RAT PACK BIOGRAPHIES

FRANK SINATRA BIOGRAPHY

Born: Dec. 12, 1915, in Hoboken, N.J. He wasn't breathing when born. Grandmother held him underwater until he gasped. Was the son of a firefighter.
Died: May 14, 1998, at 10:50 p.m. at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center; died of heart attack.
Full name: Francis Albert Sinatra.
Wives: Last wife was Barbara Marx; formerly married to childhood sweetheart Nancy Barbato, actresses Ava Gardner & Mia Farrow.
Children: Frank Jr. and Nancy Sinatra, who sang hit 1970s song "These Boots Were Made for Walking."
Names: Also known as Chairman of the Board, Ol' Blue Eyes and The Voice. Other names included Lean Lark, Croon Prince of Swing, Moonlight Sinatra, Groovey Galahad and Svengali of Swing.

For 50 facts and more about Frank Sinatra
see the full Frank Sinatra Biography.

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Recognized throughout much of his career as "the world's greatest living entertainer," Sammy Davis, Jr. was a remarkably popular and versatile performer equally adept at acting, singing, dancing and impersonations -- in short, a variety artist in the classic tradition.

A member of the famed Rat Pack, he was among the very first African-American talents to find favor with audiences on both sides of the color barrier, and remains a perennial icon of cool. Born in Harlem on December 8, 1925, Davis made his stage debut at the age of three performing with Holiday in Dixieland, a black vaudeville troupe featuring his father and helped by his de facto uncle, Will Mastin; dubbed "Silent Sam, the Dancing Midget," he proved phenomenally popular with audiences and the act was soon renamed Will Mastin's Gang Featuring Little Sammy.

At the age of seven Davis made his film debut in the legendary musical short Rufus Jones for President, and later received tap-dancing lessons courtesy of the great Bill "Bojangles" Robinson. In 1941, the Mastin Gang opened for Tommy Dorsey at Detroit's Michigan Theater; there Davis first met Dorsey vocalist Frank Sinatra -- the beginning of a lifelong friendship.

Read how Sammy Davis Jnr and Frank Sinatra's friendship developed by reading the full Sammy Davis Jnr Biography.

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PETER LAWFORD BIOGRAPHY

Peter Lawford was born Peter Sidney Ernest Aylen Lawford on September 7, 1928, in London, England, UK. He passed away on Christmas Eve, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, USA.

Peter started is film career back in 1930 with an uncredited appearance in "Poor Old Bill". He was in a total of 88 movies, in sixteen of which he was not even credited.

Peter officially became a MGM Movie Picture Employee on June 16, 1942. Peter starred with some of the biggest names in movie history such as Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Joey Bishop and Sammy Davis Jr, aka The Rat Pack. And leading ladies such as Elizabeth Taylor, Esther Williams, June Allyson, and Irene Dunne.

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Comedian, actor.
Born Joesph Abraham Gottlieb, on February 3, 1918, in the Bronx, New York.

Bishop grew up in South Philadelphia. After high school, he enjoyed a modest career as a stand-up comic prior to serving in the Army in World War II. In 1941 Bishop married Sylvia Ruzga. They have one son, Larry.

In the 1950s, he started a friendship with Frank Sinatra, which resulted in Bishop's inclusion in the "Rat Pack". Although Bishop's celebrity profile is far lower than that of Sinatra, Davis or Martin, Sinatra called Bishop "the Hub of the Big Wheel".

For more on Joey go to the full Joey Bishop Biography.

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DEAN MARTIN BIOGRAPHY

Enjoying great success in music, film, television and the stage, Dean Martin was less an entertainer than an icon, the eternal essence of cool. A member of the legendary Rat Pack, he lived and died the high life of booze, broads and bright lights, always projecting a sense of utter detachment and serenity; along with Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr. and the other chosen few who breathed the same rarefied air, Martin -- highball and cigarette always firmly in hand -- embodied the glorious excess of a world long gone, a world without rules or consequences.

Throughout it all, he remained just outside the radar of understanding, the most distant star in the firmament; as his biographer Nick Tosches once noted, Martin was what the Italians called a menefreghista -- "one who simply does not give a f."

Dino Paul Crocetti was born on June 17, 1917 in Steubenville, Ohio; the son of an immigrant barber, he spoke only Italian until the age of five, and at school was the target of much ridicule for his broken English. He ultimately quit school at the age of 16, going to work in the steel mills; as a boxer named Kid Crochet, he also fought a handful of amateur bouts, and later delivered bootleg liquor.

After landing a job as a croupier in a local speakeasy, he made his first connections with the underworld, bringing him into contact with club owners all over the Midwest; initially rechristening himself Dean Martini, he had a nose job and set out to become a crooner, modeling himself after his acknowledged idol, Bing Crosby. Hired by bandleader Sammy Watkins, he dropped the second "i" from his stage name and eventually enjoyed minor success on the New York club circuit, winning over audiences with his loose, mellow vocal style .. and the Dean Martin that we know was born!

What did Dean do next, well find out
by reading the full Dean Martin Biography.

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