Editing Rat Pack (section)

==1950s==
[[File:Sabrina9.jpg|left|thumb|[[Humphrey Bogart]], original Rat Pack leader (from [[Sabrina (1954 film)|''Sabrina'', 1954]])]]

The name "Rat Pack" was first used to call a group of friends in New York City,<ref name="ReferenceA">Shawn Levy, ''Rat Pack confidential'', Doubleday, 1998</ref><ref name="ReferenceB">Lawrence J. Quirk and William Schoel, ''The Rat Pack'', Taylor Publishing Company 1998</ref> and several explanations have been offered for the name. According to one version, [[Lauren Bacall]] saw her husband [[Humphrey Bogart]] and his friends returning from a night in [[Las Vegas Valley|Las Vegas]] and said, "You look like a goddamn rat pack."<ref name="ReferenceA"/> "Rat Pack" may also be a shortened version of "[[Holmby Hills, Los Angeles|Holmby Hills]] Rat Pack", a reference to the home of Bogart and Bacall<ref name="ReferenceA"/><ref name="ReferenceB"/> which served as a regular hangout of the same group of friends during the late 1940s and early 1950s.
[[File:Frank Sinatra2, Pal Joey.jpg|thumb|right|upright|Sinatra portrait in 1957. Frank Sinatra became the Rat Pack leader from 1957 on in the wake of Humphrey Bogart's death.]]

Visiting members included [[Errol Flynn]], [[Ava Gardner]], [[Nat King Cole]], [[Robert Mitchum]], [[Elizabeth Taylor]], [[Janet Leigh]], [[Tony Curtis]], [[Mickey Rooney]], [[Lena Horne]], [[Jerry Lewis]], and [[Cesar Romero]]. According to [[Stephen Bogart]], the original members of the Holmby Hills Rat Pack were Frank Sinatra (pack master), [[Judy Garland]] (first vice-president), [[Sid 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]], [[Cary Grant]], [[Rex Harrison]], and [[Jimmy Van Heusen]].<ref name="ReferenceA"/><ref name="ReferenceB"/> The Rat Pack group underwent several transformations. The publicly best-known transformation happened under the leadership of Frank Sinatra.

After Bogart's death in 1957, Frank Sinatra and Lauren Bacall became engaged and planned a marriage while living together in Sinatra's homes. Frank Sinatra became the Rat Pack leader from 1957 on. By the end of the 1950s, the Rat Pack evolved into an informal production group whose members united their star power to support each other's careers. At that time, the Rat Pack activities expanded to Las Vegas where members performed regular gigs and helped each other by making unannounced appearances to impress the audiences.  In 1958, three Rat Pack members, Sinatra, Martin, and [[Shirley MacLaine]] starred in ''[[Some Came Running (film)|Some Came Running]]'' that was popular with the public.

Also in 1958, a story about a series of [[Casinos in Las Vegas|Las Vegas casino]] robberies circulated among entertainers, so Peter Lawford bought the rights and Frank Sinatra became interested in the idea. Several members of the Rat Pack who were regulars in Vegas, were naturally fit to lead the cast of characters in the upcoming production, including [[Frank Sinatra]], [[Dean Martin]], [[Sammy Davis Jr.]], [[Peter Lawford]], and [[Joey Bishop]],<ref name="WVrev">''[[Variety Film Reviews|Variety]]'' film review; August 10, 1960, page 6.</ref> and also [[Angie Dickinson]], [[Cesar Romero]], and [[Shirley MacLaine]]. A variety of writers worked on the project, titled ''[[Ocean's 11]]'', and the production was set to begin in January 1960.