’s star-studded annual Met Gala. This fun and adventurous action-comedy also stars Sandra Bullock (The Blind Side) in the title role, Cate Blanchett (Carol), Anne Hathaway (Les Misérables), Richard Armitage (the Hobbit Trilogy), Mindy Kaling (The Mindy Project), Awkwafina (Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising), Sarah Paulson (American Crime Story), James Corden (Into the Woods), Rihanna (This is the End), and Helena Bonham Carter (The King’s Speech).
The Rat Pack mystique was so powerful that the media draws from the Ratpack whenever possible. The Brat Pack, comprised of Emilio Estevez, Rob Lowe, Andrew McCarthy, Demi Moore, Judd Nelson, Molly Ringwald, Ally Sheedy, Mare Winningham, kept the Rat Pack’s magic alive through the 1980s.
By themselves, the individual members of the Rat Pack were formidable showman, but when they joined forces, they were the epitome of cool!
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Sammy Davis, Jr.
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