Rat Pack Confidential by Shawn Levy

Rat Pack Confidential by Shawn Levy

For the first time, the full story of what happened when Frank brought his best pals to party in a land called Vegas

January 1960. Las Vegas is at its smooth, cool peak. The Strip is a jet-age theme park, and the greatest singer in the history of American popular music summons a group of friends there to make a movie. One is an insouciant singer of Italian songs, ex-partner to the most popular film comedian of the day. One is a short, black, Jewish, one-eyed, singing, dancing wonder. One is an upper-crust British pretty boy turned degenerate B-movie star actor, brother-in-law to an ascendant politician. And one is a stiff-shouldered comic with the quintessential Borscht Belt emcee's knack for needling one-liners. The architectonically sleek marquee of the Sands Hotel announces their presence simply by listing their names: FRANK SINATRA. DEAN MARTIN. SAMMY DAVIS, JR. PETER LAWFORD. JOEY BISHOP. Around them an entire cast gathers: actors, comics, singers, songwriters, gangsters, politicians, and women, as well as thousands of starstruck everyday folks who fork over pocketfuls of money for the privilege of basking in their presence. They call themselves The Clan. But to an awed world, they are known as The Rat Pack.

They had it all. Fame. Gorgeous women. A fabulouse playground of a city and all the money in the world. The backing of fearsome crime lords and the blessing of the President of the United States. But the dark side-over the thin line between pleasure and debauchery, between swinging self-confidence and brutal arrogance-took its toll. In four years, their great ride was over, and showbiz was never the same.

Acclaimed Jerry Lewis biographer Shawn Levy has written a dazzling portrait of a time when neon brightness cast sordid shadows. It was Frank's World, and we just lived in it.

Shawn Levy is the best-selling author of Rat Pack Confidential and Paul Newman: A Biography, as well as a former film reviewer for The Oregonian. He lives in Portland, Oregon, and reviews movies for KGW-TV.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780385495769
ISBN 10	0385495765
Title	Rat Pack Confidential
Author	Shawn Levy
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	Transworld Publishers (Division of Random House Australia)
Year published	1999-07-20
Number of pages	368
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.