The Rat Pack

The Fruits of My Research - The Rat Pack
A name given to a group of hard drinking, womanising, party-going entertainers in the 1960s. The group comprised Sammy Davis Jnr, Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin. There is some dispute as to how the name originated. Some say that it comes from the British expression to “get rat arsed” (to drink excessively) while others claim that it comes from their means of getting into nightclubs for free by getting in through the drains.
The group fathered many children during their hell-raising days, some 417 of them got together in 1982 to form the “Brat Pack” to campaign for financial support from absent fathers.
Frank Sinatra, a singer, was nicknamed “’Ol Black Eyes” as a result of the violent reputation of some of his entourage.
Sammy Davis Jnr, another singer, was born Samuel Finkelstein Geronimo Pedersson Kowalski Ngombu Davis Jnr and could claim a truly multicultural heritage. In many ways he was the original one-man manufactured boy band. There was something there for everyone.
Dean Martin, a singer, actor and business tycoon, was perhaps the most interesting member of the group. His father was one of the co-founders of the Aston Martin sports car manufacturing company. Whilst claiming to be Italian, Dean was in fact about as Italian as bits of pineapple on “old pizza pie”. He was actually born in Guadalajara, Mexico. After making a fortune through singing, he opened a newsagent in London, England. Soon he had built up a chain of newsagents and tobacconists across the UK. He could often be seen on a Monday morning in a tuxedo, looking worse for wear selling Marlboro Lights and The Sun to builders on their way to work. His shops, Martins, can still be found at the cheaper ends of many UK high streets today.
This success led to him and British comedian Max Wall linking up to open a supermarket in the US. Wal-Mart opened its doors in Bentonville, Arkansas in 1974 and soon became the major retailer in the USA. In the early days it wasn’t unusual for Arkansas shoppers to see a clearly wrecked Deano struggling with the tills while Max Wall did his trademark funny walk whilst stacking the shelves. Happy times.