Inside Details About The Rat Pack That Would Never Fly In Today’s Climate

Back in the early 1960s, the entertainment hall known as the Copa Room was the place to be. Situated inside Las Vegas’ Sands Hotel and Casino on the famous strip, this venue was where the Rat Pack members would regularly take to the stage and party. Sadly, the haunt was torn down in 1996 to make way for The Venetian.

If you already thought the Rat Pack appeared to be a little cliquey, wait until you discover that they even had their own language. Yes, to these five entertainers, the average Joe was known as “Clyde” and any other part of America was “Dullsville, Ohio.” Sammy and company also used the term “the big casino” as a substitute for death. 

Chances are that if you had tickets for one member of the Rat Pack’s live dates you would end up seeing another on stage, too. The Copa Room at Las Vegas’ Sands Hotel and Casino would even promote headliner shows with taglines teasing guest appearances. When Dean was due to perform, for instance, the marquee would also read, “Maybe Frank — maybe Sammy and Peter and Joey?”

Although the Rat Pack was a strictly all-male affair, the quintet did allow several famous women to join during their hard-partying exploits. Shirley MacLaine and Angie Dickinson were just a few of the Hollywood actresses who became closely associated with the super-suave crew. And they were also given their own collective label: the Rat Pack Mascots.

While Shirley MacLaine’s relationship with the Rat Packers was only ever strictly platonic, that wasn’t always the case with the other Mascots. Both Juliet Prowse and Lauren Bacall took Frank as a lover, for example. In fact, they both ended up getting engaged to the man known as Ol’ Blue Eyes — though not at the same time, of course.

The gang didn’t actually call themselves the Rat Pack. That’s right: they instead preferred to use the term The Summit. This was inspired by the Four Powers Paris Summit, which was meant to be attended by such leaders as Charles de Gaulle and Dwight Eisenhower. When the 1960 event was canceled, though, Frank decided he’d organize a very different “conference of cool.”

Perhaps the least-known member of the Rat Pack, Joey reportedly felt that he was on the periphery of the group. When it came to mealtimes, for instance, the star would always wait until he was invited by his fellow entertainers to sit down at the same table. Frank allegedly once remarked, “Goddammit, how long does he have to be with me before he knows he can eat with us?”

If you needed any proof as to how close Frank and Dean’s bromance was, all you had to do was look at their hands any time they shared the stage. To celebrate their friendship, Frank had matching diamond rings made for himself and his buddy. And the pair never seemed to take them off.

Before Frank joined the rest of his future Ocean’s 11 castmates, the singer was part of another similarly named social clique. Founded in the post-WWII period, The Holmby Hills Rat Pack was led by Hollywood legend Humphrey Bogart. And it also included David Niven, Judy Garland, and Bogart’s then-other half, Lauren Bacall.

Frank, Dean, and co. got their collective name from The Holmby Hills Rat Pack that included Lauren Bacall. And it was the To Have and Have Not star who actually coined the term after finding husband Humphrey Bogart and his pals partying at their Las Vegas home. Bacall apparently told the group they were like a “rat pack.”

Heaven forbid you actually referred to the sharp-suited crew as the Rat Pack in their presence. Yes, the group didn’t exactly take kindly to the name originally coined by Lauren Bacall. Apparently, Frank once told a journalist that it was a “stupid phrase” when the subject came up. 

Turns out that the Rat Pack’s least high-profile member was also its funniest. Yes, the on-stage banter between long-time best buds Frank and Dean apparently wasn’t actually as spontaneous as it first seemed. According to the stand-up comedian Sandy Hackett, the quips were scripted beforehand by unsung hero Joey.

The Rat Pack enjoyed their biggest cinematic success with 1960’s Ocean’s 11. But screenwriters Charles Lederer and Harry Brown probably didn’t always appreciate what they saw on screen. Dean and co. didn’t believe the screenplay was as amusing as it could have been. So they regularly resorted to ad-libbing to give the film an extra verve.

Ol’ Blue Eyes Frank was no stranger to the nickname. And he reportedly gave each member of the Rat Pack their own one, too. Dean became the slightly unimaginative “Dino,” while Sammy was referred to as “Smokey the Bear.” Frank even got the alternate names stitched onto bathrobes for whenever the group visited the Las Vegas Sands health club.

Members of the Rat Pack were so cool that they even had their own coat of arms — albeit one borrowed from their earlier incarnation. Yes, Humphrey Bogart’s crew created a shield design featuring a human hand being chewed by a rodent. And the accompanying tagline was “Never rat on a rat.”

The Rat Pack might have liked to present a united front, regularly appearing at one another’s shows and sharing the screen on several occasions. But behind the scenes, it was apparently a different story. According to Deconstructing the Rat Pack co-author Richard A. Lertzman, Frank despised Peter with a vengeance.

Frank certainly wasn’t afraid to shoot the messenger. After being informed that the President of the United States had cut all ties with him by Peter, the singer directed much of his fury at his fellow Rat Packer. In fact, Frank tried to besmirch the actor’s name throughout the whole of Tinseltown. Harsh!

Peter wasn’t the only Rat Packer with whom Frank eventually severed all ties. According to biographer Richard A. Lertzman, Joey once requested a private jet and a $50,000 fee after Ol’ Blue Eyes asked him to perform at a particular show. Frank believed the fame had made the star too big for his boots and cut him from the crew. 

Frank and Dean appeared to be the two closest members of the Rat Pack. But that doesn’t mean they didn’t occasionally get on each other’s nerves. Frank apparently used to take umbrage with the fact that Dean preferred early nights as opposed to painting the town red. Tom Dreesen, who often opened for Ol’ Blue Eyes, told the Desert Sun newspaper, “If Dean wanted to go to bed, Dean would go to bed.” 

Joey’s attempts to achieve success outside of the Rat Pack didn’t exactly go smoothly. The star did manage to bag an eponymous sitcom of his own, The Joey Bishop Show. But it was taken off the air after just a couple of seasons, with biographer Richard A. Lertzman describing it as an “uneasy fit.”

Paul Anka’s career regularly aligned with Frank’s. He wrote the lyrics for the iconic crooner’s signature hit, “My Way” and in 2021 embarked on a tour singing nothing but Ol’ Blue Eyes’ songs. You can see why he was taken under the wing of the Rat Pack as an honorary member.

In 1988 Dean, Frank, and Sammy announced a surprising 29-city reunion tour. But far from extending the Rat Pack’s legacy, it only tainted it. Dean was reportedly the root cause of its failure, too. The crooner appeared indifferent toward the whole event, botching his lines, and during one Oakland gig, he even flicked cigarette ashes into the crowd. Sigh.

According to friend Tony Oppedisano, Frank liked nothing more than playing pranks on the rest of the Rat Pack. His most elaborate came when he had a miniature suite built for the shorter Sammy at a Las Vegas hotel. In his memoir, Oppedisano said, “For Frank, pranks were a form of bonding. If he played a prank on you, it was a sign you were in with him.”

All five members of the Rat Pack appeared in several films together, including Ocean’s 11 and Sergeants 3. And Robin and the Seven Hoods, released in 1964, would have been added to this list had Peter not been ousted shortly before its production. Crooner Bing Crosby filled in for the actor after Peter and Frank had a major beef.

Much of the Rat Pack’s reputation was built on its members’ hard-partying lifestyle. So it’s perhaps little surprise that Frank even had a secret house where he would regularly throw bashes for them. Situated in Palm Desert, the 6,428-square-foot property dubbed Villa Maggio went on sale for $4.25 million in 2021.

Rat Pack Mascot Shirley MacLaine joined both Dean and Frank on screen in 1958 in the movie Some Came Running. And in an interview with Vanity Fair magazine more than six decades later, the actress credited the pair with teaching her the art of improvisation. She said, “They did exactly what came to them at the moment, and if they all acted like that at the same time, it was humorously chaotic.”

Dean’s behavior on the failed 1988 Rat Pack reunion tour upset Frank so much that the crooner ended up tipping spaghetti over his old BFF’s head. The once-inseparable pair then gave each other the silent treatment over the next few years. In fact, it was only shortly before Dean’s passing in 1995 that he and Frank decided to bury the hatchet.

The Rat Pack certainly put the work in when they were shooting their most famous film. As well as spending all day in Las Vegas’ Sands’ casino filming for Ocean’s 11, they also performed two gigs every evening in the same venue. The live show, dubbed The Summit, was penned by Don Sherman, father of Gilmore Girls creator Amy Sherman-Palladino.

Dean was often so determined to enjoy a quiet night that he’d even call the cops on his own parties. Yes, author Richard A. Lertzman told Fox News that the singer liked nothing more than heading upstairs to bed for 8:00 p.m. to enjoy his favorite Westerns. And if the noise below was getting out of hand, Dean would get on the phone to the Beverly Hills police, asking them to come out and quieten down his guests.

Frank and Dean were undoubtedly the two closest members of the Rat Pack. And their daughters developed strong bonds, too. Tina Sinatra and Deana Martin even became best friends at one stage, with Deana writing in her memoir, “The Sinatras were a big part of our lives. Tina and I hung out together all the time.”

If you look closely at any of the Rat Pack’s films starring Peter, you might notice that you rarely see his right hand in full view. The actor severely injured it as a teenager after a bad collision with a glass door. And as a result, he had to disguise the damage whenever he appeared on camera.

Not every Rat Pack member adhered to their “never rat on a rat” motto. According to biographer Richard A. Lertzman, Peter would often gossip about his fellow stars. In fact, it was the actor who told Ava Gardner that her then-partner, Frank, had been repeatedly unfaithful.  

Dean Martin built a reputation for being something of a big drinker. The crooner was always clutching his favorite whiskey cocktail whenever he entered the stage. And Frank once remarked, “He’s got a tan because he found a bar with a skylight.” But in reality, the star wasn’t a big fan of the drink. Yes, the whiskey Dean was rarely seen without was, in fact, apple juice.

Ever wondered why Joey’s career nosedived after the Rat Pack? Well, Richard A. Lertzman told website Deadline that the actor had a bad reputation across Hollywood. He said, “[Joey] alienated co-stars, writers, directors, and producers. While he was on top, with Sinatra backing him, industry insiders were willing to put up with his hostility. By the time his star had begun to fade, he had burned so many proverbial bridges that no one wanted to work with him.”

Although Frank was undoubtedly the figurehead of the Rat Pack, the idea for the group actually came from an outsider. Al Freeman, a publicist for the Sands Hotel’s casino, had been wanting to improve Sin City’s reputation and believed an all-star act would help draw in a more reputable crowd. Frank didn’t take much convincing to come on board, and the rest is history.

George Clayton Johnson co-penned classic sci-fi tale Logan’s Run and himself wrote the first Star Trek episode to hit the screens. But back in the late 1950s, he was working at a gas station in Malibu. George’s big break came when he passed on a heist movie script to Peter with a title you might well be familiar with: Ocean’s 11.

Frank had mixed in the same circles as Joey before the Rat Pack came into being. The latter had become known as “Sinatra’s comic” after the legendary crooner used him as a regular warm-up. Although the pair later had a big falling out, Joey continued to stick up for Frank until he died in 2007.

Frank once fell out with Sammy after he appeared to snub one of his New York gigs. But on learning his pal had been barred due to his skin color, the crooner tried to make sure that never happened again. In another incident, Sammy was denied a suite at the Sands Hotel. So Frank once again drew on his reputation to get his buddy the access he’d deserved. 

In 1987 Dean’s same-named son lost his life in an airplane accident when poor weather conditions caused his fighter jet to crash into Southern California’s Mount San Gorgonio. In a remarkable coincidence, this was the same mountainside that Frank’s mom had died at a full decade earlier. Natalie Della Garaventa, as she was called, was one of four people who perished when their private aircraft collided with a cliff 9,000 feet up in the air.

You might not know that Marilyn Monroe was also a Rat Pack Mascot. And the crew always made sure they had the silver screen goddess’ back. While shooting Something’s Gotta Give, Marilyn was threatened with dismissal due to her disruptive conduct. But she was given a last-minute reprieve when Dean told producers he’d quit if the actress was fired. Marilyn had clearly made an impression on Dean — as she did with all her co-stars. Over the years, they spilled the beans about what she was really like. And some certainly didn’t mince their words.

Tony Curtis was in a relationship with Monroe when she was starting out in Hollywood in the late 1940s. In 2008 he was interviewed at the British Film Institute’s Southbank theater, and the topic of Monroe quickly came up. He opined, “Marilyn was an enigma,” before adding, “She wasn’t the brightest person in the world… but she was giving and kind. And that’s what got her in trouble.” 

Sadly, by the time they made 1959’s Some Like It Hot together, he felt something had changed in Monroe. Curtis said, “On the movie, she was tough. I could see that all of the anger and frustration that was in her in those early years were now grinding at her. I felt bad for her.” It didn’t stop him from remembering their years together fondly, though. He beamed, “Boy, did we fall in love!”

Depending on who you ask, Jayne Mansfield was either an alternative to Hollywood’s most iconic platinum blonde or a shameless carbon copy. Mansfield herself clearly believed she was the former. In 1957 she told The Washington Post, “Marilyn thinks of me as her rival — I know it unnerves her.” She also believed it was her job to appeal to the masses, as Monroe had deserted them.

“Well, what with that Actor’s Studio stuff Marilyn goes in for, and her acting with Laurence Olivier and all that, I want to strike out on the common trail,” explained Mansfield. “I want to be the ordinary man’s conception of what a sexy, obliging, comradely, down-to-earth girlfriend ought to be.” It worked, too: Mansfield became known as the “working man’s Monroe.”

Of his Don’t Bother to Knock co-star, Richard Widmark said, “I liked Marilyn, but she was God-awful to work with. Impossible, really.” Ouch! The Academy Award nominee was speaking to the British newspaper The Daily Telegraph about Monroe in 2002 when he made these remarks, so it was clear his ill-feeling had hardened over time.

During an earlier interview, though, he was kinder in his verdict. He said, “She wanted to be this great star but acting just scared the hell out of her. That’s why she was always late — couldn’t get her on the set. She had trouble remembering lines. But none of it mattered. With a very few special people, something happens between the lens and the film that is pure magic. And she really had it.” 

Singer Eddie Fisher was scathing about Monroe when he spoke to showbiz reporter Neil Sean. He claimed, “Marilyn Monroe was a serious player. She used people — she played them off, and I was a victim, too. When I first met her at the start of the ’50s, she made a beeline for me and asked me out on many occasions for a date.” 

Fisher claimed Monroe was extremely insecure about her looks. In fact, he said she was especially jealous of the beauty exuded by Elizabeth Taylor — whom he would marry in 1959. Fisher added, “Marilyn told me, ‘I know I’m a manufactured look — the blonde hair and make-up. I get it. But I also hope I give some hope to the ordinary girls like me who may not be the greatest beauties.’”

Debbie Reynolds, Eddie Fisher’s first wife, felt very differently to her ex-husband, though. She believed Monroe altered her personality to suit any situation, but not in an underhand way. She told Sean, “To me, she was a very kind soul; quiet and not at all movie-starish. I liked her. But to someone else, she could be bawdy and fun, playing whoever she thought that person wanted her to be.” 

Interestingly, Reynolds also claimed, “Marilyn was very religious, which may surprise some people. Her faith was very important to her,” going on to note that the screen icon had told her that trust in the Almighty was the single element in her life that had never let her down. Reynolds remarked, “She’d attend church looking very low-key — she could switch that ‘Marilyn’ persona on and off.”

Mitzi Gaynor and Monroe sang and danced together in the musical There’s No Business Like Show Business, and she was glowing about the sex symbol’s commitment. She once said, “I never saw anybody work so hard. She did such a good job and, personally, I think she stole the whole damn show. I just think she was thrown into a nest of vipers.”

This viper nest may have included Ethel Merman, a stage veteran who also starred in the movie. Gaynor claimed she would angrily say, “All right, where’s the blonde?” when they were waiting for Monroe. In fact, Gaynor felt Monroe was consistently late precisely because she was intimidated by — and maybe even scared of — Merman.

Noir icon Robert Mitchum worked with Monroe on 1954’s River of No Return, and he gave a fascinating insight about her personality during a later TV interview. He said, “At that time, I didn’t think she knew too many people who were very friendly to her. Growing up in an atmosphere of agents, directors, and journalists, she seemed like a lost child.”

According to Mitchum, while Monroe might’ve seemed ill at ease with showbusiness, she was an extremely kind-hearted person. He said, “She was a very special girl, and she had an enormous feeling for, well, just for people.” He then told an anecdote about Monroe insisting they stop shooting until a freezing-cold crew member was replaced. She couldn’t stand to see him suffer.

In the ’50s, Monroe tried to expand her horizons as an actress by enrolling at New York’s Actors Studio, taking classes with method-acting supremo Lee Strasberg. Incredibly, the classes were also attended by none other than Marlon Brando and another acting giant, Martin Landau. The latter revealed in an interview that “she was kind of docile, quiet and attentive.” 

Landau also believed she exhibited true acting chops during her very first scene working in front of the class. He revealed to the Los Angeles Times in 2012, “It was with Maureen Stapleton, a scene from Anna Christie. It was very well-received.” All in all, he believed she had a very genuine quality to her but was also quite needy: “She had demons. There were mood swings.”

Louis Gossett Jr. also attended these classes and, at only 20 years old, he was somewhat intimidated by Monroe’s sexuality. During an interview with Hikari Takano, he recalled, “She would walk into class with Arthur Miller’s shirts tied at her waist, her feet in flip-flops, the sweet, musky smell of Lifebuoy soap wafting after her. Her hair pulled back with a rubber band, was always a little wet, as if she’d just stepped out of the shower.” 

Gossett Jr. then recalled being asked by the star to act with her in a love scene from the Tennessee Williams play The Rose Tattoo. He said he couldn’t do it, before admitting, “I was a kid then, full of juice. I considered myself hot to trot, but I knew there was no way on Earth I could play that scene. I was so star-struck, I wouldn’t have gotten out one word on-stage.” 

During a 2007 interview with British newspaper the Daily Mail, screen siren Jane Russell revealed she had a connection to Monroe that went back to their pre-fame days. She said, “Marilyn’s first husband, Jim, went to high school with me. One day he came by and said, ‘I want you to meet my wife.’ She was a pretty girl and, later on, I discovered she was shy and sensitive.”

Years later, the two beauties starred in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. Russell saw Monroe’s crippling acting insecurities first-hand. She revealed that when she discovered her co-star was nervous to come to set, she personally convinced her to leave the dressing room. Russell claimed she bargained with her by saying, “All right, baby, come on set with me now, we’ve only got a few minutes.”

British comedian Norman Wisdom met Monroe near the Pinewood Studios set of her 1957 film, The Prince and the Showgirl. He was shooting another picture there, and he claimed she visited his set and ruined several takes by laughing at his pratfalls. Wisdom even said she had to be removed from the set by security — in a respectful way, of course!

Most interestingly, though, Wisdom said Monroe was fascinated by his domestic life. He said, “While she loved being a movie star, she also wanted a family. I think she was more fascinated with my little children, Nicolas and Jackie, than with me. She wanted to know all about them.” He would regale her with tales of their antics and said “she giggled when I told her the daft things they did.”

During her 2007 interview with the Daily Mail, Jane Russell recounted an unusual anecdote featuring actor Tommy Noonan. He starred with Russell and Monroe in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and enjoyed a kissing scene with Monroe. Or, more accurately, didn’t enjoy. Russell claimed someone asked Noonan, “You’ve just kissed Marilyn Monroe. What was it like?” and he allegedly replied, “It was like being swallowed alive.” 

Unfortunately, according to Russell, Monroe overheard his insensitive comment and ran to her dressing room in tears. Russell felt the sex symbol simply wasn’t used to the ways men would joke around with one another. She mused, “I grew up with boys, so boys didn’t bother me. I knew all about them. I don’t think Marilyn did.” 

Shooting The Misfits was fraught with difficulties for stars Clark Gable and Monroe. She was in the midst of her divorce from Arthur Miller and was suffering from mental health problems, while Gable’s physical health was a worry. As fate would have it, only three days after the shoot wrapped, he suffered his fourth heart attack. He passed away 11 days later.

Hollywood legend has it that, on the last day of filming, a relieved Gable said, “Christ, I’m glad this picture’s finished. She damn near gave me a heart attack.” Monroe was, of course, known for being chronically late to set. For what it’s worth, Gable’s wife had her own opinions about what killed her husband, saying, “It was the horrible tension, the eternal waiting, waiting, waiting. He waited around forever, for everybody.”

Joan Rivers, the acid-tongued comic, attended a dinner party with Monroe in the ’60s. She told Sean, “What I remember most is how tiny she was — not the big, buxom blonde we see in the media. We talked about the New York theater, and I asked her advice about acting agents. She was really helpful.” Then Monroe said something that made the profane funnywoman see her in a new light.

Rivers claimed, “Then Marilyn turned to me and said, ‘Men, they’re all the same. They’re just stupid, and they like big boobs.’ I loved her for saying that, because she knew that’s what it was all about for her — boobs and nothing else. I realized she was far brighter than anyone ever thought.” It seems Rivers appreciated that Monroe knew who she was and played the game accordingly.

Photographer Lawrence Schiller took pictures of Monroe on the sets of 1960’s Let’s Make Love and 1962’s Something’s Got to Give. In his book Marilyn & Me, Schiller claimed the difference in her demeanor in only two years was shocking. He wrote, “Marilyn in 1960 was like fresh dew on the lawn when you get up in the morning,” and added, “You could really see her humor and wit.”

Sadly, Monroe would die only months after Schiller photographed her for a second time. Her personal problems had caused her to be fired from Something’s Got to Give. He wrote, “She was fighting to stay alive. She couldn’t get to work on time. She was taking more of a toll on other people and the studio. She had no perspective. She had no idea what was going on, really — no idea at all.”

Don Murray, who bagged an Academy Award nod for his role in Bus Stop, was kind about his co-star Monroe. He revealed, “She was trying to prove she was a serious actress and not just a movie star playing bimbo parts. She was trying to prove she was an actress of substance, and in my opinion she certainly did.” That didn’t mean there weren’t hiccups on set, though.

“She was a very experienced film actress, but she could forget so many of the mechanical techniques,” admitted Murray to the Los Angeles Times. “She would constantly miss her marks so she would be out of focus or out of the light or in a shadow.” She also routinely fluffed her lines, with Murray saying, “The joke was she couldn’t make two sentences meet. That was very strange, that lack of discipline.”

When Monroe’s Some Like It Hot co-star Jack Lemmon spoke about Monroe for the book Billy Wilder’s Some Like It Hot, he added to the chorus of people who enjoyed being with the bubbly star. “I liked her very much, and I got along great with her,” he said. Although Lemmon did admit that “she had a lot of problems, she was basically an unhappy girl.”

Lemmon continued, “She drove Billy [Wilder] and Tony [Curtis] crazy, she drove me a little crazy too.” The problem was usually the fact that Monroe was forever turning up late to set. “She just could not come out of her dressing room, fully made-up and dressed and everything, the little portable dressing room on the set, until she was ready to face the cameras psychologically,” Lemmon said.

Cinematographer Jack Cardiff, who worked with Laurence Olivier and Monroe on The Prince and the Showgirl, made some interesting claims in his 2003 autobiography. He alleged Olivier told him, “She was a very curious little person.” He then supposedly added, “She was a divided person, I’ll say. When I first met her, I thought she was the most enchanting thing I’d ever met in my life.”

That enchantment didn’t last long, though. Cardiff claimed Olivier revealed, “She was always late, always late. Sometimes four hours late. That obviously isn’t just being naughty. That’s obviously something that’s, sort of, something chronic.” The British acting legend also reportedly alleged, “She used to get rather bad-tempered, and people used to get rather frightened of her after a bit.” 

Ben-Hur star Charlton Heston told Sean a sad story about the night he presented Monroe a Golden Globe award. He claimed, “She was very lonely and felt she had no friends there, really. And by the time she came up to receive her award, she was steaming drunk. She uttered just a few words and left the stage, leaving us all a bit lost for words.” 

Backstage, Monroe thanked Heston profusely, but then he claimed she came onto him. He politely turned her down by saying he was a happily married man and felt she only latched on to him because she was so starved for attention. He then poignantly added, “I never saw her again. As she left the awards, she was virtually carried out. She looked so unhappy.”