Thursday, October 18, 2007

[rat pack] last member dies

Joey Bishop, the last of the later version of the Rat Pack, has died [he's the one in the centre].

According to Stephen Bogart, members of the Holmby Hills Rat Pack were Sinatra (pack master), Garland (first vice-president), Bacall (den mother), Luft (cage master), Bogart (rat in charge of public relations), Swifty Lazar (recording secretary and treasurer), Nathaniel Benchley (historian), David Niven, Katharine Hepburn, Spencer Tracy, George Cukor, Michael Romanoff and Jimmy Van Heusen.

Little quiz for afficianados:

    1. Who was the shortest member of the Rat Pack? [Hint: He was 5' 3" tall.]

    # Dean Martin

    # Frank Sinatra

    # Sammy Davis, Jr.

    # Peter Lawford

    2. Who was considered the "straight man" of the Rat Pack even though he wrote many of the comedy lines used onstage in their performances? [Hint: He later hosted his own TV show.]

    # Dean Martin

    # Peter Lawford

    # Joey Bishop

    # Sammy Davis, Jr.

Answers: Sammy Davis Jnr., Joey Bishop

4 comments:

  1. Why was it called the "rat pack" in the first place, James? I never understood that. I loved Dino!

    ReplyDelete
  2. They don't know either and there were several theories. Wiki is good on this issue.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Joey Bishop is in neither photo. Joey Bishop was Caucasian while the African-American gentleman in the middle is Sammy Davis Jr. The other men are Peter Lawford (who in addition to being an actor and a member of the Rat Pack was married to a Kennedy), Frank Sinatra, and Dean Martin. The same four are in the second photo too.

    ReplyDelete

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