Website: The Rat Pack Homepage
Frank Sinatra was a man's man. Born in 1915 in Hoboken, New Jersey, he quickly fell in love with music and with his mother's determination made a name for himself in his hometown. As a young man he won a few local contests and next thing he knew, he was singing lead for a variety of big bands in Hollywood. Not bad for a former paperboy.
Already married to Nancy by the age of 24, he quickly gained notoriety with the ladies, and in 1941 he was voted Top Band Vocalist by Billboard magazine. Soon there was mass hysteria over the young crooner - but little did people know that it was masterminded by his publicist, who would hire girls to sit in the audience and scream when Sinatra hit the stage. It worked - pretty soon the whole female population was gaga over Sinatra.
In 1943 he began his film career with RKO Studios, owned by multi-millionare Howard Hughes. It wasn't until 1945 that he truly had a hit with "Anchors Aweigh", co-starring Gene Kelly and Kathryn Grayson.
When Humphrey Bogart's Rat Pack started in the early 1950's, Sinatra was merely a member of the club. But upon Bogie's passing, Sinatra took the reins and the Rat Pack stayed alive for decades. Original members included David Niven, Judy Garland, and John Huston. When Frank took over, new members came along, including Sammy Davis, Jr., Dean Martin, Peter Lawford, Joey Bishop and Shirley Maclaine.
His marriage to Nancy ended, and Sinatra married actress, Ava Gardner, but his career hit the skids when his voice suddenly failed him due to a strained vocal chords. At the age of 37, he was considered a has-been in Hollywood.
In 1953, his luck changed - he was cast (with Gardner's help) in "From Here to Eternity", co-starring newcomer Montgomery Clift. His performance was widely praised and won him a Best Supporting Actor at the Academy Awards the following year. After this film, Sinatra starred in several hit movies, including "Pal Joey", "High Society", and "Guys and Dolls".
In the late 1950's and 1960's, the Rat Pack truly came to fruition - the gang starred in several movies together, and their partying was legendary. The boys were famous for carousing, hard drinking, and putting on racy nightclub shows. The Rat Pack fell into politics, supporting the Kennedy's, since Rat Packer Peter Lawford was married to JFK's sister, Pat.
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