A&E Biography: The Rat Pack - Parts 1 & 2 (1999)

for November 8 2002 biography with Harry Smith the Rat Pack they ruled over their own Kingdom where women were broads liquor was booze and cool was whatever they said it was Frank Sinatra Dean Martin Peter Lawford Sammy Davis jr. and Joey bishop five men who could be funny and cruel charitable and arrogant the Rat Pack was friends with mobsters and turned Las Vegas into a playground for grownups our biography begins when Frank Sinatra formed the world's most exclusive club the Rat Pack went on to influence American culture in New York Hollywood and all points in between there were five mortal men we gave immortality throughout the decade of the 1960's that they worked their special magic on us and lift the spell phone they made the squares feel hip and even the cool cats were born by their presence like this is my book maker he's way in the back they put an end to racial segregation in America by laughing out of existence like Pied Pipers they let us out of the doldrums of the 1950's into the new frontier of young president five men who never even finished high school taught us that talent could overcome every disadvantage [Music] in return we gave them a license to break all of the rules we had to follow spend all of the money we would never earn potty all night with the beautiful broads and sleep late every morning live for us we said live the lives we would live if we were talented rich and handsome the outrageous because of you the world is no longer a dreary place lady the presentation the Rat Pack and name stuck Dean Martin Sammy Davis jr. Peter Lawford Joey bishop and a man who put it all together Frank Sinatra who is the potty that lasted 10 years and it hasn't been one my kid sense Lena are lonely that I ain't going with you baby humans and monkeys with iFit they're movin moving around with Mike this thing Nathan somebody tonight we revisit the glory days of Frank Sinatra and the Rat Pack a time in our history and that many of us would like to get back to if we could just find a road back well I guess that's it [Music] Hollywood California 1950 the story of the Rat Pack begins here at the home of legendary actor Humphrey Bogart nearly every night bogey the king of the movie tough gas would invite a select group of friends over who needs a drink and talk shop top stars by Judy dollar Spencer Tracy katherine hepburn david niven and director John Huston or regulars as the evenings wore on the conversation invariably turned to the same ugly subject the tyranny of the studio system back then virtually every actor director and writer worked on the contract to one of the major studios if they wanted to keep their jobs they were expected to take their assignments without question the arrogance of studio bosses like Louis be mayor and Jack warmer infuriated Bogut who was determined to call his own shots [Music] Bogut and his friends began handing scripts back and demanding an active role in their own careers out of frustration the studio bosses named them the Rat Pack bogus' selected as president of the Rat Pack a young man whom he considered to have all of the attributes of a leader fearlessness non bridled ego and above all supreme talent his name was Frank Sinatra [Music] brogard was the founder and he was the leader obviously even though Frank was mr. president and I think that this idea of defiance of being the rebel of being different Frank really accepted into his conscious behavior that became his his way of life and he obviously from from bogey you know to defy to be different to tell somebody to go to hell to tell somebody you know to be your own boss you don't take orders you give orders the irony was not lost on Frank Sinatra that a celluloid gangster should offer him the same advice he had been given a dozen years before by the genuine article Paul skinny D'Amato was born in Atlantic City New Jersey in 1909 skinny started gambling at ten years of age he had crap games on corners empty houses school yards and he made the money because he had the dice in the cars so finally when he became older his uncle lend the $40 to open up the cigar store and that's how he started they had a pool room in the back and they had gambling this cigar store was just a front but he had many cigar stores and joints as 16 years old he had about 15 places all over Lang city she's really not foreign born an early age he catered to pickpockets thieves gamblers prostitutes Madam's you name so and the mom so they said to him why why do you cater to the mob he says I don't ask favors from them he says besides it's like having the United States Army behind you before there was a Las Vegas there was Atlanta City America's first play [Music] by day Atlantic City was the clean fun capital of America a haven of Sun surf and saltwater taffy [Music] it's world-famous boardwalk as the stage for countless parades and beauty contests including the annual Miss America pageant swarms of tourists scramble over each other just to get a good look and the latest outrageous subtraction [Music] men box kangaroos and lust [Music] Katz talks to each other with gloves in a minute area a woman Deauville for 40-foot Tower into a water tank on horseback [Music] but after the Sun went down Atlantic City shed its medal of innocence and went out to raise a little hell on Kentucky and Missouri avenues nightclubs bars and restaurants offered the best and food drink and entertainment in 1939 24-year old Frank Sinatra came to Atlantic City for the first time to play the Steel Pier casino but the Harry James band [Music] by then skinny D'Amato a born showman but a keen eye for talent had fought his way up from the streets to become manager and part owner of the most popular spot in town a 500 club Sinatra used to perform at the Steel Pier and then he'd come in the club sometimes with Harry James and and Betty Grable would be there too but Sinatra was very nice well-mannered pleasant to everyone and when he he'd ask for a drink or food and skinny said um I have something to tell you important men do not ask they order so skinny sort of molded his character Sinatra's character how to behave a friendship developed between skinny D'Amato and Frank Sinatra that would last a lifetime it was the kind of loyalty that Frank would never receive from anyone in Hollywood or the music industry and certainly not from the press biography will continue how and why Frank Sinatra came to be the one to see America through them can be explained in only one way he answered a need in all of us whenever Sinatra sang to an audience he literally bared his soul no popular singer had ever before brought that kind of emotional intensity to a live performance throughout the lonely days and nights of world war ii while American GIs were fighting overseas their sweethearts flocked to here Frank Sinatra who touch them as no one else could he gave voice to their disappointments as well as to their sense of life's impermanence and fragility his genius for interpretation and phrasing and above all is overwhelming charisma bonded his fans to him to the point of obsession [Music] America had launched its first superstar when I knew that Sanaa chose in town I would sneak in the back with all the girls running I would be the only guy in the middle running it to the Paramount they're getting for nothing [Music] and I would sit there and I didn't understand as a young kid what there was screaming that was voiced that well and if you look at somewhat skinny kid why I couldn't believe it why I thought they were sorry because he was skinny that maybe they'd have a sandwich maybe didn't eat this guy I'm saying maybe there's something wrong cause he he didn't he was not an attractive man in those days his jaw was something in the girl screaming Frankie we love your fragrant oven they went on and on and I went Wow is that show business maybe they gotta like it because you're skinny you look depressing the girls want to help you everybody wants a mother I think that might have been maybe effective on a mother as kinds addition macaroni for crying out loud I thought it was a terrible thing that maybe they were abusing this guy but he just stood there you had his hands like this here in the mic and he was saying you know long ago and far whatever heck he was saying all or nothing at all and they would sing his Frankie Frankie baby thank you baby and I'm going to Frank Sinatra the war years proved to be the best of times [Music] rejected for military service due to a punctured eardrum he was free to remain stateside and in huge sums of money [Music] while his millions of fans were forced to count ration stamps [Music] and wait on line for hours to buy food and gasoline Sinatra enjoy the life for the family man he botas wife Nancy a beautiful home in New Jersey and showered gifts on his firstborn child and an see the true love of his life [Music] the Sinatra's wanted for nothing they even drove their own Chrysler convertible but nobody seemed to care in a country that had lost its men Frank Sinatra filled the void he was everyone in his man [Music] in 1941 Frank Sinatra was headlining with the Tommy Dorsey band at the Michigan Theater in Detroit in the same show opening for the Dorsey band was a black song and dance act called the will Mastin trio featuring a 16 year old sparkplug named dying Sammy Davis had been performing with his dad and his uncle for more than 13 years in his autobiography Davis recalled this first meeting with Frank Sinatra in the following words he came up to me backstage and he said hi I'm Frank and I sing with the Dorsey band Sammy Davis began his showbusiness career at the tender age of three by the time he was six Sammy was already a top vaudeville star making good money money that his dad and his uncle will Mastin didn't want to give up instead of sending him home to live with his mother and go to school they kept Sammy on the road with him one time I met them backstage and will Mastin said to me and said to Sammy and he was little and said to Sammy this is your mother and he looked up at will and said I have a new mother every week Sammy never spent a single day in school but he learned his craft from the most gifted and accomplished entertainers of the day at a time II ran into Frank Sinatra Sammy Davis was a seasoned professional Hilla toured America from coast to coast 23 times Sammy thought he'd seen every great performer there was to see until he heard Frank Sinatra sing for the first time that night at the Detroit theater Sammy Davis I know not never heard anything like I sing the song that I sang for the memories I usually see til I hear you at the door there and one more Saturday night is that feeling he puts the fear you know to make the lyrics mean something see some singers ride to be thought of us lay off to be he can do either way he can go one two three four hey when I was in heaven I think I said when I was in heaven it's a natural give me that thing you know that a little phrase and he's got the freezing Frank Sinatra was equally impressed with Sammy Davis in 1947 shortly after Sammy was honorably discharged from the Army Sinatra chose the will Mastin trio to open to him that New York's Capitol Theater the twelve hundred and fifty dollars a week [Music] there was more money than we had ever seen in our lab since and would later comment so not for knew the kid was talent and he he saw in the future see he says not this guy's gonna be gonna be great under these days so he defended you know a guy like to feel like I discovered something I saw German and this good thing I saw in the fire in the desert or wherever it was you know of all the top white performers only Frank Sinatra had the guts the challenge that bald faced racism that sought to keep Davis buried on a chip and circuit and out of the big time nobody but Frank Sinatra could who's Sammy Davis was he was where he was Frank Sinatra face was never raised as kind of a guy he cared about everybody being equal Frank Sinatra put the holy Rollie on this man because Frank Sinatra knew this is a great talent and in order for this man to present it to the American public with all the racism going on when Frank said this guy is great they all paid attention thus began Sammy Davis's rise to stardom from then on Frank Sinatra could be at his side every step of the way ready to go to the wall for his body and he loved him the nickname [Music] do you know which rat Packer inspired the character Johnny Fontane in the film that Godfather tests your knowledge and visit our Rat Pack exhibit at biography.com [Music] in 1944 Frank Sinatra signed a motion-picture contract with metro-goldwyn-mayer studios [Music] and move this growing family shortly after joining MGM Sinatra was invited to a party at the home of studio head Louie beam and it was there that he met a handsome young actor named Peter Lawford Sinatra and Lawford were the only two young guys at the party and took an instant liking to each other at 29 Frank Sinatra was looking forward to a career as a dramatic actor at a major studio [Music] 21-year old Peter Lawford however had been under contract at MGM for two years and was well on his way to becoming a leading men when Frank came to MGM I think looks are in the beginning dead Peter was was a bigger star than Frank a free spirit who spent most of his time at the beach Lawford would always be regarded as something of an oddball by the Hollywood [Applause] Peter Lawford was born in 1923 the illegitimate child of sir Sidney Lawford and mrs. May Allen the wife of one of his staff officers the scandal eventually forced the lawsuits to leave England for most of his childhood Peter lived a nomadic life travelling about Europe and far east with his parents eventually they settled in Palm Beach Florida as houseguests of the American nouveau-riche who were eager to show off their full blood English guests but by 1939 Lord and Lady Laughlin had won out their welcome and lost all of our money cast aside by their society friends they moved into a shabby rented bungalow on the wrong side of the tracks in West Palm Beach at 16 years of age Peter Lawford should have been a junior in high school instead he became the family breadwinner parking cars at local garage for $25 a week [Music] while on the job Peter who was totally naive to American racism struck up a close friendship with his two co-workers both of whom were black one day a wealthy client saw pitas sitting under a tree with his new buddies eating sandwiches and playing cards outraged he complained to the parking lot owner that it was a disgrace to see a good-looking white boy fraternizing with two coloreds loved' was almost fired that man was Joseph P Kennedy 15 years later Kennedy would become Peter Lawford's father-in-law in 1942 male Offutt borrowed some money from a friend and move the family to Hollywood in the hope of getting a handsome son into the movies luckily for Peter most of Hollywood's leading young actors were away fighting in World War two Loui be mayor realizing the need for English actives for his Studios wartime movies took one look at Peter Lawford and immediately signed him to a contract with MGM bailiff it was determined to control her son's career when MGM rejected her demand that she be hired as Peters manager she went directly to lui be mayor and told him that a son was almost sexual who needed supervision Peter was a victim of his mother who wanted to be really be lady Lawford Peter definitely had a certain quote something he was very popular in terms of fan mail and all of that and he was a doggone good after and he he brought a Cary Grant kind of of suaveness to his roles by the time Frank Sinatra reported for work at MGM Peter Lawford was receiving thousands of fan letters each week because he disguised that so well Lovitz fans never noticed that he had a deformed right on the result of a childhood accident like Sinatra Lawford was also 4f but he often played the part of a soldier during World War two Peter Lawford served in a private army of Louis be mayor later you get bigger to never grow up he flew countless missions over enemy territory without ever leaving the ground but lassie as his co-pilot Bluff had fought the good fight on the MGM backlot Uncle Sam had drafted most of MGM's young actors leaving the studio filled with an abundance of available young actresses [Music] Peter Lawford and Frank Sinatra who like kids in a candy store laughs it was a bachelor [Music] but Sinatra was very much married still he didn't let that interfere with his romantic pursuits after a long day in the set Sinatra and Lawford often made their homes of the best Hollywood nightclubs in the company of MGM's most beautiful women [Music] in 1946 Peter Lawford was in the midst of a love affair with a sultry actress named Ava Gardner Ava was in my book a true beauty Ava would come in in a shirt waist and skirt and no stockings kick off the shoes the feet were as beautiful as every other part of her in his early years at MGM Frank Sinatra hardly noticed they have a gardener embroiled as he was with Hollywood's reigning queen Lana Turner Lana Turner was signed to MGM that's where I first taught Lana to walk down the stairs and think showgirl then I took her on the set where she was going to walk down those stairs and nobody ever did it greater than she did three years earlier Lana Turner had broken laughs it's hard when she abruptly ended their romance now the shoe was on the other foot Frank Sinatra would dump Lana Turner after she insisted he divorced his wife Nancy and marry her in 1946 Frank Sinatra's and Peter Lawford made their first film together Sinatra expected great things from the picture already the most popular singer in America he had been given a dramatic lead opposite Kathryn Grayson one of MGM's top stars by coming in after midnight do of course not good night Danny and it's been a wonderful evening gee I guess we're going steady now huh hey I believe co-star veteran showman Jimmy Durante christened him at the start of production Peter Lawford was to have only a small speaking part you know we got to start rounding up and down for you a doll a chick or as there was known in my youth my sweet patootie banding on my panty party at the last minute the director hearing that loafer did a mean jitterbug gave him a dance number an effect just way to be seen with me when a picture was released the LA Times gave Frank Sinatra lukewarm reviews for his acting while Peter Lawford's dance routine was hailed as a showstopper I think maybe people forget at that time how important he was he really was a big star he was the leading young man at MGM in 1948 Callias magazine named Peter Lawford the most popular romantic lead in the movies but behind the perfect face and debonair manner Lawford was a man tormented by feelings had profound inadequacy unable to free himself from the chains of his parents disgrace and the loss of a legitimate heritage Peter Lawford would always be haunted by the demons of his childhood [Music] to me that is a sadness because teacher could have been what we call a really terrific leading man in that same year of 1948 Frank Sinatra fell madly in love with Ava God [Music] at that point he distanced himself from Peter Lawford for the next 20 years their relationship would always be a raging storm filled with battles over women money you are watching the Rat Pack on biography in July of 1946 Frank Sinatra was just settling into his new life in Tinseltown back in Atlantic City Frank's old pals skinny D'Amato was about to give another Italian singer the biggest break of his life 28-year old Dean Martin had been crooning his way around the nightclub circuit for 10 lackluster years a tough kid from a tough neighborhood in Steubenville Ohio Dean Martin first aspired to become a prizefighter then a professional gambler and after that even a gangster Dean was a familiar face to patrons of the less exclusive clubs in Times Square where he'd be found most nights hustling gigs or hanging out with other performers all waiting for their big break back then his best friend and was singers sunny came the Martin and I lived together for five and a half years at the police called the Bryant Hotel in fact they have a plaque 616 we lived in room 6 16 and he said this one was occupied by Dean Martin and sunny King who never paid the rent we were both amateur fighters boxes you know and we surcharge people fight all as a piece come and watch his fight up in the room we get about 10 guys 50 bucks Dean I just had his nose fixed so you know he shot in the ribs uh-huh so two got bung you may believe he had the youngin around as I turned around being gave me a shot in the back of the neck and the shoulder blades and I went flying out the window six floors up luckily they were the old-fashioned shades that were made out of iron the blinds the venetian blinds and i hung onto the venetian blinds and Dean was laughing you know kind-hearted Dean he was laughing like hell you know and he finally pulled me up but they scraped my whole chest coming up and I was bleeding and I tell you I'd beat the hell out of them so much so that the next week he was supposed to open up the Hippodrome Theatre in Baltimore and I went in for him on the name of Dean Martin but I couldn't sing in his keys because he was a baritone and I was a tenant but I got fired in the spring of 1946 Sonny King introduced Dean Martin to a nineteen year old Jewish comic named Jerry Lewis Dean and I were walking along the street one day and it was simple nothing dramatic you know it was a simple thing and Jerry hi Sonny Jerry always loved the American from afar you know I didn't know him personally and I knew he wanted me things come and yeah Jerry this is the name this is Jerry Lewis hi how you doing okay how you doing good come on join us we're gonna have a cup of coffee and from then on the rest was history in July Dean Martin arrived in Atlantic City to play a one-week engagement at skinny D'Amato's 500 club by sheer coincidence Jerry Lewis had been working at the 500 club for a week before Dean Martin arrived but his act had not gone over well [Music] his entire show was nothing more than an old vaudeville routine commonly known as a record act skinny d'amato's partner urban wolf found Louis's wild gyrations and the sheer volume of his records so irritating that he could barely stand to sit in the club when Lewis was performing muffy he used to drink upon the King William the fourth every night but boy he didn't like Jerry Lewis at all by the time Dean Martin took the stage at the 500 club skinny D'Amato had handed Jerry Lewis his walking papers Jerry was backstage packing his things going back and Dean was going to be the new star and all of a sudden they heard of crash of the platters and things like that so Jerry Dean Martin who was very fast said I guess Jerry's packing all his records and Jerry heard that and through anger sometimes you can become funny you know work that I don't think that very nice Dean you know and the people start to laugh in spite of themselves Dean and Jerry had stumbled across a routine that brought flaws of laughter skinny the models instincts immediately took over and he seized the moment skinny I think it was said hey you two guys get together here you don't know what the hell you're doing if you don't like it get out and they got together and they start squirting soda at one another and blah blah blah and that's where they met and that's how it happened and before you know it they had an act the next night you know what they wrote it on a paper bag a brown paper bag they wrote the act that's gonna the model made Dean and Jerry a head at Atlantic City as individuals Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis had never been able to achieve success as a team they were a phenomena I'd have done that record pantomime the rest of my life I wasn't looking for anything after the first night he was on a stage with me I knew we had lightning in a bottle and knew exactly what we had ahead of us for the next few weeks the 500 club was filled to overflowing [Music] outside on Missouri Avenue hundreds of people waited on line for hours to see Dean Jerry I wouldn't have had any fame without being I wouldn't have been there he was the catalyst he was the spine of this act he had an infinite infinite sense of comedy particularly with the sense of timing he had which was impeccable next door to the 500 club was four hours restaurant a regular hangout for performers in their off hours Deanwood is set off at the end of the bar with my girlfriend and they would just talk and have a few drinks she always had a smile on his face he was always a happy-go-lucky looking fella and a handsome looking man and her I mean he was good-looking it's good-looking and he was always well dressed you never saw him you know like some guys do real rugged he looking he was always well dressed and always soft-spoken never voiceless never round Jerry was younger and I think Jerry followed him around because I think it was an idol for him really seriously I think Jerry really saw this man as an idol and I think it was a brother idol he saw in him and for some reason or other it was Lewis went forward with Gino but with Dean all the time you know always pushing himself with Dean always pushing himself I did I guess because he was older figured hey I don't mean this you know and he would shy away from him but I don't think Louis was the kind that was gonna show from him early in 1948 skinny D'Amato eager to show off his protege brought Frank Sinatra to the Copacabana in New York City where Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis now the toast of the town were holding caught [Music] Frank join Jackie Gleason and fat Jackie Leonard two giants of the Manhattan comedy scene and with Jerry Lewis says head wacky the five then proceeded to bring the house down still the most popular entertainer in America and for the fifth year in a row the top male vocalist on the downbeat shocks Sinatra dazzled everyone in the room that night everyone that is except Dean Martin Frank was fascinated by Dean's arrogance is fascinated by Dean's arrogance he never realized who Frank Sinatra was all his life he never realized you know that Frank was his older brother and his mentor and but Dean never thought of anybody like that Dean was only two years younger than Frank Sinatra however whereas Sinatra had achieved instant success Martin had endured years of singing in Chinese restaurants and second-rate clubs before striking gold with Jerry Lewis don't be shy come on within months Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis would sign a contract with Paramount Studios and moved to Hollywood for the next eight years their movies television shows and nightclub appearances would break all box office records well I hope you're satisfied with the way he embarrassed me look what the whole audience is staring at me stare back up not better they stare at you here get off the stage you take this with you for you oh mama at long last Dean Martin would be the rich and famous star he had always known he could be [Music] Frank Sinatra on the other hand was about to embark on a romantic Odyssey that would ultimately be his undoing in the end Sinatra would lose his family his movie and recording contracts and the loyalty of his fans for the love of a woman you are watching biography on Annie in 1948 Frank Sinatra began his fall from the peak of American show business when he fell in love with Ava garden when the next two years they're all consuming affair was the best kept secret in Hollywood it was combustion I mean as I'm sure that their passion was combustible they were as well rumors of the Sinatra Gardiner affair was sending shockwaves through the executive offices of metro-goldwyn-mayer Ava Gardner had been under contract to MGM since 1942 the studio had spent years grooming her for stardom a relationship with Sinatra seriously jeopardized both a career and a studio's investment Frank Sinatra had made a lot of money for MGM singing and dancing his way through some of its most successful musicals like Stanley Donen and gene Kelly's on the time [Music] but Frank was 35 years old as far as MGM was concerned his best years with behind in January of 1950 Sinatra officially walked out on his marriage and announced his intention to marry Ava almost immediately his world began to fall apart the first blow was delivered by the press a small army of reporters and columnist s' pounded Sinatra and God know wherever they went Janie romance into America's first tabloid scandal [Applause] letters from outraged fans began pouring into the mailroom at metro-goldwyn-mayer [Music] MGM executives was stunned by the level of public outcry being directed against Frank and [Music] studio head Louis mayor told Sinatra to end his relationship with Ava immediately when he refused Mayer retaliated by announcing a buyout of Frank's contract a year ahead of time and sending the check directly to his wife Nancy Nancy Sinatra vowed that she would never give Frank a divorce instead she obtained a legal separation that same day Frank's assets were frozen and his property seized right finally both under the pressure on April 26 1950 the performance at the Copacabana in New York City Sinatra's suffered a throat enriched and was forced to cancel the remainder of his engagement he left to join Ava Gardner in Casa Del Mar Spain which she was working on a latest picture in Andorra and a Flying Dutchman this is Pandora he was bold and beautiful but the strange being placed on their relationship with taking a heavy toll they fought constantly each wanted what they wanted I mean Ava had great lust and she was very sensual Frank had great lusts and was very sensual but they each were strong enough also to not be owned now Bulova presents the Frank Sinatra show back in the States Sinatra tried his luck at the television series at CBS is this the place this is it pal this is it why with a little imagination and a lot of money you can turn this place into a palace you have nerve enough to call is dump a lodge well let's call it a large dump it was canceled after only 13 weeks you made a deal and a deal is a deal I found you now you find some other poor soul you robber you I'll get even with you yet this is the life look at this furniture say do you think this thing is strong enough to hold me are you kiddin you could sit on a hammock made out of Kleenex Frank's record sales had been steadily falling for the first time in seven years downbeat magazine had dropped him from top male vocalist to number 5 in a desperate attempt to revive his singing career Sinatra recorded mama will bark a novelty tune with television personality Dagmar it flopped somebody did I think with Dagmar dogs don't bark I want to throw myself out the window but in those days he needed the money in fact the dog almost became a bigger staff Columbia Records eventually refused to renew Frank Sinatra's contract in November of 1950 Eva Gardner began shooting showboat the picture that made her star as Julie the biracial heroine destroyed by the bigotry of the old South God was hailed by critics and audiences alike as the most beautiful woman in the world that man [Music] meanwhile Frank Sinatra watched his career continue in a freefall [Music] despondent and disillusioned he headed back to these coasts to Atlantic City the scene of his early glory days far from the Hollywood vultures and the fat cats of the recognized Sinatra's sought out the one man he knew he could count on his old friend skinny D'Amato [Music] there were two skinny friends I guess they has something in common and being Italian descent so when they you know skinny would entertain him take them all over and show me a good time yeah and so that's to boost issei ego one morning skinny went out to a local jewelry store and bought Sinatra a beautiful solid gold watch skinny tall Frank this is to remind you when you come back you'll be bigger than you ever won he felt bad for so that's when he gave him and this beautiful watch to see Liz Frank their friendship at skinny d'amato's 500 club Frank Sinatra returned to his roots to the people for whom he had never stopped being a star from every corner of Atlantic City the fateful turned out in droves to welcome him back into the faith he was Sinatra it was like you were seeing the Messiah come to town that's how he was to be attained met my crazy form I mean you saw our husbands that said to their wife don't do anything this week we got tickets for Sinatra don't do this don't do that we're going to see Sinatra whether you wanted to go or not if you were female the husband says you go you go I remember he was God he came in a place and my god you couldn't you couldn't move they'd fight outside skinny had to hire six cops every night when he was there to keep the people in order trying to fight they get in skinny D'Amato and the other big nightclub owners proved themselves to be Frank Sinatra's true friends during those hard years they kept him going financially and spiritually Frank trusted those guys because if a man from the racket said you're gonna work for me next week and you're gonna get yourself $15,000 you can go to sleep on that first of all there with the bosses they owned all the clubs so you're gonna work for they got the owns of dhalika testin for nearly a half a century the bosses of the underworld had run the nightclub business in every big city in America [Music] just after World War two they moved their base of operation to Nevada the only state in the nation where gambling was leaked [Music] there they built the city of nightclubs hotels and casinos called Las Vegas one of the founding fathers of Las Vegas was modeis the former boss at the Cleveland mob Moe Dalitz was one of the owners of the desert in the Stardust the frontier the Silver Slipper you name it he was the boss he was a great great guy and Dale it's a close friend of skinny D'Amato gave Frank Sinatra a contract to sing at the Desert Inn [Music] on any given night you could walk into the desert in and hear Frank Sinatra sing a two-hours set for the price of a 50-cent coke the back bite is whispered that he had thrown it all away for nothing but Frank Sinatra had gotten what he wanted and to hell with what it had cost you are watching the Rat Pack while Frank Sinatra's struggled to make a living singing in nightclubs Dean Martin had become half of the hottest new comedy team in America we found a feeling while Martin and Lewis's first picture my friend Irma had been a runaway smash hit [Music] within months karma crushed out a sequel my friend Irma goes west both films made millions and they're even funnier than ever will Dean Martin singing a raft of new song in 1949 Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis were booked to appear at the Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas flamingos had started out as the folly of gangsta Benjamin Bugsy Siegel by the time he completed it in 1947 his poor planning had cost the mob in millions of dollars and retribution the boys closed Bugsy's account permanently flush with their newfound wealth and fame and Gerry arrived at the Flamingo with an entourage of friends and family [Music] night after night the fans packed the main showroom for a taste of the Martin Lewis magic more importantly they also type the casino thanks to Dean and Jerry the flamingos have become the cash cow of organized crime Bugsy Siegel's successes were now enjoying a handsome return on their investment Dean's old mob friends from Ohio the Bocchetti brothers now had major holdings in Las Vegas the fish Eddie's had given Dean his first job as a dealer and their sneak joins back east and had later sponsored him into show business to avoid being drawn into any conflict between his old bosses and the act Dean shrewdly left all the teams business dealings in the hands of Jer the line was talked to the Jew the whole mafia Empire was run by Jewish lawyers each family had their own Jewish Jewish lawyer so they knew what they were talking about if I shook their hand and made a deal they knew it was in Granite I handled the business he played golf it worked but if anyone threatened me or if it looked like I was in trouble he'd have been right there he'd have taken care of business he was very protective of me Dean wasn't protective of anybody but himself the thing that occurred was Jerry was a skinny kid and who the hell wants to see a skinny kid get hit you know so Dean would step in and and Jerry mistook that for protectiveness but it was Dean's way of saying I'm the boss now we're almost there Peter Lawford was one of the first Hollywood stars to blaze a trail to Las Vegas in search of excitement and cheap thrills in early 1950s Lawford was still a bachelor and had an enviable reputation as a Playboy I think you have to enjoy living in ourself before we have no to ask anyone else to besides you know hi oh here we are from time to time Peter Lawford worked in Vegas what does old MGM co-star the great showman jimmy durante la fat's favorite haunts in town but for the cocktail lounges where he often made the scene with rock and rollers like Louis Prima and Kayla Smith our people basically were the cab drivers the showgirls the waitresses the hookers the dealers those were the people that supported us when we were working we worked with six pot in the morning four five six seven o'clock in the morning Peter was just such a nice nice man such a class he's a class act he really is and I loved Jimmy Durante Jimmy Durante was the best Arnon and Jimmy and Peter got along wonderful and Jimmy really loved him the Peter was good on stage he was adorable he could sing a little bit he could dance a little bit and he knew a lot of interesting stories he could tell during those early years in Vegas no entertainer was more popular than Sammy Davis Davis regularly headlined at the new frontier hotel night after night the old white audiences packed the showroom to see Sammy give them everything he had they show their appreciation with rounds of applause and screams of delight but once the show was over Sammy Davis was subjected to the same humiliations borne by all black performers who played Vegas in a 1950s what we used to wake in Vegas we had to go out and sit out by the swimming pool till our next appearance you know they didn't have dressing rooms or nothing for us and when we lived here we had to go on the west side the black side a Negro side place called mrs. Shaw's to stay over that Sammy was going through the same things he couldn't he understand that miss Shaw when he first started coming here in 1951 Jim Crow was still very much alive in Las Vegas blacks were bought from every Hotel and Casino on the strip every night after the show was over Sammy waited in the alley behind a hotel for a taxi to take him back to the West Side [Music] his window at mrs. Shaw's rooming house Sammy with gays out into the night at the bright lights shining back at him from the strip and wondering if the day would ever come when he would be allowed to mix with his adoring fans all of the glitz and glitter the entire garish spectacle of Las Vegas was deliberately orchestrated by the mob for one purpose only to lure gamblers into the casinos in Las Vegas Frank Sinatra became one of a select group of entertainers who drew customers to the casinos like a magnet [Music] Frank rotten Gambas Dean brought gamblers Sammy brought gamblers Louie and I brought gamblers Joey Lewis brought gamblers Patti Paige [Music] Jimmy Durante brought in campers [Music] Sophie Tucker brought campers to [Music] the rooms couldn't pay for themselves you've got to bring in acts that will bring in Gamble's that's what's going to pay for everything early in 1950 the millions of dollars pouring into the Las Vegas casinos triggered a US Senate investigation at New York's Federal Building alleged overlord of gambling Frank Costello arrives to face the senatorial gambling problem Frank mob bosses were paraded in front of television cameras by the Kefauver committee on organized crime Senator Toby now turns the heat on Costello you must have in your mind something you've done that you can speak off your credit is American citizen if so what are they payback's I never got money from any of those fellows fellows none of none of you that I've been reading about it none that I knew they never gave me anything none of the chatter no I don't even speak today I mean I met that Charlie once or twice I don't need to talk to him you don't like him no on March 1st 1951 Sinatra was subpoenaed by the committee fortunately he was allowed to testify at a private interview in his lawyer's office at the top of Rockefeller Center at 4 o'clock in the morning that'sa notch have been made to testify publicly on national television it would have certainly destroyed what was left of his career [Music] many years to come Frank Sinatra would be asked many times to choose between betraying his friends or being labeled the gangster [Applause] to his credit his loyalty never wavered it wasn't a gangster but you know some of the mob people they like the guy again he made those guys swine if he does if the wise guy knew the Frank was mad they want she can kill calm I didn't oh and what I do sir Frank was embedded kill for this man they absolutely kill for this man [Music] you know the jellyfish have defended the rat Packers wild reputation off stage he says Dean didn't drink he played golf every morning for $5,000 a game 31st 1951 after three torturous years of legal wrangling Nancy Sinatra finally agreed to a divorce [Music] the moment he received the good news Frank immediately contacted his old friends skinny D'Amato and many sacks head of Columbia Records and asked them to make all the arrangements for a wedding [Music] less than a week later at Manny's brothers home in Philadelphia Frank Sinatra and Ava Gardner were married Frank and Ava hoped that their marriage would legitimize them in the eyes of the press and earned them a certain degree of courtesy [Music] but even on their honeymoon in Florida that will chase down the beach and barrage with insulting questions Abramov Italy the report is used to ask me how does it feel to be a homewrecker now they asked me how does a feel a bit of wife of a husband in December one month after their marriage Sinatra and Gardner flew to London to appear at a benefit for trans Philip they organized the handful of us to fly over there for the benefit Frank Ava myself Janet a handful of other people okay we arrived they put us up with a hotel called the Washington hotel we are just wasted and wiped out I mean it that's a lot of flying and the next day they wanted a photo shoot so we all kind of pulled ourselves together and Frank was a little slow in getting himself together and as he came down the steps to join us we're at Ava they were brutal do those British bums well the mr. Sinatra finally has agreed to join us well welcome shall we get you were thrown I mean the things they said to him and that was when things were tough for him Frank was always a gentleman I gave him so many marks in those days I mean really I could see how lonely he was how desperate he was oh and Ava extending herself and helping him during that period of time Frank was really in trouble in and fifty-one listen I'll take you to the dance and I not take it a Coney Island Oh not funny but it's cooling and they asked me at the Morris Agency which was hamming him would I give my shot on the Texaco show take it at Coney Island - yeah I'll take it to the beach and we sit on the boardwalk taking a picture we stood on a boardwalk I'll buy you a 50 cent dinner finally got rid of me they said to me you can have him for $2,500 to show and I got so mad I started used for light or some fresh words I said wrong he's a heavyweight he's a star he's the star the position is in now how dare you I said I'm giving him more than the top I'm giving him $7,500 for one performance because if you doing this to Sinatra what are you gonna do to me what are you gonna do the other clients in March of 1952 the Sinatra's attended the premiere of Frank's new picture meet Danny Wilson but unlike previous years the fans weren't there the next day the New York world telegram and Sun printed the awful truth gone on Frankie and 42 gone in 52 that summer the streets of Times Square had rocked with the same pandemonium that had greeted Frank Sinatra ten years before [Music] a new generation of teenaged fanatics besieged the Paramount Theater to get a glimpse of their new heroes Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis I don't think we can yeah what during their first week at the Paramount Martin and Lewis broke Sinatra's old box office record we just want everybody to know that we're the happiest guys in the whole world yeah we are the greatest thrill of our life thanks to his partnership with Jerry Lewis Wendy's future is now rock-solid but there was already trouble in paradise [Music] Dean was clearly the less popular half of the team and many saw him as melee the organ-grinder - Louis's Monkey King didn't mine that was better than shoveling coal in Yorkville away were Victorville wherever else it came from you know so and a lot of us settle for that you know it was better than where we were so what are we arguing about in his own nonchalance style modern rationalized that it was a small price to pay for the fame and fortune that was now his in the end however Dean would have to choose between playing second fiddle to Lewis while trying to make it on his own as a solo performance do you know which rat Packer inspired the character Johnny Fontaine in the film The Godfather tests your knowledge and visit our Rat Pack exhibit at biography.com in 1951 Sammy Davis and the will Mastin trio got their first booking at Ciro's Hollywood's premier nightclub it was the turning point in Sammy's career his presence on the stage felt like there were fans that were pushing your body against the back here seat and I knew I was experiencing lightning in a bottle and he stopped the show called and it was and it was an incredible performance the teenage wonder to whom Frank Sinatra had extended a helping hand all those years ago had finally made it to the top of the Mafia [Music] Sammy went on to conquer the hot new medium of television regularly guest starring on all the big variety shows [Music] [Applause] [Music] Davis was now well on his way to realizing his lifelong ambition to be the foremost tap dancer in the world the skill with which he was able to execute the most difficult routines was unequaled no dancer in the business it was an excellent athlete you know he was perfectly balanced as a tiny man but you know he's a an exceptional exceptional gift when God gave me Sam they throw away the mold [Applause] Hey I mean who do you know that can sing dance play play instruments be funny and then be very nice at times you know most of the time who do you know Sammy had everything to look forward to he could never have imagined that the nightmare of his life they'd just ahead well that Frank Sinatra would be the one that come to his rescue by 1952 Frank Sinatra had been in a slump for nearly five years [Music] Hollywood insiders agreed that nothing short of a miracle to resurrect his career ironically it was Sinatra himself who came upon one buried in the pages of a best-selling novel the character of private Angelo Maggio the doom marine in James Jones World War Two drama From Here to Eternity it seemed to have been written for Frank Sinatra [Music] from the moment he finished reading the book Sinatra was convinced that he had been born to play Maggio at that point Frank Sinatra was so far out of the loop that he didn't even have an agent but he did have a wife who was a major star so it fell to Ava Gardner to persuade Harry Cohn head of Columbia studios to let Frank make a screen test it's my knowledge that he offered to do it free he didn't even want any money but it's also my understanding that Ava made the phone call that got it Ava called Cohen from Africa where she was working on the MGM Safari epic Mogambo with clocking at Columbia studios Frank Sinatra's screen test convinced everyone except Harry Cohn who told Frank he'd get back to him but nothing else to do Sonata then flew to New York for a few club dates let me tell you what happened my first marriage my honeymoon we had the room where the camel sign was because was the cheapest room when you opened the window and that Camel Simon Oh smoke him into our room so I turned around and I had said to my president that my wife at that time let's go see Frank Sinatra he was in the doldrums I was prick but what kind of press called the French casino okay we went down there and was nobody in the room maybe twenty thirty people this is one he was really going through bad times and he came out and he's side of the sing and when he sang about I mean you know he was singing to this woman you knew it yeah quit that night and he went to Mogambo and Jewish was makeup even God was making Madonna but by wrangle by Van Gogh he got jealous because she was a try cable and that says she's wonder what her life disguise lead what a life disguise me Sinatra joined his wife in Africa and waited for word from Harry Cohen [Music] you can be nice and sweet when you want to get you sitting around the set watching Ava played love scenes with the biggest leading man in movie history only served to reinforce Sinatra's anger and depression over the sad state of his own career tensions between Frank and Ava were running at a fever pitch by the time Harry Cohn cabled Sinatra to report for work on From Here to Eternity the Sinatra Godman marriage was in ruins [Music] Sinatra took the next plane to Hawaii where From Here to Eternity was already in production [Music] Montgomery Clift the great method actor from New York had a leading part in the film [Music] Sinatra and Clift had many scenes together they soon became fast friends and drinking buddies Mahdi became obsessed with helping Sinatra perfect his role and often stayed up half the night with him rehearsing for the next day's shoot [Music] breeding business catch the ball there's the broad my sister the hard work paid off Frank Sinatra's performance would earn him an Oscar nomination but Sinatra's triumph had come too late in December of 1953 gave Frank the gate the marriage had finally crumbled under the weight of her enormous successes and his bitter disappointments a few weeks later when a gossip columns reported that Ava Gardner and Peter Lawford had been seen out on the town together and were rekindling their romance Sinatra went ballistic he telephoned Lawford in California and threatened to break his legs if he ever saw Ava again for the next six years Frank Sinatra refused even to speak the people of in March of 1954 Sinatra attended the 26th Academy Awards presentation accompanied only by his children Nancy and Frank jr. [Music] that night he walked away with the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor Frank Sinatra was on his way back to the top when he finally got there he would remember but a lonely place that could be [Applause] [Music] biography will continue in a moment on any this is quite a gun Benny quite a gun I did a lot of chopping in the war with a baby like this a lot of chopping Frank Sinatra followed up his Academy award-winning performance with a role that would come back to haunt him years later can't do this you can't do it you're wrong lady take a look come on take a look in suddenly Sinatra played a mentally deranged combat veteran hired to assassinate the President of the United States I can do it and I'm going to do it but you're an American citizen sure and the one minute after 5:00 I'm gonna be a very rich American citizen you'll never get away with it shut up I got a stomach take a pill maybe the old man sweet Johnny the terrible thing terrible turn it off well you just another man a man with the president I never killed a president before at age 39 Frank Sinatra became one of the leaders of a revolution in American cinema Frank was the teacher of us all he was part of that modern generation you know we were not Americans in that classic style and the war was over and all the Americans that were in movies up to that point with crew cuts and t-shirts that said Georgia University and played all the good guys those days were over the war had changed it all nobody knew it but we did Sinatra your Reverend streetwise tough guy fit the times perfectly by sharp contrast Peter Lawford the polite English gentleman seem painfully out-of-date Peter had a snappy three or four years early in his career very early after that nothing happened you know he'd run from one part to another you remember those movies in 1953 it should happen you start Lawford in a familiar role of a suave urban bachelor it this whole date's about what what I got that you are it should happen to you was Peter Lawford swan song as a leading man it would be many years before he was asked to work in the movies again oh no Peter Lawford had reached the end of a career that had carried him from abject poverty to the lap of luxury but just because Hollywood had turned him out didn't mean he had to stop living like a movie star Peter still had his trump card to play at aged 30 he was one of the world's most eligible bachelors thanks to his striking good looks an aristocratic demeanour rich society girls on both sides of the Atlantic have been nipping at his heels for years [Music] Lawford had always succeeded in staying one step ahead of the pack now he reasoned it was time to let one of them have a bite Peter Lawford and Patricia Kennedy announced their engagement at the beginning of 1954 pat was a member of America's royal family an heiress to hundreds of millions of dollars the following spring they were married in New York City outside the church Lovitz fans mobbed the streets almost overturning the newlyweds limousine [Music] the Joseph P Kennedy was reported to have said the only thing I can imagine that would be worse than having your daughter marrying an actor would be having your daughter marry an English actor [Music] Peter Lawford was now the son-in-law of one of the most powerful men in the United States the same man whose cause he once parked back in Palm Beach during his impoverished teenage years [Music] Peter wasn't aware of it but the Kennedy family had already decided to cast him in the most important role of his life there was just a fun catch Peter would have to find a way to mend fences with none other than hollywood's man of the hour Francis Albert Sinatra [Music] John Kennedy would soon want Sinatra's help to win the White House and Sinatra craved access to JFK's political power the one man who could bring them together was Peter Lawford because of Lawford's connection to the Kennedy family other rat Packers gave him a disparaging nickname the brother-in-law furred next on A&E the Rat Pack continues with the glory days the boys made movies all day drank all night and influenced national politics the conclusion of the Rat Pack in a moment for biography I'm Harry Smith I'll see you right after the break the Bern can stop you in your tracks you never know when to expect it do you have persistent heartburn that keeps coming back two or more days a week even though you've treated it and changed your diet you may have acid reflux disease you're worried about the risk of long term problems worried about the chance of serious damage ask your doctor how prescription prevacid can help one prevacid relieves heartburn for up to 24 hours prevacid heals the damage and to keep the damage from coming your doctor may ask you to stay on preface it call for your free prevacid information kit and learn more about the long-term risks of a passive reflux disease prevacid is a low occurrence of side effects such as diarrhea abdominal pain and nausea other serious stomach conditions may still exist I got help learn how to handle the disease and the risks in ways that makes sense for me call today and get the help you need from your doctor and privacy gym usin brings into focus candid interviews with some of the biggest names in hockey picture-perfect conversations with the game's best snapshots with jim Hughson on lodgers Sports Net Pacific [Music] [Applause] I just want you to know I'm dumping you you're not flexible Shaw digital allows up to three additional outlets for full cable service when the going gets tough you drop out Shaw Digital is there a few good weather and bad and Shaw Digital has an easy interactive guide device half-light hello Shaw digital they're so nice to come home to [Music] from the emmy-winning series biography they were the kings of Vegas the most famous clan in showbiz but even the Packers hit rock bottom before hitting the jackpot I could see how desperate he was the Rat Pack part 2 only on biography next on A&E for the web's best BIOS visit biography.com on the next behind closed doors Joan freshens up for a trip to Hubble's [Music] [Music] there were five mortal men to whom we gave in mortality throughout the decade of the 1960's they worked their special magic on us and left the spellbound they made the squares fearful and even a cool cats were born by their presence they helped put an end to racial segregation in America by laughing bigotry out of existence like Pied Pipers they led us out of the doldrums of the 1950s into the new frontier of young president five men who never even finished high school taught us that talent could overcome every disadvantage [Applause] in return we gave them a license to break all of the rules we had to follow spend all of the money we would never earn potty all night with the beautiful broads and sleep late every morning live for us he said live the lives we would live if we were talented rich and handsome be outrageous because of you the world is no longer a dreary place the press tape them the Rat Pack and the name stuck Dean Martin Sammy Davis jr. Peter Lawford Joey bishop and a man who put it all together Frank Sinatra true us a party that lasted 10 years it hasn't been one method since we revisit the glory days of Frank Sinatra and the Rat Pack the time in our history that many of us would like to get back to if we could just find a road map [Music] in 1954 Frank Sinatra's starred in five major motion pictures culminating in Otto Preminger's the man with the Golden Arm for his shocking betrayal of a junkie in the throes of withdrawal Sinatra received his second Oscar nomination this time for Best Actor to the world so not to put on a brave face but only those closest to him knew the pain he felt inside Frank tried everything to persuade Ava Gardner to return to him but in December of 1954 Ava left the United States for good and settled in Madrid Spain to be close to her new lover bullfighter Louima gaeilge Mean Gene [Music] I came in at the end of that love affair and so I only can speak of my time there I do know that that he was mad about her I mean there's no doubt about it and why wouldn't he be I mean that is a great combination but I guess they just couldn't cope with each other and I can understand that its water and oil Sinatra was desolate and fell into a chronic depression his self-directed therapy was simple enough to keep the demons of his soul at bay he kept himself busy to the point of distraction at Capitol Records Sinatra began working with a young arranger named Nelson Riddle Frank's hot rending interpretations of ballots like I'll be around and glad to be unhappy with some of his greatest recordings years later Nelson Riddle would say it was Ava who taught him how to sing a talk song Sinatra worked 18 hours a day but ultimately he had to go home since he couldn't bear to be alone and almost never sleep he filled the nighttime hours with friends and good times he didn't want to stop he did love the company of special people and talented people he loved loved not being alone Frank in a house on top Obama and the call would come out at 11:00 movie tonight so we go go up there and we'd all sit around and get drunk Frank would then start the movie at 1:00 in the morning I had to get up at 6:00 in the morning and go to work but I could never turn him down he'd look at me with those steel blues he says you're staying boy knee I said yes I am sir site sit back and I say fall asleep or whatever so this were the kind of evenings we had Dean was always there you know always doing jokes Dean found humor and everything though their personalities were as different as night and day Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra had become close friends Dean to me was a key to that whole relationship he gave Frank another sense of himself he was extremely funny dude like Sinatra Dean was also a capital recording artist his first record for the label that's amore had sold over a million copies but while Sinatra labored over every detail of his work with Nelson Riddle and almost always sang with the orchestra Dean usually walleston to the studio at night to lay down his vocals after his Arrangements had already been recorded Dean was not want to show them but he had troubles of his own particularly with his partner Jerry Lewis this to you Dean Martin and this to Jerry Lewis Martin and Lewis were Hollywood's golden boys in 1953 the movies have grossed over 30 million dollars [Applause] Dean and Jerry we would have been we have recently become partners you know that pretty well yet Dean was deriving less and less pleasure from his celebrity to his great dismay most of the credit for the team's success went to Jerry Lewis [Music] but now stand by Virgil Lewis a complete workaholic spent most of his time putting the material together for the act faster in the departments [Music] everybody got towel somebody took mine I did the editing I did the writing it worked he played golf sure it's Dean Martin it was easy it was just easier if he didn't have to put his mind to work he didn't we won't tell Jerry but if he wanted to come and do what I did if I wanted to play golf we could have made the switch and it would have worked no [Applause] to make more room for Lewis's antics Dean's parts were reduced to brief romantic vignettes fair idea what you're thinking Dean songs were being systematically dropped from the scripts when Dean would sing in the movie the kids would get up and go to get popcorn it took tremendous strength on his part to take a back seat to this idiot oh why would you do what would you do what would you do without me when I'm gone Dean found himself being pushed further and further into the background it was a terrible blow to his prize finally in the spring of 1954 Dean told Jerry he was splitting the gossip columns reported that a Martin and Lewis breakup was imminent [Music] deena desperately wanted to break away from Lois but after taking a good long look at his bankbook Martin got cold feet and back down to reassure their fans that they were staying together Martin and Lewis celebrated their eighth anniversary as partners on the Colgate Comedy Hour by recreating their first days together at the 500 club in Atlantic City back then all television was live fearing that the show might run too long over Dean's objections Jerry made the decision to cut out one of his songs but Jerry had miscalculated and instead the show wound up running short closing the show that night with the trineas one of the first great rock and roll bands when we did the Dean Martin Jerry Lewis show and it was in Hollywood and we were they ran out of entertainment or or less numbers and so they told us to scratch stretch and at the end of the show we started singing Tom out of soap farm out of soap we kept doing that for about five or six minutes you know [Music] and we did it so long that Jerry Lewis collapsed right into Dean Martin's wrong and Dean Moore says told you should let me sing another song Dean had caved but the truth would be short-lived in just a few short years Frank Sinatra had become the most powerful man in Hollywood his old friend skinny D'Amato had been right Sinatra was back and bigger than ever and in Las Vegas he was king of the hill Sinatra never forgot the Vegas bosses who had stuck by him when Hollywood had written him off it was only fitting that he would now pay them back tenfold [Music] the boys had only to ask the Frank was there Sinatra willingly hosted openings of new hotels like the dunes freely dispensing his irresistible job it seemed almost surreal to see the biggest movie star in the world walking a Vegas casino perched atop a camel but Sinatra drank it Frank to them was like up here and they were down here but in reality Frank was right down there with them and that they'd I don't think they could really grasp that but Frank never put himself up there he was always one of the people and I think being a part of him just being in the audience with him on the stage people got thrilled with it they just wanted to see Sinatra and I think Frank loved them back as much as they loved him maybe they didn't know it but I think he did in a Cannavale atmosphere of Las Vegas where unbridled excess was celebrated 24 hours a day every day Frank could shed the trappings of Stata while being treated like royalty here everyone was in this corner rich Americans draped in mink and dressed in tuxedos flocked to Las Vegas eager to see Sinatra fat with cash and ready to party they dropped fortunes at the game when Frank Sinatra came at the town the town knew that they were going to be maybe 20 million 30 million dollars extra to the good because he would bring in that kind of classy people as a reward for Sinatra's loyalty New York mob boss Frank Costello gave him a nine percent share of The Sands Hotel thus began a partnership between Frank Sinatra and the men who ran Las Vegas that would last well into the 1960s in the early hours of November 19th 1954 after finishing his last show at the new frontier in Las Vegas Sammy Davis set out in his car for a recording session in Los Angeles that afternoon you know he was driving down a road and two women coming in any other direction rammed into me he fell and hit the poster and not desire Jeff Chandler was the first one at the studio who heard about it jumped in his car ran out there you know no hospital would take him because he was black and they put him out in a hallway in this other hospital and that's the where he was when Jeff Chandler found him got him into a hospital so they could repair as I as much they could Samy despaired that his career was over but his friends refused to let him give up especially Frank Sinatra Sinatra drove 70 miles nonstop from Los Angeles to San Bernardino and brought Sammy to his home in Palm Springs to recuperate then Frank did Sammy the biggest favor of his life he flatly told Davis that if he sat around feeling sorry for himself for too long he could kiss his career goodbye just eight weeks after losing his eye Sammy climbed on from the stage at Ciro's and played to a packed house that's when Sinatra Dean and I don't know who else all came on the stage with the patch and it was marvelous that night Sammy met a stunningly beautiful blonde actress who was even more self-conscious than he was her name was Marilyn Monroe she was a friend of all of them you know but to me she had an inferiority complex you know as gorgeous as she was you know but she was very introvert he was an introvert throughout the show business community Sammy's curve became the stuff of legend and his popularity soared [Music] within a year Sammy Davis was back in Las Vegas for a two-week run with the new frontier on opening night Sammy triumphantly removed this eyepatch to a standing ovation by the time Sammy had finished his performance the audience was in tears so we took that patch off when people carried on inside this is the history of that I and you know it was a terrible tragedy for everybody lucky my lucky unlucky you know he was able to see but that's what happened after that we all hung out together a lot [Music] Sammy and by that time got connected with Frank after his accident Sammy Davis became the younger brother that Frank Sinatra had never had he christened Sammy Davis he made Sammy Davis and when Sammy Davis had problems he was there with Sammy Davis nobody else was there he was there Frank Sinatra and the other members of Humphrey Bogart's Rat Pack decided it was high time that Sammy move into the neighborhood in 1955 Davis took up residence in judy garland's old house in a lily-white Hollywood Hills that same year he was invited to join the Friars Club Sammy had the best time in the world I mean everybody we all loved him so much you know we we assumed the guilt of what this country had done to our black brothers you know and Sammy would say to us stop being so nice to me it's all right I don't need a girl I'm okay do something about my color but leave me alone with the love and support of his friends Sammy Davis had finally made it across the color line and into Hollywood's white aristocracy he had won a great battle but the war he would fight for acceptance in a white man's world was far from over in 1956 Humphrey Bogart was diagnosed with throat cancer over the next year Sinatra visited bogey at his home almost every day when the end came in 1957 Frank was so devastated that he couldn't bring himself to attend the funeral [Music] [Music] after Bogaerts death Sinatra became the constant companion of his widow Lauren Bacall often taking her to Las Vegas with him within a year Frank and Betty Bacall were engaged to be married but when Louella Parsons broke the news in a gossip column Sinatra blamed Bacall for leaking the story and called the whole thing off in a tradition of Bogart Sinatra established his own in a circle of close friends and colleagues Tony Curtis and Janet Lee Sammy Davis and Dean and Jeannie Martin were being referred to in the press as Frank's Rat Pack I think it was labeled the Rat Pack and then once it was labeled that you know like fables grow and myths grow it just became the Rat Pack we weren't ding-dongs we wouldn't guys that show up for the weekend that was the end of it you know but had a hopper loved the idea that we were rat Packers and Louella Parsons and Sheila Graham and Rona Barrett oh-ho they quivered at the thought of rats running around in their apartments we never had meetings and we never had like bylaws and and it was not a group for a formal where you sign up or you're asked to join it wasn't that kind of a thing it just was a group of people who hung out together but it was more than that for the next 10 years Frank Sinatra's Rat Pack was on a cutting edge of everything that was new fresh and exciting for an entire generation they defined what was hidden and groovy Sinatra had the power to advance or destroy the careers of his ride Packers as chairman of the board of his own private empire Sinatra made the rules and meted out his own brand of justice you know there was nobody who was a better pal to you if you if you were a pal Frank was a very kind man you know we think he was all gruff and he could you know he could throw you out the window and over the balcony but he was if you did something to deserve that but he was a very very tender guy very by 1956 Dean Martin had reached the end of the line after 10 years with Jerry Lewis Dean wanted out no matter what the consequences you in the state of hysteria watch him flip on the Las Vegas Strip when the boys go crazy at the crap table 32 one enrolled when they broke up the thought around town was that Jerry would be go on to be you know a major personality and a Dean would fall by the wayside that's probably him now next stop Road land of Caesars Michelangelo and Lola Brigitte and he made one bad picture 10,000 bedrooms or something like that and it did not do well what do you think of our Italian women the same as I think of all the other women beautiful wonderful charming and I love them all right there I'm in love it's very nice I have to marry four girls that's not a marriage that's a merger kind of passion you fashion hair it was a silly movie you know and I think even Dean thought you know I guess they were right I mean I'm not so good on my own but Dean would have better luck with his next movie a big-budget war epic cast opposite Marlon Brando and Frank's old buddy montgomery clift jeans caught a hit and young lions Dean Martin as Mike the Broadway wiseguy maybe why don't we just sit and be quiet and then what then you kiss me he took off like gangbusters and I could see the change because we were extremely close at that point with Dean and Jean and I saw the self-confidence I saw the man emerge and realized that yeah I can do that six months later Dean made his first picture with Frank Sinatra James the highly-charged melodrama some camera as Franks hard-drinking fast-living sidekick Dean was simply acting out his real-life role with Sinatra just between you and me then the law school teacher yours you know she took an intro breakin you've been impossible maybe Frank saw himself ending Italian trying to get started you know Frank at that time had been up so high and down so low and then up so high again that maybe he saw something of himself and Dean and wanted to give Dean the assurance that he did have what he had you know the confidence that he could do it on his own even scrapes in his head I'll bet I learned a little while back that there's certain conditions bring a gambler luck you know and oh thank you and this year that's one of you know every time I pick this hat off something bad happens to me [Music] Franken Dean's winning combination laid the groundwork for future Rat Pack films Dean is a funny man you know in just in his delivery and a sense of humor the way he did it so like it looked like he wasn't didn't know what he was saying I mean and he was hysterical Dean was special you know they used to have a line and in show business that they said Frank thought he was God but Dean knew he was in 1954 with no movie offers on horizon Peter Lawford decided to have a go at television with financial help from his wife Pat Kennedy the Lawford's co-produced dear Phoebe starring Peter as a newspaper columnist dispensing advice to the lovely under a female pen name night your favorite sports right now my favorite girl will be here in exactly 12 seconds how do you know out of the mind secondly she would burst through those doors rushed to my side and kiss me well if she does I'll kiss Humphrey no the poor innocent bystander always gets the worst of it well I want to toriel special now a sophisticated sitcom about male and female role reversals dear Phoebe was a critical success but left viewers cold you are a gentleman and an all-around good sport do we throw rice now not yet I merely lost a bet on the fight last night Haven vs. O'Rourke the show was cancelled at the end of its first season do me a favor Welch maybe your old cologne isn't doing the job for you back at his beachfront home in California Peter Lawford waited for calls from his agent that nificant he hadn't made a feature film in four years in 1958 Lawford was back on TV starring in The Thin Man a series based on the popular 1930s detective films an aggressive promotion paid off in moderate ratings and a show limped into its second year but early in 1959 PETA received the bad news NBC would not be renewing the thin men to make matters worse Lawford was suddenly confronted with a serious dilemma in his personal life Peter's brother-in-law John F Kennedy was preparing to make his bid for the White House Joseph Pete Kennedy had given his son-in-law the assignment of persuading Frank Sinatra a lifelong Democrat to throw his support behind Jack's campaign [Music] pat Lawford knew all too well that a father's request would be virtually impossible for Peter to fulfill Sinatra's opened animosity towards Lawford was common knowledge in Hollywood [Music] Gary and rocky Koopa two of Sinatra's oldest and dearest friends offered to help Pat Moffett brain Frank and a husband together for a truce rocky Cooper's extremely fond of Peter Lawford confident that a close relationship with Frank could stand the strain rocky invited Sinatra and the Lawford's to a dinner party at a home as it turned out pita was held up rehearsing a television special which Amida Randy and Pat went ahead to the party without him by the time law had arrived at the Cooper's Pat had won Sinatra over and all was forgiven one of my favorite people in the world is Pat Kennedy Pat Kennedy Lawford I was very close with pet and Peter when they were married and she's a wonderful girl and let's face it they were charming Pat was that was very down-to-earth girl and I think that to be involved with the Kennedys to be invited to Martha's Vineyard and things like that that's to Frank even though he was probably the biggest star in the world at the time I think that is a big added plus that's another world for him as if nothing had happened Lawford and Sinatra picked up where they had left off six years before Peter confided to Frank that he had bought a script from one of its Beachbody's about a platoon of ex commandos whose captain reunites them to rob the five major Las Vegas casinos it was called Ocean's eleven Frank Sinatra had no trouble making a deal at Warner Brothers to produce Ocean's eleven the movie was a guaranteed moneymaker as well as something Frank had been searching for for a long time a chance to work with his best pals Dean and Sammy and have a blast in a favorite playpen Las Vegas as a reward for bringing the script to Sinatra Peter Lawford received the starring role and a share of the province after a six-year absence PETA was back in a movie business late in 1959 Frank Sinatra was on a 1 a lot with director Lewis milestone working out their plans for the production of Ocean's eleven when a Friars Club held the roasts in his honor that night fortune smiled in a small-time comic named Joey bishop they were having a testimonial to Frank Sinatra and sitting behind a palm all the way on the other end of this huge table because every big star in the world was there he's Joey Bishop someone didn't show up and Joey Bishop was invited Joey Bishop got up last before they presented Frank Sinatra and I never heard such screams from an audience like Joey Bishop about sitting behind the palms doing this and and endeared him to Sinatra and Sinatra took him on from there he says you got it and you're gonna be a star anyway that's as simple as that one night Bishop had been working night clubs as an opening act for 15 years yet he was still virtually unknown there was no record of him before he was he was partners with another guy there was a bishop Brennus entity he was who was the bishop brothers was like a horrible thing Joey had opened for Sinatra at the Copacabana back in 1957 but he and Frank were basically strangers to each other his line at the Copa when he walked down the steps who was with Sinatra at the Copa place was mobbed and his opening line was well my people are here when is this gonna show up and which at that time was a lot of nerve to say it are you talking about Frank but they loved and they left and he really opened the kiddin around a bus a larger kind of thing at 44 Joey Bishop ship had finally come in and this time he wasn't at the airport Bishop was given a small part in Ocean's eleven a Joey's moment of greatness would come on the stage of the Sands Hotel as master of ceremonies to the most famous nightclub act in the history of American show business [Music] everybody in January of 1960 the cast of Ocean's eleven assembled in Las Vegas to begin shooting keep your eye on Danny ocean he's the quiet guy in the middle of it all he's the guy with a big idea he's calling a summit meeting of his own and it's going to be a summit to top the law I got to know all of them pretty well on Ocean's eleven even though I wasn't in it much I hung around a lot they allowed me to hang around and Sammy is the one who recommended me for the movie I was under contract to Warner Brothers and he said to Frank you know who'd be a gasps as your wife Angie Oh Danny what a prize you are the only husband in the world with proposition his own wife well I married you once and it didn't work out too well so what's wrong with a little Hey when Frank did the scene with me we were in a nightclub as I remember and he finished the scene did the scene and walked off and kept walking it said but maybe we need another one good night and that was it Sinatra wasn't content with just making a movie every night after shooting a trap Frank and his crew took the stage at the sands for a series of shows that would come to be known as the summit I was there in Vegas for a couple of weeks I saw nine of the shows I saw them every night that I was there was so special lively Dean was very quiet and laid-back so when he did speak and say something funny [Music] I'm so exhilarating and the Colorado he was so wonderful most marvelous times of of just total abandoned fun [Music] they were mischievous and the shenanigans kept up all the time Peter Lawford's experience on the Vegas stage was very limited compared to a superstar like Sammy Davis but the little guy with the big hog went out of his way to make it easier for Peter by working up a routine they could do together Peter was very gifted Peter was was you know adorn yourself adjusted the fun they always had was always obvious I mean they were always enjoying each other these five people especially the four I don't remember how close Joey was with them on stage Joey Bishop suited Frank to a tee but Joey did not indulge in Sinatra's favorite leisure activity drinking which by default kept him out of Frank's social life Frank was the leader of the pack there's no question about it and if he just wanted to hang out with the three of them and the other person me included or Joey didn't quite fit into their little fun moment well then why should we be around I would be in on some of those you don't dare go to bed nice I couldn't pass a physical it was tough to stay with him Frank liked to go to bed late sleep late because he was brought up on night clubs that was his pattern and but the other ones who could get away he could get a little bit of sleep yeah he was in complete control of everything complete control before the show after the show and during the show Sinatra directed produced and then everything could you walk up this allowed to say hey Frank I don't like what you're doing cut it out you couldn't do that but he could tell you no one but Sinatra could have persuaded the casino bosses to give him unlimited access right right how to come off like a charm same here fantastic they would work from about 11:00 to 7:00 or 8:00 and then go right to the show so instead of going out to dinner after work they did a show [Music] Frank Sinatra's Rat Pack had turned a town on its ear for the next four weeks there wasn't a single hotel room to be had in all of Las Vegas stop it Dean Martin ladies and gentlemen I think it was a habit a wonderful habit that they had of really enjoying the times even though they didn't know they wouldn't last Frank Sinatra's summit at the sands was the show nobody wanted to miss everyone that I know that were there sweat at the sands and we saw the greatest we ever saw they were making movies any afternoon dropping that at nighttime what they shows they said we have never seen anything it's equal when Frank put their right back together that was the biggest thing in show business they walk in the building and they the whole atmosphere there's changes you know it's safe people do it like they walk into a room or something you just feel the whole place come alive that's where they were ocean after here deep mud is here Sam is his Peter Lawford and he always had beautiful girls with him they were something to see a big eyes are paying thousand two thousand make sure these were telling me we bought houses on those shows houses well it drink up be somebody let's break up and be anybody I thought that was so cool they take a whole fashioned glass with some ice pour Jack Daniels and I'd watch the guys do it each would have his own bottle I like the wonderful words that mr. Joey Lewis he says you're not drunk you can lay on the floor without holding on Frank was a bulbous Frank did a lot of booze so did deed [Music] everybody hates a smartass Frank [Music] yeah but everybody loves a lover Oh with you they came from a street how do you learn showbiz how do you become a talent from the street nothing can stop you God said that's you the rat packs carefully orchestrated routines openly ridiculed prejudice and racism by turning it into a dumb joke they definitely tried to crack to it I know that for a fact you know whatever they could do to help Sammy get through it cuz they know they did they hated blacks when you have something as powerful as the Rat Pack was at the time the fact that Sammy was a part of them was at the same time saying the blacks have every right to be a part of this civilization you know who knows what the impact was I think it was very strong I know we'll never be able to measure it when Frank said I won't perform unless Sammy can stay in this hotel too that was a strong message and it did coincide with the civil rights movement I am today announcing my candidacy for the presidency of the United States two weeks after announcing his candidacy for the presidency John F Kennedy arrived in Vegas to see the Rat Pack as soon as the filming of Ocean's eleven had been completed Sinatra returned to Hollywood he got to get started on his next project the election of a president by the spring of 1960 Sinatra in the Lawford's war as thick as glue the trio was seen everywhere together and became partners in Sinatra's new restaurant Puccini's before long Sinatra began recruiting his Hollywood celebrity friends to work for Jack Kennedy I kept hearing about senator Kennedy from Frank Sinatra and he was always saying you know boy he's gonna go he's gonna do it and then Pat Lawford one night at her house there was a lovely dinner and everything and in front of everyone she said would you give the opening luncheon to kick off my brother's campaign and I would you know it was such a out of the blue question for me and I said of course I remember at one point Janet decided to do a luncheon and all of the wives of the candidates and the Democratic Party were all there that's just what we would do you know at that particular time and we would do it in a very quiet and unassuming way never did anything for Melissa I just wanted to see the Kennedys make it you know and what little way I could do I they were all a little afraid of Frank at that time they weren't afraid of him but you know they were afraid of Frank Frank was an outspoken person and you know had friends of many many different layers and levels no matter how busy he was once a year Frank Sinatra made his way back to his old stomping ground Atlantic City for his annual engagement at the world famous 500 club Frank never failed to come through for his dearest friend skinny D'Amato at first skinny paid him to perform and then he wouldn't charge him anything but skinny had to accommodate Sinatra and his entourage you know with first-class hotels food or drinks or cigarettes whatever they needed they had this bond I mean as ice from what I gather Sinatra wasn't like a man's man in his youth so you had this man he had a present skinny there's no doubt about that when he walked into a room where waters parted for him skinny D'Amato's reputation as a professional gambler and his association with known underworld figures like Godfather Sam Giancana made him a man to be both feared and respected nevertheless skinny was one of the best like guys in town a man is famous for his generosity as he was for his toughness in nearby West Virginia Jack Kennedy was fighting an uphill battle to win the state's Democratic primary Jack was running far behind in the polls without a victory here JFK had almost no chance of receiving his party's nomination [Music] skinny D'Amato arguably one of the most powerful men in Atlantic City at close contacts with civic and label leaders from Philadelphia to Miami as a personal favorite to Frank Sinatra skinny traveled to West Virginia and made sure that the local officials delivered the votes needed to put Kennedy over the top in the case of John Kennedy and skinny D'Amato the old adage that politics makes strange bedfellows had never been true in July the Democratic convention was held in Los Angeles thanks to the efforts of Frank Sinatra and his friends John F Kennedy had become a household name I want to assure you that today we began here in this city an effort to win this nomination which I believe will be successful an impressive number of Hollywood stars came to the LA Coliseum to show their support for Jack Kennedy and now here are some of our friends from the committee for the art of the Democratic National Committee Tony Curtis mr. Sammy Davis jr. [Music] mr. Peter Lawford [Music] mr. Frank Sinatra as usual Sinatra was the man behind the scenes pulling the strings [Music] conspicuously absent from the group was Dean Martin who had flatly refused to campaign for Kennedy Dean was not close to the Lawford's so perhaps that was the missing link the Lawford's chose whom they wanted to represent them the Kennedys in Hollywood actually um Sammy wasn't Davis jr. wasn't visible much in the campaign Sammy Davis showed up at the convention to sing the national anthem only to be heckled by the Mississippi delegation Davis left the arena and tears Sammy's engagement the Swedish actress my Britt had offended millions of white Southern Democrats [Music] see samples like this I'm a man I'm mad like any other man but in those days I don't care what kind of man you are if you're a black man you're in trouble you know I'm especially my white girl Joe Kennedy regarded Sammy Davis as a serious liability to the sons campaign [Music] to Frank Sinatra Joe Kennedy's attitude was pure hypocrisy Sammy had asked Sinatra to be his best man and Frank was not going to disappoint them but the night before JFK won the nomination he celebrated the Frank Sinatra at his side from then on Sinatra's commitment to Kennedy was absolute in spite of the conditions that Joe Kennedy put upon it I think Joe Kennedy was capable of using anybody in everybody I didn't particularly like the old man I think he was a user Jack was search farming it would be hard to say that he was a user and Bobby I think could have wheeled and dealed with whatever it took to get the job done and I do believe that they used Frank yes I do and Frank just wanted to be a part of it [Music] on the same day to JFK was nominated Frank Sinatra his manager Hank's a Nicola Dean Martin and skinny D'Amato apply to the Nevada state Gaming Commission for approval to purchase a controlling interest at Lake Tahoe's cal-neva lodging casino the Gaming Commission was not told that there was a fifth silent partner who preferred to remain that way mob boss Sam Giancana the previous year during the US Senate hearings into organized crime Giancana had been castigated by Robert Kennedy would you tell us their weather if you have opposition from anybody that you dispose of them by having them stuffed in a trunk is that what you do with the Dean Connor McClane answer because I honestly believe my answer my opinion from you tell us anything about any of your operations or we just like giggle every time I got to get question the claim dad's because the owners believe my answer might tend to incriminate I thought only a little girls giggled with the Giancana yet according to FBI reports just six months later Giancana funneled a million dollars in cash from the pension fund of the Teamsters Union into john f kennedy's presidential war chest the money was delivered to the Sands Hotel in Las Vegas the day that JFK arrived there to see the Rat Pack the reports also claimed that a portion of that money was folded too skinny D'Amato - by the West Virginia primary for Kennedy in August Oh sh ins 11 premiered at the Fremont theater in Las Vegas the los angeles examiner labelled the movie something you should keep your children away from but the public paid no attention oh Sh ins 11 was a box-office smash the ninth biggest grossing movie of the year the Rat Pack was hands down the hottest thing in the country Jack Warner gapes the not to the green light to make as many Rat Pack movies as he wanted but for the moment Frank's top priority remained getting Jack Kennedy elected president Sammy Davis jr. campaigned tirelessly for JFK in a black community and even went so far as to postpone his wedding to my bridge until after the election in November still Joe Kennedy worried that Sammy's association with the campaign would rob his son of key votes in the south as election day approached Joe Kennedy's concerns about Sammy Davis proved to be unfounded but a genuine problem now presented itself in the final days of the campaign it became clear that the outcome of the election hinged upon which candidate would carry the state of Illinois and particularly key districts in the city of Chicago Joe Kennedy knew that the only hope of his son becoming president was the guarantee of victory they're determined to win at all costs Joe Kennedy as Frank Sinatra to contact his friend Sam Giancana Giancana had succeeded Charlie Fischetti a supreme ruler of the Chicago mafia he alone had the power to deliver the state of Illinois to JFK friendship yes there was friendship there I met Joe Fischetti through Frank and I met Sam through Frank and I did not like Sam Giancana at all at the beginning wound up absolutely loving him is one of the nicest kindest men I've ever known Joe Fischetti was a nice man they loved Frank and Frank and return loved them they were friends Frank was so obsessed with getting Jack Kennedy elected that he didn't think twice about going to Giancana for the biggest favor he would ever ask of him Frank gave his word to Sam that once JFK was in the White House he daughter his brother Bobby to call off his crusade against him and his friends Giancana saw to it that Kennedy got the help he needed Illinois put John F Kennedy over the top in an election decided by just over 100,000 votes the smallest margin in history and Sam Giancana bragged to his friends that he had just gotten a president elected the following week Frank and Peter Lawford stood up for Sammy at his wedding to my birth the couple received no congratulations from the white house I would like to take this opportunity to thank the American people for being gracious enough to give us the acceptance that they have me professionally and the fact that decent people in this country just say there are two human beings let them live their own lives and I we both appreciate that so much this may be a political question but did you have any message from the president-elect John Kennedy no I did not I would like to take this opportunity to say that if we did receive a message from the president-elect we'd be very thrilled and very honored of course Peter was stood up with me along with Frank Peter Lawford I mean if I'm grinning I was very happy on January 19 1961 the night before JFK took office Sinatra produced the star-studded gala benefit in Washington DC to pay off the Democratic Party's campaign debt in spite of a record snowstorm Sinatra raised enough money to put the party back in the black I think Jack himself called and asked him to do it and from day one Frank had complete control of that whole show that was Frank's baby was the lighting the sound the orchestra everything [Applause] [Music] when I flew in the day of rehearsal I walked on the stage and Frank sent to me where the hell have you been I said don't yell at me this is what time rehearsal is called for and I'm here he could be a excused expression of bastard you know and be really nasty to people but I like that little boy side of him we haven't had too much rehearsal for the show we go to the weather and such it may be a little ragged but four years from now we'll really have it in shape [Music] there was a charter plane and going back for this gala somebody made the crack that if this plane goes down Hollywood's lost because there was every star from on the west coast coming east you know to deceive for the gala Jana theour I'm as fond of Louella Parsons and Henny Hafiz you are but I do think you ought to read the front page of the newspaper once in a while wait my ex-husband Tony Curtis and I did wasn't Shakespeare or a little coward but maybe we didn't have the sense enough not to enjoy it it only confuses me now now for instance what is this electoral college I keep reading about I thought Kennedy went to Harvard we know exactly the definition of electoral Janet will you please tell the people electro is what makes Washington DC instead of AC isn't she bright Thank You Gracie Oh Janet all I could feel was the ambulance and the joy of people seeing this they're never heard heckling but then I don't hear too good I still think I was right the first time we tried to get the world's greatest comic we couldn't get him and here is Milton Boyle I had the nerve or hutzpah if you know what hurts but means that means nerve to say get this line dumb line dumb thank you thank you Frankie laine thank you Frankie laine I remember that oh Jesus I know we're all indebted to a great friend Frank Sinatra [Music] you cannot imagine the work that he has done to make this show a success tonight there are two shows on Broadway that are closed down because the members of the cast to here and I want he and my sister Pat's husband Peter Lawford to know that we're all indebted to them and we're proud to have them with us [Music] those close the Sammy Davis jr. say that he was either not invited to the gala or told to stay away it was by far the cruelest snub Dean Martin was also a no-show at the gala but he did turn up a week later to appear with Frank and Sammy at a Carnegie Hall fundraiser for dr. Martin Luther King after that politics would be set aside it was time for the Rat Pack to return to work in the spring of 1961 shooting began on the second Rat Pack movie sergeants three the westernize remake of Gunga Din [Music] again Peter Lawford shared the spotlight with Frank Dean and Sammy while Joey Bishop brought up the rear [Music] personal matter drunk back him up but sergeant's three the rat-pack scored a second hit at the box office life just couldn't get much cooler the old formula was working and everything was still swinging by the summer Sinatra began seeing a lot of Marilyn Monroe who had recently divorced playwright Arthur Miller but Marilyn was at loose ends and emotionally distraught and Frank at little patience with her Marilyn Monroe and Peter Lawford with true soul mates who shared a lot of good times and bad habits like alcohol and drugs after the election Sinatra's friendship with John Kennedy had suddenly cooled off Frank blame Lawford's reckless lifestyle but Kennedy's cold shoulder but in truth Lawford was now one of the president's closest confidants pitas beachfront home was a tailor-made location but JFK's secret rendezvous with Marilyn Monroe Dean Martin had warned Frank years before that the Kennedys would never accept him into their inner circle but Sinatra had turned a deaf ear after JFK took office Robert Kennedy was made Attorney General on with his new power he resumed his assault on the leaders of organized crime at the top of his list was the same man who had put his brother in the White House Sam Giancana when Sinatra heard that Bobby had placed Sam Giancana under 24-hour FBI surveillance he was dumbfounded in February of 1962 Sinatra saw an opportunity to reconnect with JFK after Peter persuaded him to stay at Frank's home in Palm Springs during his upcoming trip to California he had done a lot of work to it you know refurbished a lot of the furniture and the drapes and the rugs a really a lot of work to make everything's absolutely perfect for him added on space for the Secret Service people and things like that then a few days before Kennedy was scheduled to arrive the roof fell in the FBI found proof of JFK's two-year affair with Judy Campbell a young actress who had been introduced to him by Frank Sinatra when Campbell also turned up an FBI surveillance tapes as being the mistress of Sam Giancana FBI director J Edgar Hoover delivered the reports to Robert Kennedy in person JFK never saw Judy Campbell again he immediately canceled his visit the Sinatra's house Peter Lawford was handed the task of conveying the bad news to Frank for being the bearer of bad news Sinatra would make Peter pay dearly in a fury Sinatra swiftly ousted Peter from his Klan this time their friendship was over permanently well you always have to have somebody to blame and it was poor Peter in that respect but I don't know I think maybe through the years Frank might have realized it wasn't Peter cause Peter adored Frank he would have done anything in the world for him in May Lawford delivered Marilyn Monroe to Madison Square Garden to appear at JFK's 45th birthday bash Marilyn had walked off a picture she was making with Dean Martin in Hollywood even after the studio for bad her to make the trip when she returned she was fired Marilyn had been intimately involved with both Jack and Robert Kennedy and nearly went insane after being rejected by them to add fuel to the fire her addiction to barbiturates was spinning out of control in July of 1962 the Lawford's brought Maryland to join Frank Sinatra at the Cal Naval Lodge for some fun and games Sinatra had agreed to put up with la fête for the weekend because Monroe was falling apart Frank hoped that Maryland could pull herself back from the brink but it was not to be six days later she committed suicide at a home in Los Angeles Peter Lawford have carried a guilt of her death for the rest of his life Peter was a very disillusioned and very bitter person and I think that's what that bitterness at an early age you know bitterness at an early age automatically turns into alcohol substance abuse all kinds of addictions you know and that's what I think happened with Peter two weeks after Marilyn was laid to rest Dean Martin and his Italian friend appeared at skinny de matos 500 club in Atlantic City Sammy flew into town to join them for the last show for Sinatra the past that always held a special place in his life now once again he decided to reach back to try to regain a lost love in the summer of 1963 Frank and Ava Gardner reunited it wasn't long before the fireworks started the reconciliation ended after a typical blowout Sinatra headed west back to Nevada where more trouble was waiting for him the FBI had notified the Gaming Commission that Sam Giancana one of America's 10 most notorious criminals had been staying at Sinatra's kal Navy Lodge in direct violation of Nevada state law the incident wound up costing Frank Sinatra his gaming license on October 10th 1963 Sinatra was forced to give up his ownership of Cal Navy as well as his 9% interest in the Sands Hotel skinny D'Amato and Sam Giancana both lost the fortune true to form Dean Martin was again ahead of the curve and had sold his share the year before Frank traded his casino shares for Warner Brothers stock and went to work on his third Rat Pack movie Robin in the seven hoods a fairy tale of the Chicago mobs of the 1920s that portrayed them as lovable Damon Runyon characters Dean Martin is Little John Sammy Davis jr. is will Scarlett Frank Sinatra is Robin watch your record brain surgery [Applause] [Laughter] [Applause] [Music] on November 22nd 1963 Robin and the seven hoods was shooting a funeral scene on a Warner Brothers lot when JFK was assassinated in Dallas for Peter Lawford it was the beginning of the end in a world that had always overwhelmed him this was the final crushing blow I think when the president was killed I really did him in I don't think Peter was never the same I just for some reason he just lost it two weeks after JFK was killed Sinatra was caught up in the worst nightmare of his life his only son Frank jr. was kidnapped and held for ransom the only thing that I do remember that really hurt Sam Giancana was when Frank jr. was kidnapped and Sam reached out to help and I happened to be with him the night had happened and Sam reached out to help Frank and Frank wouldn't even come to the telephone and take his call and he said he didn't need any help and that was the end of their relationship their friendship stopped almost right there [Music] in less than two years all of Frank Sinatra's high hopes had been dashed as he had so many times before Frank picked himself up and moved on by 1964 the once inseparable Rat Pack had already lost two of its members one way or another Frank Dean and Sammy still found ways to work together in 1965 they traveled to st. Louis to recreate their Las Vegas summit show - Sinatra's favorite charity after more than 20 years on the boards Frank had managed to hang on to his two best friends how many more you think he's gonna do Sam I don't know but he should sing good for a white fella you make me feel so young you make me feel like the old song seemed to be from another time the old jokes all too familiar this wonderful trope but the classic style the unmistakable magic was still there that's for another four years new dirty rat you want me to do is take the 50 G's while you play parties with the cops is that so you did it to my brother in the back I'm going to do it to you I'd like to do one that nobody can do yeah watch one is that that one step on my swage they had done these same bits hundreds of times yet they still seem to take a special delight in them maybe it was simply the joy they took from each other Sinatra was now 50 but still the inexhaustible chaser of good times everywhere he went his friends went to the first one is Sammy but I never said that it would take like this we got it from the wrong side with the bad women like this deep in his heart Sinatra knew that the party was over in 1971 he said goodbye and officially retired it doesn't matter how great Sammy was and Sammy was one of the greatest performers ever to come along that we'll ever see and a wonderful person Dean was a wonderful person Peter was great joey is one of the funniest men and yet they've won the real phenomenon of them all is Frank and you just can't help he is an extraordinary person oh he's just you can't talk enough about him and yet you can never define him I mean that's the elusive magic in 1973 the 500 club burned to the ground all that survived from the inferno untouched was a picture of Frank Sinatra staring back from behind the bar as if to say it all started here this was the best of it and here it ends

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Length: 174min 51sec (10491 seconds)

Published: Mon Nov 19 2018