Editing Rat Pack (section)

==Revival==
[[File:Sammy Davis Jr 1989 (cropped).jpg|thumb|right|upright|Sammy Davis Jr. in 1989]]

Sinatra, Davis, and Martin announced a 29-date tour called ''Together Again'' in December 1987. At the press conference to announce the tour, Martin joked about calling it off, and Sinatra rebuked a reporter for using the term "Rat Pack", referring to it as "that stupid phrase".<ref>Levy, Shawn. ''Rat Pack Confidential''. Fourth Estate. London, 1999. p. 339</ref>

Dean Martin's son [[Dean Paul Martin]] died in a plane crash in March 1987 on the [[San Gorgonio Mountain]] in California, the same mountain where Sinatra's mother was killed in a plane crash ten years earlier. Martin had since become increasingly dependent on alcohol and prescription drugs. Davis had hip replacement surgery two years previously, and was estranged from Sinatra because of Davis's use of cocaine.<ref>Haygood, Wil. ''In Black and White: The Life of Sammy Davis, Jr.''. Random House. New York, 2003. p. 450</ref> Davis was also experiencing severe financial difficulties, and was promised by Sinatra's people that he could earn between six and eight million dollars from the tour.<ref name="Haygood p. 466">Haygood p. 466</ref>

Martin had not made a film or recorded since 1984 and Sinatra felt that the tour would be good for Martin, telling Davis, "I think it would be great for Dean. Get him out. For that alone it would be worth doing".<ref name="Levy, p. 339">Levy, p. 339</ref> Sinatra and Davis still performed regularly, yet they had not recorded for several years. Both Sinatra and Martin had made their last film appearances together in 1984's ''Cannonball Run II'', which also starred Davis. This marked the trio's first feature film appearance since 1964's ''Robin and the 7 Hoods''. Martin expressed reservations about the tour, wondering whether they could draw as many people as they had in the past. Sinatra and Davis complained during private rehearsals about the lack of black musicians in the orchestra.<ref name="Haygood p. 466"/> The tour began at the [[Oracle Arena|Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena]] on March 13, 1988, to a sold-out crowd of 14,500.<ref name="Levy, p. 339"/>

Davis opened the show, followed by Martin and then Sinatra; after an interval, the three performed a medley of songs. During the show, Martin threw a lit cigarette at the audience.<ref>Summers, Anthony, Swan, Robbyn. ''Sinatra: The Life''. Corgi. New York, 2006 p. 440</ref> He withdrew from the tour after just five shows, citing a flare-up of a kidney problem. Sinatra and Davis continued the tour under the title "The Ultimate Event" with [[Liza Minnelli]] replacing Martin as the third member of the trio.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Takiff |first1=Jonathan |title=Frank, Liza & Sammy The Ultimate Event! |url=http://articles.philly.com/1988-09-27/news/26230935_1_susan-reynolds-sammy-davis-frank-sinatra |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150920150353/http://articles.philly.com/1988-09-27/news/26230935_1_susan-reynolds-sammy-davis-frank-sinatra |url-status=dead |archive-date=September 20, 2015 |access-date=2016-05-01 |work=[[Philadelphia Daily News]] |date=1988-09-27}}</ref>

Davis's associate stated that Sinatra's people were skimming the top of the revenues from the concerts, as well as stuffing envelopes full of cash into suitcases after the performances.<ref>Birkbeck, Matt. ''Deconstructing Sammy''. Amistad. New York, 2008. p. 213</ref> In August 1989, Davis was diagnosed with throat cancer which caused his death in May 1990. He was buried with a gold watch that Sinatra had given him at the conclusion of ''The Ultimate Event Tour''.<ref>Summers, Swan, p. 440</ref>

A 1988 performance of ''The Ultimate Event'' in Detroit was recorded and shown on [[Showtime (TV network)|Showtime]] the following year as a tribute to the recently deceased Davis. A review in ''The New York Times'' praised Davis's performance, describing it as "pure, ebullient, unapologetic show business."<ref name="NYT">{{cite news |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,957179,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070510100613/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,957179,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=May 10, 2007 |title= With Sammy Davis, the Spirit Lingers |access-date=2009-06-05|work=The New York Times | date=March 6, 1989}}</ref>