Here are some random photos of Frank Sinatra and some of his pallies back in the late 50's to mid-60's. I hope you enjoy them. Cheers!
The Rat Pack together in action.
Dean Martin, Judy Garland & Frank Sinatra are rehearsing in Las Vegas in 1958.
Frank's sitting at his piano in his home. That's a model of his personal jet on top of the piano.
Frank's cracking up after falling out of a chair at a Miami party.
Frank's doing what he does best - perform under the spotlight.
Frank's wiping his face off with a towel.
Sammy Davis Jr. and Frank Sinatra point down at some other guy's shoe.
P.S. I hope you liked all those photos. I wanted to let you guys know about this poll, "Sinatra & Jay-Z: Two Generations Of Cool," at the website of Madison Square Garden.
Here is the promo information sent to me:
Two BIG musical legends,one BIG CITY, MSG asks: Who sang New York City's true anthem better? Frank Sinatra and Jay-Z both have recorded sensational hits declaring their love for the city that never sleeps. Sinatra's 1980's hit, "New York, New York" still lives in on people's hearts today while Jay-Z's catchy hip-hop tune, "Empire State of Mind," has become the anthem for all celebrated NY sport victories. Jay-Z claims he's "the new Sinatra" in the hit song also, but does the Hoboken-native Frankie still hold the title for the city's anthem. YOU DECIDE who the king of NY is here:
Also, be sure to tune-in on Friday, December 4th @ 10:30 PM when MSG airs two iconic performances. Leading off is Jay-Z’s Answer the Call September 11th performance, followed at 11:30 p.m. by Frank Sinatra: The Main Event, a concert which originally aired live Oct. 13, 1974.
*Also, you can purchase at the website a box-set titled: Sinatra: New York containing 70 previously unreleased songs and includes four compact discs and one DVD featuring concerts Ol’ Blue Eyes’ performed between 1955 and 1990 in venues all around the city, including Radio City Music Hall. If you purchase the box-set there, you'll receive an exclusive CD of the Main Event concert.
I hope you'll check out the website. Make sure you vote in the poll on whether Frank Sinatra or Jay-Z has the true anthem for the Big Apple. Thanks.
P.S.S. I received the Beautiful Blogger Award from the Wabi & Sabi blog. I greatly appreciate it. Thanks so much.
I wanted to thank everybody who voted in the poll. This is the first time I've ever done a poll on this blog. I think it was a smashing success.
And the winner is!?!
Of course, Dean Martin! Dean Martin had 68 votes. I was thinking that he probably would win this poll, but I actually thought it might be closer than it turned out to be. Wow. That is so awesome. It definitely shows he's the King of Cool.
Frank Sinatra came in second place with 26 votes.
Sammy Davis Jr. came in third with 17 votes.
Joey Bishop and Peter Lawford rounded out the list. I hate to admit it, but I wasn't sure if anybody at all would vote for either one of them.
Peter Lawford had only two votes.
Poor Joey Bishop came in last place. He had only one vote.
The results were in the order that I thought they might end up in. I figured Dino and Frank would take the top two spots. I did think it would be more neck and neck than it was. Dino blew away the competition. I was pretty much Sammy would be in third place. It doesn't surprise me that Joey and Peter barely even registered in this poll.
Thanks again for voting. I really appreciate it.
The photos of the Rat Pack and Dean Martin come courtesy of my pallie Timmy.
Here's a really cool picture of the Rat Pack. These hip cats are so stylish. They look to be having a good time chatting with each other, while enjoying some drinks and cigarettes. I so wish I could go back to this era.
I've been wanting to do a poll for some time now to find out who is everybody's favorite member of the Rat Pack. I decided to do a poll now. It's at the upper right corner of the blog. You can only select one person. I'm running this poll for a week. I'll then reveal the winner. Please cast your vote for your favorite member of the Rat Pack.
For those who aren't sure they know all the Rat Packers, I'll list them by order in the picture above. From left to right is Peter Lawford, Sammy Davis Jr., Frank Sinatra, Joey Bishop & Dean Martin.
A really good pallie of mine online, Steph, has sent me quite a lot of screenshots from some different Dean Martin movies. I decided it was time to start posting some of them. Here are some from Ocean's 11. I really dig that pad. I hope you enjoy them. There are many more to come in the future. Cheers!
I had been wanting to post some quotes from Dean Martin. The King of Cool always had some words of wisdom for us. Many of them are downright hilarious. Dino has always known how to make us laugh. I enjoy reading his take on other celebrities and the world at large. Dino understood what the world was all about. He knew how to live life to the fullest.
It was a woman who drove me to drink, come to think of it I never did hang around to thank her for that.
Hey lady! do I look all blurry to you? 'Cause you look blurry to me!
If you drink, don't drive. Don't even putt.
I'd hate to be a teetotaler. Imagine getting up in the morning and knowing that's as good as you're going to feel all day.
I once shook hands with Pat Boone and my whole right side sobered up.
Milton Berle is an inspiration to every young person that wants to get into show business. Hard work, perseverance, and discipline: all the things you need...when you have no talent.
I've got seven kids. The three words you hear most around my house are 'hello,' 'goodbye,' and 'I'm pregnant.'
I feel sorry for people who don't drink. They wake up in the morning and that's the best they're going to feel all day.
There's a statue of Jimmy Stewart in the Hollywood Wax Museum, and the statue talks better than he does.
When Jerry Lewis and I were big, we used to go to parties, and everybody thought I was big-headed and stuck up, and I wasn't. It was because I didn't know how to speak good English, so I used to keep my mouth shut.
Sorry, Buddy. We've already got three.
Routine plays that we have been making, we just didn't make them.
We try to find chemistry; we don't do a lot of situational baseball.
We will play a little more situational now, where runs are more important. I feel pretty good about our team.
You're not drunk if you can lie on the floor without holding on.
(On Phyllis Diller) Phyllis is the women of about whom Picasso once said, 'Somebody throw a drop cloth over that.'
(On Don Rickles) Don`s idea of a fun evening is to show home movies of the attack on Pearl Harbor...with a laugh track.
(On John Wayne) Someone else, would have laid around, feeling sorry for himself, for a year. But Duke, he just doesn`t know, how to be sick ... he`s recuperating the hard way. He`s two loud speaking guys in one. Me, when people see me, they sometimes say, `Oh, there goes... '
(On Jerry Lewis) At some point he said to himself, "I`m extraordinary, like Charles Chaplin." From then on nobody could tell him anything. He knew it all.
(On Shirley MacLaine) Shirley, I love her, but her oars aren`t touching the water these days.
(On Joey Bishop) Most people think of Joey Bishop as just a replacement for Johnny Carson. That`s NOT true. We in show business know better: we don`t think of him at ALL.
Motivation is a lotta crap.
(On Frank Sinatra) In high school, Frank never participated in extra-curricular activities, like nature study, paintings or ceramics. Frank`s hobby was a most interesting one: he was an amateur gynecologist.
I can`t stand an actor or actress who tells me acting is hard work. It`s easy work. Anyone who says it isn`t never had to stand on his feet all day dealing blackjack.
(Upon filing for divorce from his second wife) I know it`s the gentlemanly thing to let the wife file. But, then, everybody knows I`m no gentleman.
(On Orson Welles) What can you say about Orson Welles that Don Rickles hasn`t already said about him?!
I drink because my body craves, needs alcohol. I don`t drink, my body`s a drunk.
If people want to think I get drunk and stay out all night, let `em. That`s how I got here, you know.
(On Bob Hope) As a young boy, Bob didn`t have much to say. He couldn`t afford writers then.
(On singer Eddie Fisher) The reason I drink is because when I`m sober I think I`m Eddie Fisher.
(On Johnny Carson) Johnny Carson is a comedian who is seen every night in millions of bedrooms all over America...and that`s why his last wife left him.
(To those who felt he joked his way through songs during concert and nightclub appearances) You wanna hear it straight, buy the album.
(On Frank Sinatra) When he dies, they`re giving his zipper to the Smithsonian.
I do hope you got a kick out of all those quotes from Dean Martin. I really had fun finding all of them. Some of those I had never seen before. This was a pleasure for me to put this post together. Let me know what you think. Thanks. Cheers!
P.S. I wanted to make mention that Altovise Davis, the widow of Sammy Davis Jr., died Saturday in a Los Angeles hospital of complications from a stroke. She was 65. My heart and prayers go out to her family.
Here's Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra with Judy Garland. The photo and video both come from the Judy Garland Show. I hope you enjoy this clip. I thought it was really cool to see these three great entertainers together. Cheers!
Happy Birthday to Joey Bishop. He was born at this date in 1918 in the Bronx. Joey was, of course a member of the Rat Pack. He played in movies with his pallies like Ocean's Eleven (1960) and Sergeants 3 (1962). Joey starred in his own sitcom called The Joey Bishop Show, which ran for four seasons from 1961 to 1965. He guest hosted The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson quite a few times. Joey would even host his own talk show called The Joey Bishop Show (1967-1969). His sidekick on that show was Regis Philbin. Joey made many appearances on various talk shows, game shows & sitcoms throughout the years. He continued to act into the 1990's, playing in the film Betsy's Wedding from 1990. He would be the last member of the Rat Pack to pass away. Joey died on October 17, 2007 in California. He was 89. If he had lived to this birthday, he would be 91. I raise a toast to Joey Bishop. While he's not my favorite member of the Rat Pack, Joey had a part to play and he played it well. I salute him. Cheers!
Here's a clip from the Rat Pack heist flick Ocean's Eleven. This scene is when the pallies are discussing their plan to steal from five Vegas casinos at the stroke of midnight on New Year's. I hope you enjoy it. I really love this movie. It was so cool seeing all the Rat Packers together. Cheers!
P.S. This is not Rat Pack related at all, but I wanted to make a mention of my latest contribution to Celluloid Slammer. I posted the movie trailer for Foxy Brown. The film is a blaxploitation classic, plus it stars the sexy and tough Pam Grier. I hope you'll check out my latest post there. Please feel free to leave comments as well. Thanks.
Check out this hilarious clip of Dean Martin and Joey Bishop together on The Dean Martin Variety Show. They are playing construction workers in this skit. I love it. I hope you enjoy it.
Jeremy at Moon In The Gutter has tagged me to participate in a twelve movie meme. I'm more than happy to oblige. This meme was started by Piper at Lazy Eye Theatre. The premise is that you are responsible for creating your own ideal film festival at the New Beverly Cinema.
Here are the rules:
1) Choose 12 Films to be featured. They could be random selections or part of a greater theme. Whatever you want.
2) Explain why you chose the films.
3) Link back to Lazy Eye Theatre so I can have hundreds of links and I can take those links and spread them all out on the bed and then roll around in them.
4) The people selected then have to turn around and select 5 more people.
Since my blog is focused on the Rat Pack, I thought I would pick movies that featured various members of the group.
Monday: Ocean's 11 (1960) and Robin and the 7 Hoods (1964) --- These are my favorite two of the Rat Pack flicks. It was great to see Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr, Peter Lawford, and Joey Bishop all in the first movie. I really love Dino and Sammy in both of these.
Tuesday: The Silencers (1966) and Murderer's Row (1966) --- These are my favorite two of the four Matt Helm spy flicks. What's not to love. Besides Dino, you've got great music, beautiful babes, evil villains, cool sets, and much more.
Wednesday: The Ambushers (1967) and The Wrecking Crew (1969) --- The first one of these is my least favorite of the franchise. It does have Senta Berger in it though. I do think they ended the franchise with a good flick. Plus it has a trio of lovely ladies in Sharon Tate, Elke Sommer, and Nancy Kwan in it.
Thursday: Salt and Pepper (1968) and One More Time (1970) --- I recently saw these two flicks for the first time. They star Sammy Davis Jr. and Peter Lawford. I loved them.
Friday: The Caddy (1953) and Artists and Models (1955) --- These are probably my favorite of the Martin-Lewis comedies.
Saturday: The Cannonball Run (1981) and Cannonball Run II (1984) --- Both these movies have great ensemble casts. Dino and Sammy steal both movies.
Not sure if any of these people have already been tagged or not, but here's who I'm tagging to participate:
Ocean's 11, starring the Rat Pack, was released in 1960. It was directed by Lewis Milestone (his credits include All Quiet on the Western Front in 1930 and The Halls of Montezuma in 1950). While not the first film to star any members of the Rat Pack together (Sinatra and Martin had done Some Came Running in 1958), this is the film that defined the Rat Pack. It is most certainly one of the coolest flicks of the swingin' 60's. The film highlighted what made the Rat Pack so cool and hip. It would help set the mood for an entire era.
Frank Sinatra played Danny Ocean. He's a bit of a cad, who enjoys living life dangerously. His marriage to Beatrice (Angie Dickinson) has been wrecked due to his attitude and lifestyle. With the backing of Spyros Acebos (Akim Tamiroff), Danny masterminds a heist to rob five Las Vegas casinos on New Year's Eve. The casinos are the Sahara, the Flamingo, the Sands, the Desert Inn, and the Riviera. He recruits his buddies from the 82nd Airborne Division to help him in this plot. These guys had all served together during World War II. The first part of the movie is spent rounding up all the old buddies. Dean Martin plays Sam Harmon, a nightclub entertainer who seems reluctant to join in on the caper. Peter Lawford is Jimmy Foster, a guy who is tired of living off the wealth of his multi-time married mother. Sammy Davis Jr. is Josh Howard, a demolitions expert turned garbage collector. Joey Bishop is Mushy O'Conners. I'll be honest that I could never quite figure out what he was up to. He seemed like the assistant to Spyros Acebos. The other friends all had specialities from their military service that can be put to good use in the heist. They agree to join in because they really could use the money. The heist is planned out like a military operation.
The men are split up between the casinos. Explosive charges are planted on an electrical transmission tower that controls the power for Las Vegas. The backup electrical systems are rewired so they will open the cashier cages instead of powering the emergency lighting systems. The lights go out in Vegas at the stroke of midnight as people are celebrating the ringing in of New Year's. The men deployed in the different casinos rush into the cashier cages and collect all the money. There are millions and millions of dollars there. The loot is put into garbage bins. Josh, driving a garbage truck, goes around the city and picks up the bags.
The plan seems to go off with a hitch. Of course, we know that can't be the case. Crime usually never pays in the movies. One of the men has a heart attack and dies out on the Vegas Strip. The casinos also make a deal with Duke Santos (played by Cesar Romero, who deliciously chews up the scenery). Santos is a reformed ganster, who is engaged to Jimmy's mother. He has his suspicions of who might be behind the crime. He knows that Jimmy and his pallies are really in Vegas, when they supposedly were going to be away somewhere else. I won't spoil the rest of the movie for those who haven't seen it.
Shirley MacLaine, as well as several other stars, had a cameo in the movie. She had a pretty hilarious scene with Dean Martin. While Shirley received a car as a gift for her cameo, she said that she did the part so she could spend time with the Rat Pack. Much of the film was done in the late hours of the night and the early morning because the the Rat Packers were performing at the Sands at night. When the guys are walking down the street at the end of the film, you can see that the Rat Pack is billed on the sign at the Sands. Sammy was forced to stay at a "colored only" hotel during their time in Vegas. That was only changed after Sinatra demanded that the casino bosses allow Sammy to stay with his pallies.
Ocean's 11 is one of the iconic films of the 1960's. It's the definitive representative of what made Las Vegas, Sin City itself, the playground of the Rat Pack and others with class and style. Some complain that there's not much of a plot or action in this movie. I don't think this movie was trying to be rocket science. It was a fun ride for a bunch of pallies to take. The Rat Packers were all essentially playing themselves. The movie was a great excuse for them to hang out and have a good time. All the witty banter that goes back and forth between these cool cats is worth seeing. This film perfectly sums up what it is we all love about this swingin' era. If you haven't seen it, I hope you will check it out. Any fans of this flick here? Let me know what you think.
This is a clip of Sammy Davis Jr. as a guest on The Joey Bishop Show. Check out Sammy and Joey together. It's really cool to see these two pallies hanging out. It was also neat seeing a young Regis Philbin in this clip. I had almost forgotten that he was Joey's sidekick on the show. I hope you enjoy it. Cheers!
Tomorrow I'll be taking a look at the Rat Pack classic Ocean's 11. I hope you will definitely check out that post and leave me some comments on it. It's one of my favorite films of the 1960's. It truly defines what made the Rat Pack so cool and hip. Here's an awesome pic of Dino goofing around with Sammy, while Peter and Joey are looking on. I'm sure that many of you know that Dino was once a boxer. He was dubbed "Kid Crocetti."
I mean no copyright infringement by the posting of pictures, videos, etc. on this blog. I do not in any way claim the rights of ownership to any of them. They totally remain the property of their respective owners. I have posted them purely for entertainment purposes only. All written content, unless otherwise noted as being quotes, has been written and copyrighted by me.
