Sinatra’s Exaggerated Mob Ties, JFK’s Unplanned Campaign Swing Detailed in ‘10 Things’ Rat Pack Ep

Las Vegas Sun ^ | Friday, May 11, 2012 | John Katsilometes

[nickcarraway]

There are likely more than 10 things you don’t know about the Rat Pack, but the History Channel has whittled the list to a mere 10-pack and this week aired a special episode of the series “10 Things You Don’t Know About” centering on the fabled performers who first instilled swagger in Vegas.

Several weeks ago, I was asked to contribute to this project to elaborate on the 10 pieces of triviata unearthed by History Channel producers. David G. Schwartz, director of UNLV's Center for Gaming Research, also was interviewed, and you can catch the full episode on the History Channel website.

The Rat Pack, as defined, is the original quintet of Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Joey Bishop and Peter Lawford. Some of the information is prone to debate, naturally, as history morphs over time. But the information was well vetted, and the show is hosted by historian and author David Eisenbach.

Following is the list of 10 things you never knew about the Rat Pack featured in the episode:

10. The original Rat Pack was not founded by Frank Sinatra, but rather by Humphrey Bogart and his wife, Lauren Bacall, with Bacall observing the crew in the living room of the couple’s home in L.A. and saying they looked like a bunch of “drowned rats.” The term quickly evolved to “Rat Pack.”

9. Members of the Rat Pack never referred to themselves as such. Customarily, they called themselves “The Summit,” playing off the planned Four Powers Paris Summit in 1960, which was to involve President Dwight Eisenhower, Khrushchev, Macmillan and Charles de Gaulle (which was tabled after the 1960 U2 spy-plane incident, as an American aircraft was shot down in Soviet airspace). Subsequently, Sinatra said his crew was going to host its own “conference of cool.”

[Oratam]

Thanks for the info on Bishop. All that effortless "cutting up" takes a lot work.

As a little kid watching cartoons, I saw Peter Lawford in a low-budget commercial for Brach's chocolates--I think it was near Valentine's Day. I remember my mother gasped to see how far he had fallen.

[Sam Gamgee]

I was sure Sinatra performed for a mob event in Cuba.