Rat Pack Confidential: Frank, Dean, Sammy, Peter, Joey and the Last Great Show Biz Party

by Shawn Levy

For the first time, the full story of what happened when Frank brought his best pals to party in a land called Vegas

January 1960. Las Vegas is at its smooth, cool peak. The Strip is a jet-age theme park, and the greatest singer in the history of American popular music summons a group of friends there to make a movie. One is an insouciant singer of Italian songs, ex-partner to the most popular film comedian of the day. One is a short, black, Jewish, one-eyed, singing, dancing wonder. One is an upper-crust British pretty boy turned degenerate B-movie star actor, brother-in-law to an ascendant politician. And one is a stiff-shouldered comic with the quintessential Borscht Belt emcee’s knack for needling one-liners. The architectonically sleek marquee of the Sands Hotel announces their presence simply by listing their FRANK SINATRA. DEAN MARTIN. SAMMY DAVIS, JR. PETER LAWFORD. JOEY BISHOP. Around them an entire cast actors, comics, singers, songwriters, gangsters, politicians, and women, as well as thousands of starstruck everyday folks who fork over pocketfuls of money for the privilege of basking in their presence. They call themselves The Clan. But to an awed world, they are known as The Rat Pack.

They had it all. Fame. Gorgeous women. A fabulouse playground of a city and all the money in the world. The backing of fearsome crime lords and the blessing of the President of the United States. But the dark side–over the thin line between pleasure and debauchery, between swinging self-confidence and brutal arrogance–took its toll. In four years, their great ride was over, and showbiz was never the same.

Acclaimed Jerry Lewis biographer Shawn Levy has written a dazzling portrait of a time when neon brightness cast sordid shadows. It was Frank’s World, and we just lived in it.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, Music, History, Film, Pop Culture, Biography Memoir

368 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

About the author

Shawn Levy is the author of eleven books of biography, pop culture history, and poetry. The former film critic of The Oregonian and KGW-TV and a former editor of American Film, he has been published in Sight and Sound, Film Comment, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Guardian, The Hollywood Reporter, and The Black Rock Beacon, among many other outlets. He jumps and claps and sings for victory in Portland, Oregon, where he serves on the board of directors of Operation Pitch Invasion.

Reviews

[Jeff · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you believe The Rat Pack was the pinnacle of sophisticated grown-up entertainment in the 20th century, as the author claims, this is the book for you. It’s not a hatchet-job of Frank Sinatra disguised as unauthorized biography like Kitty Kelley wrote, but the “Confidential” in the title clues you in that it’s going to be dark ride, Clyde.

Booze + chicks + music + crappy movies + The Kennedys + mobsters = Come Fly With Me, Daddy-o!

I’m under 30 40, 50, just started getting AARP literature in the mail, Jeff. Just who is this Rat Pack?

Well, Ring-a-Ding-Ding, kids. During the shooting of the original movie, Ocean’s Eleven, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Jr., Peter Lawford and Joey Bishop would hang out on the stage of the Sands Hotel in Las Vegas and sing and cut-up and booze it up for the entertainment of guys who would give their right nut to be them and the “broads” who wanted to be with them. Everyone else was a “Harvey”. A square.

Sinatra was the puppet master, at the height of his popularity, a gifted singer, a decent actor when he cared enough and a bully. If you didn’t do it Frank’s way, you could hit the road, pally.

Dean Martin was the epitome of cool (or sheer indifference) and refined the drunkard-as-an-on-stage-persona routine.

Sammy Davis’s story is heartbreaking. Davis had to deal with years and years of some of the most virulent racism you can imagine. He would perform at a hotel/casino, yet couldn’t stay there or mill around in the lobby because of Las Vegas’s Jim Crow laws. Once he displeased Sinatra and had to literally beg on his hands and knees in order to be let back into the Pack.

Peter Lawford, British, was an iffy actor\entertainer at best, but because he married Pat Kennedy, JFK’s sister, he was Sinatra’s ticket (or so he thought) to the White House. He guest starred on the Love Boat.

Joey Bishop was a comedian. He wrote some of the Rat Pack stage material. He ended up on Hollywood Squares, to the left of Paul Lynde.

There aren’t a lot of original stories here and most of them have been oft repeated elsewhere (fist fights, Marilyn Monroe, JFK, Sam Giancana, Frank Jr. gets kidnapped, etc.). The Rat Pack wasn’t the apex of show biz but as portrayed here, it seemed like fun. For your grandparents.

If you’re interested in the subject matter, it’s a not uninteresting gateway. Or you could just pick up a Sinatra or Dean Martin CD - the music - the real legacy.

[Morgan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cool touch of nostalgia for those of us of a certain age.
A good deal of the information about each of the “Rat Pack” members is already widely known due to the many biographies and autobiographies already written.
This book brings them together as the “Rat Pack”. How it started, how it progressed and how it ended.
Their ups and downs were many and staggering, not always flattering, sometimes offensive.
Their triumphs and failures also many and stunning, sometimes shocking.
BUT they are remembered centuries later as giants of the industry.
Their collective excess of talent is flabbergasting. No one else can touch them.
I loved reliving the golden days when these icons, all of them, gave us everything they had, and more.
Love them or hate them, there is no denying, as I write this in 2020… “And there was never anything like it before or since.” (Pg.8)

[Gaijinmama · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was born in 1967 and my parents were of the hippie persuasion. We listened to Bob Dylan and Peter, Paul and Mary, not Frank Sinatra or Dean Martin. A few years ago I started listening to Sinatra and was blown away by the power of his voice. I knew nothing about his life or the rest of the Rat Pack. I'd never even heard of Joey Bishop, or much more than Peter Lawford's name. I once stayed at the Sands Hotel in Las Vegas, but really had no idea of its history.

This book is a detailed, engaging look at the lives of Frank Sinatra and the group of friends who made the film Ocean's Eleven with him. The whole cast have passed into history, but for a short time they were just about the hottest stars of the entertainment world and their collective talents were truly amazing. The more I read, the more I kept heading over to YouTube to watch videos of their classic moments. In particular, I've developed a soft spot for Sammy Davis , Jr. who in his own words "worked harder than anyone" yet was under-rated as a performer in spite of his talent, managed to desegregate the casinos in Vegas, and was unfairly ostracized for marrying a white woman.

If you're already a fan, you'll enjoy the details and trivia. If you're just discovering these hip cats and their world, this book will definitely get you even more interested.

[GoldGato · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Sinatra Martini. It's vivid blue and composed of I don't know what, but it made me think of this book and how these dudes made everyday vices so electrifyingly cool. Swingers. This book has an unfortunate tendency to focus on Ol' Blue Eyes, which isn't bad as he's The Leader, but it would have been nice to get much more on his cohorts. It's a great intro to folks discovering their style and a Vegas some of us never knew.

I used spirits for medicinal purposes only.
I manufactured it for medicinal purposes only.
And then I started drinking what I manufactured, and I drank myself out of a hell of a business...for medicinal purposes only.
('Mr. Booze' from ROBIN AND THE SEVEN HOODS)

Sammy with his wicked early 1960s suits, Dean-NO with his innate sense of wicked humor, Lawford with his wicked bizarreness, Bishop with his wicked sarcasm, and Frankie with his wicked vocal chops...ice cubes swimming along before assassinations changed the world.

Dean: You'd think they'd put a little heat in this room, I'm freezing.
Frank: Take your hand out of the ice bucket.
Dean: Oh.

Book Season = Summer (fly me to the moon)

[Marley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book. I grew up in the era of The Ratpack (and no, Frank et al didn't like that name), I loathed them, though I thought Dean Martin was OK. They stood for everything I hated. Crass materialism, commercialism, and the worse offense being old-fashioned. I mean, why bother with Frank when you could have Elvis and later the Beatles and the Stones? I've changed my mind since then, though I still think Frank was a prick, but an ever-fascinating one, and a musical genius.I'm not sure when I changed. Maybe after I rediscovered lounge music 15 years ago or so. (I'd grown up with spending a lot of time in bars and resorts, and was once forced to take cha-cha lessons. I ran from all this stuff.)

Ratpack Confidential is not a biography; though it contains the biographies of Frank, Dean, Sammy, Peter,and Joey entourage. As author Shawn Levy says, it's an analysis of a place in time. And a short time it was; something that always amazes me as an historian looking back on "movements" or "eras" which had significant cultural impact. Funny how most of them last for only 4-5 years and we still live the fruits today. The Ratpack was just a bunch of guys, a sort of in crowd" getting together for a good time. They had money and style and could pull it off, and at the end of the book I'm not sure if any of them actually realized the impact they had.

Frank Sinatra, as I said, was a prick, but much more. An insecure guy, afraid of his mother, who ended up believing his own publicity with the juice to back up his own myth. Honestly I'm surprised somebody didn't pop him. (I remember Jimmy Fratiano making fun of him in his first memoir, as a wannabe.) Dean just wanted to be left alone--separated from it all. Sammy Davis, Jr. victimized earlier by terrible racism in and out of entertainment; a people pleaser who Frank encouraged, promoted, yet ridiculed with no regret. Sammy caught in two worlds no matter what he did. Joey Bishop, who I remembered as a much bigger name than he really was, sorta kept things in order, a great talent who stood up to Frank. And finally, Peter Lawford, a truly tragic figure. I always liked him (TV shows Dear Phoebe and The Thin Man), a totally screwed up guy with a crazy mother, seriously sexually abused as a child, and a Kennedy adjunct, kicked to the curb when he self-destructed his marriage to Pat Kennedy and kicked further by Sinatra when he lost his Kennedy usefulness. I plan on reading James Spada's bio of Lawford later this year.

My only criticism of the book is that I'd have liked more analysis on Frank's relationship with Mia Farrow (what were both of them thinking?). Barbara Marx is mentioned only in passing.

Back in the 1980's I had a chance to see Frank perform and I turned it down. I really regret it.

Celebrity, Las Vegas, Hollwyood, sex, the mob, the Kennedys, Marilyn Monroe, money. Ratpack Confidential is good entry into the culture history of mid-century America. Like after I recently finished Babbitt, I feel "nostalgic" for the Ratpack days. American has next to nothing now. The Ratpack, was in it's way manufactured, but nothing like mass manufactured contemporary Amerika.

[Brooklyn Tayla · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was rather well written. Highly enjoyable. Gave me a taste of life around the times of this glorious group. Still feel rather sorry for Peter Lawford though, poor chap.

[Krista · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good story. Terrible writing.

[Damian · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you want the dirt, the skinny, the lowdown on Sam, Frank, Dean, Joey and Peter, this book is full of it. In fact, it might indeed be full of it, because it reads like a tabloid. I'm not questioning whether or not Shawn Levy gives us the facts, as much as I'm wondering if the info he was given was indeed factual.

I'll be honest with you, the first three chapters in, I was ready to give up on "Confidential", because the proverbial crush Levy has on Sinatra made me want to puke. Nevertheless, I read on and I'm glad I did because Levy redeemed himself; by making you feel kind of sorry for these guys. They had four really great years of fun as a "clan" (1960-64). We know Frank and Dean continued to be successful. Dean dropped into depression when his son died in a plane crash. Poor Sammy dealt with a rash of shit from people that didn't like him because he married a white woman, or because he was Black, or because he wasn't black enough. It's so easy to forget the barriers he broke down for future black entertainers, just because he hung out with white guys. Sure Joey did okay for himself, if you consider staying under the radar "doing okay". But man, Peter Lawford! I considered him the weak link of the group, and when that link that was connected to Sinatra and Kennedy broke, so did Peter. Frank was always the big cheese, and he outlasted them all, and the cheese standed alone.

If you like the Rat Pack, give this a read. The stories are great, it's fast-paced, chock full of gossip so juicy you'll wanna use a ShamWow as a bib.

[Harold · Rating 4 out of 5]

For those interested in Sinatra and his cronies this is a good book. There is much to be admired about Sinatra and some thing not to admire, but he was a immense talent. That is undeniable. In telling the "Rap Pack" story, Levy tosses in a lot of biographical material of all the other personalities involved.

[Desiree · Rating 4 out of 5]

What led me to this book is my curiosity as to how Sammy Davis Jr. was treated by this lot. Levy's detail and lingo made me feel like a fly on the wall or a sixth member. I'd never thought one way or the other about Dean Martin but this book as made me a bit of a fan. Enjoyable read!

[Harley Lond]

Breezy, breathtaking romp through the lives, loves and tragedies of Frank, Dean, Sammy, Peter and Joey -- known as The Rat Pack. Frank and crew ruled the world of showbiz for a couple of years, then were cast aside by the rise of the counter-culture in the 60s and 70s. But Frank is still the king of male singers, and his albums still fly off the shelf. And, surprisingly, Dean's and Sammy's best still hold up today. Levy's foray into the Rat Pack world of broads, sex, booze and crime is a real page turner, tying together the connections between Frank and the mob and the Kennedys. Disclosure: Shawn and I go back about 30 years when we worked on the same Hollywood publication.

[Peter O'Connor · Rating 5 out of 5]

The beauty of this book is that despite all the tales of excess and glitz and bad behaviour, you are never really left feeling like the Rat Pack are just a pack of assholes. Rather, that they are taking full advantage of their status and their popularity and forming a kind of club that sets the bar sky high for style and talent. Real singers singing real songs. Compared to the current chart dross, it made me nostalgic for a time I never knew.

[Ray Campbell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rat Pack Confidential is a well-researched, written book. Shawn Levy starts with the legend and sketches a show. He covers the early history of Frank hanging with Bogart, and then writes are solid biography of each of the members. Obviously, the biographies overlap, so we get multiple perspectives on some of the key events. This is a rich, well-developed portrait of an era and the people who came to embody its spirit.

I've read several biographies of Frank Sinatra. I liked this book because while Frank was only one of several people whose lives the author touched on, the details of Franks business is very clear. While others talk about his wealth and power, Levy gives dollar amounts in contrast to others. Also, Levy isn't shy about details of Frank's dealings with the mob and what becomes of the gangsters he knew.

It was delightful to get to know Dean, Sammy, Peter, Joey, and others better. It is amazing the detail Levy gets into the relatively short book. I read a two-volume bio of Frank that covered triple the pages but wasn't as focused or direct. I enjoyed this one and recommend it.

[Brenda Osborne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I grew up in the era of The Rat Pack and thought this might be an interesting book. It was. The author really does a good job of bringing Frank,Dean,Sammy and Peter to life. Joey Bishop gets the short end of the stick and I would have liked to learn more about him. No one comes out of this book smelling like a rose, but they were just human, weren't they?

[C.A. · Rating 3 out of 5]

A look at the infamous Rat Pack at it's height during the making of "Ocean's Eleven" in Vegas in the 1960's. The best part is the light, ring-a-ding tone the book takes while providing real insight to the men and that time

[Straker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Trashy journalism at its best! A bygone era is effectively recreated as mini-biographies of all five of the principals are woven into the story (once you've met Lawford's mother, you'll understand why he turned into such a freak). Great bathroom reading.

[John Devlin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not much here for the Rat Pack aficionado to gnaw on.

[Kip · Rating 4 out of 5]

A damn good read! If your interested in the coolest gang of men ever to rule Vegas (hell, they put vegas on the map), than you'll love this book.

[Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have always had a fascination with those cool dudes in the vegas heat, wearing the suits and the shades, this book gave me a wonderful insight into the actuallity of that time and place!

[Dad · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun read about talented guys who set a bad example for a whole generation.

[Eryck · Rating 3 out of 5]

What a party. What a time. The book is what it is. Tries not to step on too many toes.

[Richard Schwindt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rat Pack Confidential leads off with a bit of “tone” and I wasn’t quite sure what I was going to be reading; maybe a bit of light Hollywood tittle-tattle. As the book evolves, and we follow the “Las Vegas Summit” that lead to the production of Ocean’s Eleven, this book evolves into something more. It follows the lives of Frank, Dean, Peter, Joey and Sammy, both as they arrived at that place in time, and in the years after. The end result is a portrait of an era, delivering more than promised. The narrative jumps around without ever losing either coherence or the reader’s interest. And it starts with the tittle-tattle, but ends with deeper dive into the lives of prominent men who evoked a fantasia that, in the end, only existed for them. Much credit to writer Shawn Levy, not only for the story but empathy required to look honestly at oft neglected aspects of the darker side. Not just the mobsters, corruption and alcohol abuse, but the casual and relentless misogyny towards women treated as whores or set pieces, and the ferocious racism directed against Sammy Davis Junior. Recommended, with a couple of belts of whiskey at 3 AM.

[Phillip Gallegos · Rating 5 out of 5]

The rise and fall of the desert Rats

The author admits this this could have easily been ten times as long, and i think if it was, it would be just as interesting. Dense, entertaining, and informative, I spent a lot of time going down internet rabbit holes, following the many and various anecdotes a far as I could. It certainly casts a light on the Pack I had not seen them in before, especially considered together as a whole "entity", rather than each member separately. As a very young child, I saw the Vegas casinos mentioned throughout the book, now gone and replaced with bigger and shinier ones. While reading, I was still able to recall the sight of those places that were so bright and colorful and fascinating, and I could almost feel like I was there for only the briefest moment...

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

For those of us from a certain point in time

I'm not sure how much today's millennials will appreciate this book. They never experienced Sinatra, Martin, Davis et al except in some YouTube videos that capture just a few moments here and there of their former glory. That, in fact, is the underlying story that Shawn Levy, with great humor and terrific anecdotes is telling. These great show biz legends were largely that because their act just seemed to meld into postwar America. And when the 50 's gave way to the Beatles and The Sixties, the stars on the Strip suddenly seemed passe. Some tumbled painfully from great heights to becoming lost boys. If you enjoy learning about a time and place when talent really meant artistic capabilities and style ruled, come along for a great tour of a period in American culture that isn't likely to ever occur again.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

This tell all explores and breaks down, praises, and criticizes all the same. It fills you in and how the Rat Pack organically developed with Bogart and dissolved over the years, with many hangers on. I learned a lot about these original swingers and kings of Old Vegas.

The author doesn’t pull punches, throwing in his beliefs alongside facts and testimonies. Frank is as much lauded as the author makes him pitiable as well.

There is a great amount of Kennedy and old Camelot in here too, and how Frank desperately wanted to be part of real ‘royalty’.

It turns out, he was royalty with all the trappings. But nobody could be as swanky, cool, clad in power, loved and adored as Sinatra, Dean Martin, or Sammy Davis Jr. Nobody.

[Randy Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

An Excellent Overview Of The Rat Pack And Its Place In History

Written in a breezy and gossipy manner, this is nonetheless a well-researched and very thoughtful book. It offers the facts - how The Rat Pack came to be, how it flowered, then how it faded - but also offers insightful analysis of why these things happened, looking at both the people involved and the cultural context in which the events occurred. For anyone fascinated by The Rat Pack and its members, this is a must-read. For anyone interested in the history of show business in the 1950s and 1960s, it’s a must-read. And for anyone who wants to know what America thought was cool before the Kennedy assassination made the world a more cynical and angry place, this is a must-read.

[Mari · Rating 3 out of 5]

Slightly praising ... sometimes. Slightly dishing ... sometimes. Not always extremely easy to follow the thread, as it sometimes jumps back and forth to make whatever point the author is trying to make, but still I found it to be an enjoyable look at the history of the group - who never seemed to actually like the "Rat Pack" sobriquet, as far as the author seems to be able to relate. (the fact that the term actually did harken back to a time when Frank was more friendly with Bogart was a pretty darn interesting little tidbit.
All-in-all, if you've always heard about the 'rat pack years' and, like me, but never knew the whole history, it's pretty interesting. Narration is not great, but listenable.

[Beverly · Rating 4 out of 5]

My biggest complaint about this author is the vocabulary he used. I wanted to say so often—just use simple plain English instead of trying to impress me with your language skills. The writing style does not make me want to read anything else by this author. It was an interesting read and I learned a number of things. At times it was hard for me to believe, but I had read enough to know there was a strong possibility that these things were true. It certainly sheds a different light on these very talented men and I came away with a disappointed opinion of them. Too bad because I enjoyed their talents.

[Ron Willoughby · Rating 1 out of 5]

Somewhere in the jumbled, dissonant unraveling of the narrative, the contradictory generalizations and redundancies, the gratuitous expletives, racial epithets and cavalier misusing of God’s name is a history parts engaging and deplorable, insightful and mystifying. Since when do historians ape the voice of their subjects? Was that for the sake of believability? If it was to give the reader a sense of the vernacular, there were more than enough quotes that accomplished that objective.

There were so many shifts in chronology and disconnected anecdotes to cause literary whiplash. It was a sad bit of writing. This was a book in desperate need of an editor or three.

Just say: no.

[Elaine Booth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting history

This is the first book I've read about this group. It had some new insights on their dynamics and on their interactions with each other. As a child of the fifties I have some memories of watching the Rat Pack on TV. I thought they were cool but a little otherworldly and hard to figure out in my young mind. But most adults confused and mystified me back then. As time went on, the Rat Pack lost their relevance with the shift in people's tastes. That was inevitable, except for Frank Sinatra and that was due to his uncanny talent. All in all, it was an entertaining read.