hey guys have written off to a man who was the musical director of the west end show to find out who the brellie sister are supposed to be. fingers crossed he has results!!

learn to talk like the rat pack

hey charlies found this on the official sammy site... oh yes its a list of rat pack phrasing - good for the presentation??

bag
a person's particular interest; as in "singing's my bag"
.
barn burner
a very stylish, classy woman
.
beard
a male friend who acts as a "cover"; usually for extramarital affairs
.
beetle
a girl who dresses in flashy clothes
.
big-leaguer
a resourceful man who can handle any situation
.
big casino
death
.
bird
the male or female genitalia; standard greeting: "How's your bird"?
.
bombsville
any kind of failure in life; see ville
.
broad
affectionate term for a girl or woman with sex appeal
.
bum
a person who is despised, most frequently linked to people in the media
.
bunter
a man who fails in almost everything he does; the opposite of gasser
.
charley
what the rat-packers called one another
.
charlies
admiring word for a woman's breasts
.
chick
a young and invariably pretty girl
.
clyde
a word used to cover a multitude of personal observations; e.g., "I don't like her clyde" means "I don't like her voice", etc.
.
coo-coo!
see crazy
.
crazy
a term of admiration for a personal, place, or thing; similar to cool.
.
creep
a man who is disliked for any reason
.
crumb
a person it is impossible to respect
.
dame
a generally derogatory term for a probably unattractive woman
.
dig
a term of appreciation; e.g., "I dig that broad."
.
duke
tip
.
dying
an exaggerated term to mean slightly upset; e.g. "I'm dying"
.
end
a word to signify that someone or something is the very best; "the living end"
.
endsville
total failure; similar to bombsville; see ville
.
fink
a person who cannot be relied upon or trusted, especially someone in the media; a crumb
.
fracture
to make laugh; as in "that fractures me"
.
gas
a great situation; as in "that set was a gas"
.
gasoline
alcohol
.
gasser
a highly admired person; the end!
.
gofer
someone who performs menial jobs and tasks; "go for drinks"
.
good night all
a term of invective used to change the subject of conversation
.
groove
a term of admiration or approval; as in "in the groove"
.
harvey
a person who acts in a stupid or naive fashion; sometimes shortened to "Harv"
.
hacked
angry; as in "he's hacked off"
.
hello!
a cry of surprise to no one in particular when a beautiful woman is seen
.
hunker
a jack-of-all-trades; see gopher
.
jokes
an actor's lines in a screenplay
.
let's lose charley
a term used among intimates who want to get rid of a bore in their company
.
little hey-hey
romance; a little action with a broad
.
locked-up
as in "all locked-up," a term for a forthcoming date or engagement, private or public
.
loser
anyone who has made a mess of their life, drinks too much, makes the wrong enemies, etc.
.
mish-mash
similar to loser, but refers specifically to a woman who is messed up
.
mothery
terrific; wild and wicked
.
mouse
usually a small, very feminine girl who invites being cuddled
.
nowhere
a term of failure as in "he's nowhere."
.
odds
used in connection with important decisions, as in "the odds aren't right," meaning it's a no go
.
original loser
a person without talent; sometimes more fully expressed as "He is the original Major Bowes Amateur Hour loser
.
pallie
dean's nickname for everyone, whether a lifelong friend or a bellhop
.
player
a man who is a gambler by nature, makes friends easily, and never gives up trying
.
punks
any undesirables, in particular criminals, gangsters, or mobsters
.
quin
derisive term for a woman who is an easy pick-up
.
rain
as in "I think it's going to rain" indicating that it is time to leave a dull gathering or party
.
ring-a-ding
a term of approval, as in "What a ring-a-ding broad!"

sam
used in the same way as Charley for a person whose name has been forgotten, most often applied to females
.
scramsville
to run off
.
sharp
a person who dresses well and with style
.
ta-ta
goodbye
.
twirl
a girl who loves dancing
.
ville
a suffix used to indicate changes in any given situation; see endsville, splitsville, etc

sammy davis's autobiography

according ot sammy the whole world was against him... don't you just love a good bit of persecution!!??

coould anyone give me guidence on where ot do after his autobiography as now my civil rights books are no longer valid as jenny's now doing that.

i'v read rat pack oncfidential but i hjavbe ot say it doesnt give much more than the biog. any ideas would be much appreciated!! xxxx

Mafia Related Info on Frank

I found this article on the web, its by Anthony Bruno. it talks about Frank and the Mafia but is an interesting read even if your not researching this topic. the link is:

http://www.crimelibrary.com/gangsters_outlaws/cops_others/frank_sinatra/


Check this website for Sammy and the other too cos im sure theres something

Ocean's Eleven Blooper

Having watched Ocean's Eleven recently, I couldnt help but notice that when Bergdorf visits the doctor, the doctor is actually looking at his x-ray upside down!

Those crazy Americans! hehe!

if anyone finds anything on the rat packs performances to do with the JFK election that would be great coz im struggling!
xxx

Apologies...

It appears Nick got his Presidents mixed up, it wasnt JFK but rather Harry Truman that had been a member of the KKK and asked for his membership money back.

Sorry!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2RQJOI-n5zY

this is really bizzare - its sammy doing his normal thing of impressions to celebraty endorse polio vaccines... then at the end he goes very 'un-sammyish' and gets serious...its a bit unnerving!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENHP89mLWOY&feature=related

this is quite interesting in terms of information on malcolm x's view of black identity. it also expalins why he called himself X.... because he doesnt want to be known by his slave name.

Journalists

It is Lee Mortimer, and he wrote for the New York Daily Mirror. Mortimer was generally anti-Sinatra and wrote about links to the mob. Got this from Sinatra: The Life by Anthony Summers and Robbyn Swan, so it might be worth checking their Bibliography out to see what their sources were. They also write:

After years of gushing about Frank, Dorothy Kilgallen offended him in 1956 with a series of caustic articles that led off by calling him a "Jekyll and Hyde dressed in sharpie clothes." Frank raged about her at first in private, among friends. One of them, Armand Deutsch, recalled him hurling darts at a board that featured "ghastly likenesses" of three female columnists, Kilgallen, Louella Parsons and Hedda Hopper. (p.271)

Unfortunately, they don't say who these columnists wrote for but again, their Bibliography might have some clues.

Summers, A. & Swan, R. (2006), Sinatra: The Life, London: Corgi

online rat pack-related journals

I've found three online journals relating to individual members of the Rat Pack. You can access them all through the JSTOR links provided. when a page loads click "log in options" at the top, then click "organisational/institutional log in", find the University Of Huddersfield, you'll be prompted for your metalib username and password. You can then read them.

Passing for Italian (John Gennari) - focuses on Dean and Frank mainly but gives mention of the Rat Pack:
http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0041-1191%281996%290%3A72%3C36%3APFI%3E2.0.CO%3B2-2

Blacks and Jews in American Folklore (Nathan Hurvitz) - talks briefly about Sammy and his ethnicity/religious beliefs:
http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0043-373X%28197410%2933%3A4%3C301%3ABAJIAF%3E2.0.CO%3B2-H

"My Way" in "Our America": Art Ethnicity and Profession (Thomas J. Ferrero) - focuses on Frank as a singer
http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0896-7148%28200023%2912%3A3%3C499%3A%22WI%22AA%3E2.0.CO%3B2-L

Information regarding which journals they originate from and when they were published is featured on the page.
Happy reading.

I know it's only a starting point but...

... please make sure you only use it as a starting point. You all know how unreliable wikipedia can be, so if there is anything on there that is useful or stimulating you must get it verified from other, more authoritative sources before you use it.

Not that I'm unimpressed by Hannah's legwork - nearly as good as Sammy's.

i know its only wikipedia but...

hiya just thought i'd send you all some links on the black civil rights movement for some of your background knowledge on 1960's america

it's said the civil rights movement REALLY kick started with brown Vs board of eduaction case. (though there had been growing tensions amd demonstrations fcor sometime) basically Oliver Brown claimed that segragated schooling did not give black children the same educational rights as white children. the case was rejected several times so was eventually taken ot the supream court. segragation was declaied illegal within schools 1954. THis then lead to several cases of violence towards black children moving to white schools (see the little rock school case)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown_v._Board_of_Education#Supreme_Court_review

the montgomery bus boycott. this began from Rosa Parks refusing to move when a white person told her to give up her seat for them. she was arrested and as a result all black people in montgommery alabama refused to use busses untill the law was changed. in 1956 bus segragation in alabama was made illegal. this was also the point where martin luther king became a key player in the civil rights movement as he was one of the leaders in the bus boycott.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montgomery_Bus_Boycott

Malcolm X. He was the man that sammy was compared to on stage when he put on glasses. Malcolm was a muslim with firm beliefs that islam could irradicate all racial problems.
he was a much more aggressive civil rights leader than martin luther king. Malcolm X's view was that the black person had the right to defend themselves against attacks of racisim. in 1964 he was quoted as saying "The time for you and me to allow ourselves to be brutalized nonviolently has passed. Be nonviolent only with those who are nonviolent to you. And when you can bring me a nonviolent racist, bring me a nonviolent segragationist, then I'll get nonviolent. But don't teach me to be nonviolent until you teach some of those crackers to be nonviolent."
in feb 1965 he was shot 16 times while making a speech in manhatten.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malcolm_X

Whitney Young. The head of the National Urban League (NUL) he helped to break segragation barriers in poorer urban environments."Black Power simply means: Look at me, I'm here. I have dignity. I have pride. I have roots. I insist, I demand that I participate in those decisions that affect my life and the lives of my children. It means that I am somebody."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whitney_Young

this is the link to the NAACP (i am not writing all of their very long history out!) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NAACP

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African-American_Civil_Rights_Movement_%281955-1968%29
this documents the civil rights movement 1955-1968 it has a small section on the Kennedy's speeches about the civil rights movement (they compare themselves ot the african americans as they were irish and the Irish weren't particulaly welcome at one point either!)
i talks about sit ins and passive resistance then progressing to the more hostile black power movement. it also has links ot osme of the major activists of the era!

phew... who knew all that on wikipedia. HAPPY READING!!

just thought this was funny....

typed in "black civil rights movement america 1960's" into metalib and got a load of stuff about gay and lesbian developmenti n america.. right country wrong subject. well done uni!

this is for leannes benefit!
xxx

Brother-in-Lawford

Have fun tomorrow - use it to throw ideas around, find questions and possible answers and share what you have uncovered of interest or value.

Just to try and redress the balance a little. I might have a go at Joey too when I have a chance.


Peter Lawford

If you’ve ever seen Woody Allen’s film Zelig you may get a flavour of Peter Lawford’s place in history. Zelig, the fictional title character, is a social chameleon who appears alongside a wealth of powerful and celebrated figures through sophisticated (for the time) superimposition.

Lawford was the real thing. Ostensibly an actor, his real talent was for being where it was all happening. Levy’s description (1998, p.72) seems succinctly accurate, outlining Lawford as:

a good all-round B-movie lead, or nice support for an A-production. He’s never make them forget Olivier, but he was a reliable asset for a studio…
…Despite his lack of professional distinction, Peter was a highly sought after invitee, an especially glittering extra in the diadem of Hollywood nightlife.

His pre-Hollywood history is a depressing tale. His conception and birth was scandalous enough: his mother’s husband was not his father, and that honour went to her elderly, married lover General Sydney Lawford. (They later married). His mother made no pretence of affection for her son, and the strained maternal relationship in Ocean’s Eleven may reflect his personally difficult relationship with May Lawford. His childhood was further marred by a sustained period of sexual abuse.

Yet he was also brought up to be the perfect socialite, and this stood him in good stead when the family moved to Los Angeles following an accident which resulted in serious, permanent damage to his arm.

For despite such a troubled upbringing, he was ‘in’ with the most elite ‘in’ crowd the world has ever seen. As one-fifth of the Rat Pack, he was part of a phenomenon that redefined entertainment. Upon marrying Patricia Kennedy, he became part of the most powerful family in the world (earning him the nickname ‘Brother-in-Lawford’, courtesy of Sinatra). He introduced ‘the late’ Marilyn Monroe as she sang Happy Birthday Mr President to JFK, and was rumoured to be one of the last people to see her alive. Just like Zelig, he was always in the picture.

And, just like Zelig, it was always a little odd that he was in the picture. He never quite seemed to fit his surroundings, something marked him out as different.

If we consider his contribution, and relationship, to the Rat Pack, we may be able to draw out some of the differences that marked him out.

The first, of course, was talent. The hub of the Rat Pack were three of the greatest singers and entertainers of all time. Member number 4, Joey Bishop, was a skilful nightclub comic in his own right, but even he had a difficult time establishing his validity to join the others on stage. Where Bishop took the effective route of using his outsider status to comment and puncture proceedings, Lawford tried vainly to occupy the same territory as the others. He would sing a little, dance a little, clown a little, entertain a little, but never as majestically as the big three.

And perhaps it’s unfair to judge him by their standards. After all, he was primarily a screen actor, which doesn’t best equip him to dominate a Las Vegas stage. As an actor, he followed in the mould of very charming, very English performers that Hollywood had such a fondness for, such as Cary Grant and David Niven. Their good looks and suave manners were the key, and despite not having a tenth of their screen presence, Lawford was able to plug the same gap.

Standing in their shadow also required certain stylistic touches. The performances he essayed were predominantly light and comic. Even when drawn into more dramatic productions, he could not (and would rarely be asked) to provide a sense of weight. Perhaps the best approach to estimating his talents would be to imagine him as James Bond. He could certainly provide the sense of stereotypical Englishness, and, like Roger Moore, he would adopt a wry glance at the part, intimating its fantasy elements and overstating the sense of glamour.

Pierce Brosnan also did this, but artfully combined it with the machismo and heroic (but hidden) depth of Sean Connery. Daniel Craig moves into new dimensions of psychological intensity. Timothy Dalton would probably shade Lawford, as, although he didn’t pull it off particularly well he clearly approached it with intelligence and technical skill. Lawford at least had experience as an actor, so despite his shortcomings, he is safe in the knowledge that George Lazenby is worse!

The point is that this was Lawford’s territory as an actor. He could imitate passably well. But he couldn’t innovate, or create. This spills into his role in the Rat Pack. He takes Dean’s laconic comedy or physical buffoonery, or Sammy’s versatility, and re-embodies it in a pale fashion.

This, of course, may augment his value to The Rat Pack: the Rat Pack have their own, in-house, vanity mirror to augment their greatness. His limited talent throws their own into relief. He makes them look good.

The very Englishness that proved his meal ticket as an actor also distances his from full belonging. Frank and Dean might be Italian-American, Sammy might be African-American – but they are American. And that was crucial to their construction. Peter’s only claim to being American was by marriage, and this counted for little. Rather than becoming American by association, his Englishness kept him distant from his wife’s family.

In the age of Hollywood glamour, perhaps his claw hand also didn’t help. True, Sammy was disabled too: but he had bucketloads of talent to back him up. Lawford may have been as eager to please, but he didn’t have the same amount of currency that Sammy had.

The only currency he really had was influence and access to the Kennedys. That’s why Frank invited him, and when that ran out the taxi for Mr Lawford arrived.

But while he was still there, he performed another valuable function. Lawford is the man on the street. He’s not beyond us in talent, in fact in many ways we can feel superior. If part of The Rat Pack’s allure is to make us feel we have been invited to the party, Lawford’s presence demonstrates that it is possible. If he can be there, we all can!

But is this true? Frank never called me up and asked me to join. Neither did the Kennedys. And Marilyn Monroe (had she lived) would have turned me down too. (Well, probably). We may not consider it much use, but Lawford had some talent that set him apart from the rest of us.

if you go to this link you can view dean martins death certificate! what a really creepy wierd website!

http://www.findadeath.com/Deceased/m/Dean%20Martin/Dino%20DC.JPG

as you can see im struggling with research!

The performance style of Dean Martin

For me to fully discuss the way Dean Martin performs with the Ratpack I must first speak of his act before the Ratpack and how he changed. Dean Martin started as a solo act before he was joined by Jerry Lewis. Once the pair split up he found his audience were not as supportive of his act as they had been and so his act changed. His new acting persona intensified and gained form when Frank came on the scene, when the Ratpack began.

Dean Martin, when he and Jerry Lewis were a double act, was the more serious half of the double act, even if it was tongue in cheek. In contrast to Lewis who cantered around the stage cracking jokes and clowning around, winning the hearts of his audience, Martin kept the show rolling so to speak, brushing off practical jokes with one-liners, getting on with the main material of the act. They often played with the band, making them stop or speed up just to provoke a reaction and of course, as always, entertaining the audience. Martin often indulged his partners capering by joining in much to the audiences’ delight. It was for his tongue-in-cheek seriousness that Martin was known and loved by his audience. I believe that this duos impact on the world of entertainment was so powerful because of the contrast between the acts of the two performers. Lewis put Martin’s act into context and vice versa. Lewis often played with pronunciation and disjointed his sentences which often threw Martin off. The pair would bounce off each other reacting quicker than the audience could keep up which kept the audience on their toes.

Dean Martin’s voice was very versatile and seemed to come so easily. One minute he was bent double, laughing along with Lewis or Sinatra, the next he was composed and singing as normal. It seemed his singing voice was separate to the rest of him because his voice did not waver. He could sing songs which varied from That’s Amore, which played on his Italian heritage by singing in his native language and strengthening his accent, to King of the Road, in which he played with the audience, emphasizing words or changing them altogether.

When Lewis and Martin disbanded, Dean found his act was not liked as much without Lewis’ silly antics to give it meaning. The serious act was not nearly as funny without the silliness of its counterpart. He did not, however, ‘change his voice, [just] what he did with it’ (Levy; pg 47). He went from performing seriously to acting in a much more carefree manner. The overall standard of the performance did not change, but his attitude to the act did. He viewed it in a more casual light which made him seem much more comfortable with the material he was performing. The once sober, serious performer created a new stage persona by acting drunk and interrupting his own act.

He could have gone on from this turning point with what would probably have been a very successful solo career. He did not, however, because before he could fully establish himself as a solo artist he was ‘teamed, unofficially [...], with Frank’ (levy; pg 47). Dean was lazy as a performer, lucky breaks tended to show up and announce themselves to him, which says to me that Martin was happy to forgo the solo career as a partner would take some, or most in Martin’s case, of the pressures of organising himself, finding the work and generally motivating him into action.

Martin’s material was always much ‘queerer [...] than Frank[s]’ (Levy; pg 52). While Sinatra’s numbers were serious ballads and love songs, Martin’s were fun ‘novelty’ (Levy; pg 52) songs. Frank often interrupted Martin’s songs with one-liners and witty remarks. Martin could carry on singing while this went on and, if you were not watching, would hear no difference, but his whole posture seemed to change from ‘singer’ to ‘showman’, like he is being reminded that they are there to have fun.

Martin was a very good dancer. Which added more individuality to his performance style as he would randomly break into dance either on his own or with the others (being Sinatra, Davies Jr or Lewis).


I believe that martin’s ability to keep a straight face when his co-stars, first Jerry Lewis and later both Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davies Jr, are joking and throwing in wisecracks make him a stronger performer than most, if not all, the other Rat Packers. He is often the one left singing while the others are doubled over in laughter. He is conscious of his audience as something to be wary of. I believe he remembers how they snubbed him after his break-up with Jerry Lewis. This, however, is speculation on my part as he never falters while on stage and shows no signs of stage fright.

The performing style of Dean Martin changed to fit his surroundings. He was serious to Lewis’ clown-like routine yet still managed to keep the audience laughing. His stage presence grew in the brief time that he was a soloist due to the fact that it needed to change to recapture his audiences’ affections. His act remained the same when he and Sinatra merged acts as the two fitted together easily and worked well. He was always ahead of the game, first to recover from jokes and tricks and always thinking about his audience. I think this last statement is the most important factor of Dean Martin’s performance style as it is woven into everything he did on stage.

Hey lets get lots of lovely research for next week!
absoloutely anything!
xxx

Frank Sinatra (1000 words!)

Frank Sinatra, like each other member of the Rat Pack, had his own performance style in order to distinguish himself when they all performed together on stage. In this performance profile, I shall discuss how Sinatra’s physical presence on stage and how he used his voice as a singer helped establish his relationship with the other members of the Rat Pack on stage, distinguishing him as a performer.

I shall begin with Sinatra’s physical presence on stage. Some particular physical elements remained throughout his career, however, other elements changed somewhat by the time he had joined the Rat Pack in contrast. A continuous physical feature of Sinatra was his dress code. The archetypal image of Sinatra on stage was of him dressed in a suit and tie to perform his songs. This has been a continuous aspect throughout his career. Still images of Sinatra during his career with the Hoboken Four, which appear in the television documentary Frank Sinatra: the Voice of the Century, show him with the other three members all wearing matching suits. In the same documentary, as it shows how Sinatra progressed to working for Tommy Dorsey and beginning his solo career, he appears still wearing a suit in archive footage of Sinatra performing the song I’ll Never Smile Again. This physical attribute continued through into his time in the Rat Pack. This is evident on the Frank Sinatra Disc of the Rat Pack DVD Anthology Rat Pack: Kings Of Swing, in every clip which Sinatra appears with other members of the Rat Pack on stage; he is still dressed in a formal suit with tie.
However, a physical attribute that did change throughout Sinatra’s career was his use of the stage. For example, in the previously mentioned footage of the song I’ll Never Smile Again, as well as the footage of Sinatra singing Old Man River, which is featured on Rat Pack: Kings Of Swing, Sinatra is stood centre stage, in front of a large orchestra, very still, as he sings out to the audience. However, as Sinatra progressed into the Rat Pack, his attributes on stage began to relax much more. He began to move around the stage much more as he sang his songs, to the extent which in one particular performance of I’ve Got You Under My Skin, which appears on Rat Pack: Kings Of Swing, he sits down with the conductor of the orchestra and begins to conduct with him. It was essentially a personal choice that he wanted to be a central presence on stage. The Frank Sinatra: the Voice of the Century television documentary explains that the reason for this attribute was subsequently the reason in which he worked with band leader Tommy Dorsey: “Sinatra liked the fact that, with Dorsey, the singer played a central role…” (Frank Sinatra: the Voice of the Century).
The style of Sinatra’s presence on stage changed through his career but the reason for this particular attribute was so he would be noticed in any circumstance. This was certainly the case during the Rat Pack onstage. In Rat Pack: Kings Of Swing, Sinatra begins to sing Please Be Kind, whilst Sammy Davis Junior and Dean Martin begin to heckle and distract him offstage. Sinatra simply laughs it off and responds with quips such as “Get off while I’m a hit?” and “You’ve got a beat like a cop”. Sinatra drags the attention away from the heckling and back onto himself as he continues to sing.

I shall now discuss how Sinatra’s uses his voice as a singer. This was an attribute that changed throughout his career. His singing technique derives from working with Tommy Dorsey, according to the Frank Sinatra: the Voice of the Century television documentary. It explains that Sinatra’s vocal technique “was based on extraordinary breath control” which is attributed to the “smooth continuous tone” of Tommy Dorsey’s instruments; Sinatra then “tried to imitate that sustained sound in his singing” (Frank Sinatra: the Voice of the Century). This is evident in several of Sinatra’s songs. For example, in the previously mentioned Old Man River, Sinatra’s voice follows that particular song’s style and volume; when the song starts it has a very low volume which Sinatra’s voice emulates as he sings the opening line “Old Man River” very quietly, when he progresses to the middle verse of the song and the music goes very staccato, Sinatra’s voice copies the music when he sings the line “tote that barge, lift that bale” very staccato, and when he sings the line “Old Man River” for the final time, the orchestra is playing very loudly so he sings that line just as loud.

This aspect, much like his physical presence, changed throughout his career prior to or during the Rat Pack. His vocal style began to relax much more and allows the music to be emphasised more over his voice. For example, as he sings Get me to the Church on Time, on Rat Pack: Kings Of Swing, Sinatra’s voice is more in time with just the song’s bass-line, as opposed to the whole orchestra, which allows the brass section to be more unpredictable; this gave Sinatra the ability to ad-lib as he sang through a song. For example, after forgetting the lyrics part of the way through the song Get me to the Church on Time, he ad-libs to the audience: “I forgot the words all of a sudden.” He is effortless in regaining the control of the song.

Sinatra gains presence through ad-libs during the Rat Pack onstage shows such as when he and Dean Martin make drinks for one another on Rat Pack: Kings of Swing. Dean quips “I’ll make you one for you if you make me one for me”, to which Sinatra quickly adds, “…You talkin’ about broads or drinks?” to the audience’s laughter. Sinatra would essentially ad-lib in order to gain the central attention of the audience.

Sinatra was seen as the leader of the Rat Pack; a central figure amongst the rest, which his how he distinguished himself as a performer. Sinatra’s voice and physical presence drew attention to himself; he always had the last word whether it is in a joke or in a song.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Biography (1987) Frank Sinatra: The Voice Of The Century. London, BBC. The Biography Channel, 13th August 2007 [Television]

Rat Pack: Kings Of Swing (2007) Frank. London. Waterfall Home Entertainment, 21st September [DVD]

Hannah's 1000 words on sammy

Sammy Davis Jr. on Stage


Shawn Levy describes Sammy Davis Jr’s performance as ‘a dazzling black ball of fire.’ (Levy, 1998, p7) This describes how I also feel about Sammy’s distinct style. On stage Davis is an electric performer who lights up the stage. In order to create this effect Sammy’s performance is made up of several key building blocks.
One of the elements which make up Sammy’s performance style is the impression that he is very grateful for the other people who make up his success. On several of his live recordings, including one of ‘Hey There’, he takes a moment to say thank-you to his audience for their applause. At the St Louis concert he makes a point of saying that they should thank their orchestra and joins in the applause for them. The humbleness of Sammy’s attitude to me is one of the qualities which make him such a strong performer on stage.
Another factor which is integral to Sammy’s performance is his ability to laugh at himself. Sammy doesn’t appear to take himself too seriously on stage. He was quite often the butt of Frank and Deans jokes. For example at the St Louis performance, when he is about to sing Birth of the Blues someone says ‘Why don’t you sing a medley of race riots?’ and later they ask him ‘how does it feel to sit at the back of the bus?’ These could be taken quite offensively, however Sammy laughs. Levy describes Sammy’s laugh as ‘desperate mirth, literally slapping his knees, not a sound coming out of his mouth.’ (Levy, 1998, p126) However it was Sammy’s witty comebacks which made his performance as the most appealing to watch. For example, many of the jokes made on stage were about Sammy’s race and his Jewish faith. On one such occasion he retorts with ‘will you hurry up? I’ve got a barmitsva to go to.’ This joke shows how he does not take himself too seriously. I feel that this is a creditable ability in an entertainer as it enhances his frivolous and light-hearted persona which he then carried into his overall appearance during his pieces.
Another of Sammy’s mode of performance is his dancing. Whilst singing, Sammy would also quite often dance. When he was predominantly singing, his moves were quite often small and accompanying. A good example of this is on the DVD ‘The Rat Pack: The Greatest Hits’ where he explains to his audience the difference dances he is doing during his song (for example the mash potato). However Sammy’s dancing was not just restricted to simple moves. Some of the earliest footage of Sammy dancing as a youngster (Rufus Jones for President http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=GCq9ytNjd1I) already shows his amazing dancing talent. His work within the Will Mastin trio was particularly stunt style tap dancing which shows the extent of Sammy’s ability. When you compare these different styles you can see how versatile Sammy’s dancing was.
Sammy’s singing style was very different to that of Frank and Dean. Recordings by Sammy range from up-tempo numbers to slow ballads and he is remembered for both styles. Levy supports this idea that Sammy was a many styled performer; ‘Ballads, saloon songs, swing numbers, novelty tunes, he wrung them all, completely.’ (Levy 1998, p138) Unlike Frank’s style of lyrical phrasing, Sammy tended to stick to the more traditional style of musical notation guiding his singing. However his actual singing voice is much more within the Broadway musical style; this idea is supported by his move to performing on Broadway in 1956 with the show Mr Wonderful.
Despite Sammy’s own singing being an important part of his act he also relied heavily on his ability to sing in the style of other artists too. Sammy’s impressions were an integral part of his act as he could both sing and speak in the style of certain performers. Part of what makes this particular aspect of Sammy’s act so appealing to watch is the creative way in which he adapts his body, facial expressions and adopts the mannerisms of the people he is impersonating. Sammy’s impersonation of Lois Armstrong for instance always involved him wiping his face with a handkerchief and baring his teeth as this is what Armstrong would do onstage; also his ability to make fun of Dean Martin as a drunkard was a popular crowd pleaser. When compared to Frank and Dean’s ability in that area Sammy appears to be the stronger performer due to his quick switch between characters and the range of people he does. This, I feel, is one of the most important features in Sammy’s performance.
One of the most appealing characteristics of Sammy on stage is that he is an all round entertainer. People knew him for his dancing, his singing, his impressions, his acting and his involvement with his audience. This made him stand out from the other members of the rat pack as he can merge his different talents into one situation. An example of this is he could dance whilst singing and involve his audience in this by explaining the style of dance that he is doing. This ability to merge several elements of his performance together gave him a frenzied and excitable appearance on stage. This is part of the reason why I compare him to a firecracker. Once you have all of Sammy Davis Jr’s elements of performance together you have an entertainer that you cannot help but watch; be it for his jokes, his dancing, his singing or his impressions.

this is my 1000 words on Sammy Davis Junior! Enjoy!

Sammy Davis Jr.: What he brought to the Stage.

I have decided to write about Sammy Davis Junior because I find his stage presence so compelling, it is almost difficult to look away once he has captured my eye.
Sammy started live performing when he was three with his Father, Sammy Davis Senior and Uncle, Will Mastin, in the “Will Mastin Trio”. From watching clips of this time in his life it is obvious he had an immense stage presence even then which eclipsed that of the others working around him. In “You Rascal You” he is centered round the main microphone and although his voice is obviously in its youth it is strong enough to carry a strong tune. His tap routine would have outshone some of the older performers with years of experience behind them, and yet he makes it all seem so easy.

The quality that I find makes watching him so entertaining is the fact that he is clearly enjoying himself and has taken to the stage so naturally it would be almost inconceivable that he could ever live not part of the entertainment business. Even when he had to join the Army and was asked to entertain the racists who abused him he couldn’t let the opportunity to be up on the stage go amiss. It is obvious to see that when he is performing he simply wants to entertain people and the prejudices of the world are forgotten to him when he is lost in his world of performance.
All of Sammy’s talents such as dancing, impersonations and acting, naturally came to him; none of these had to be taught or brought out of him by a peer, they just seem like a way of life and he has always been able to entertain just by being himself.

When I listen to him I realize he is the type of artist who can be associated with any sort of song, whether it is a ballad or an up-tempo number. He can perform a love song such as “Because of You” one minute then a livelier number such as “This Could be the Start of Something Big” the next. This is something that Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin were less good at, and are more remembered for their ballads.
From watching many different concerts and T.V appearances I can see that impressions are a significant part of his act and admire how he can mould himself to the part of the song he is performing. Others he was performing with, such as Sinatra, I found only had his own persona onstage, as strong as it may be, Sammy could convince you that he was anyone, playing any part. Yet he is always respectful of other artists, especially other black artists such as Nat King Cole who he eulogizes before impersonating.
During singing “Because of You” during one of his shows, he not only sings in the styles of other singers of the time but also actors, during this one song alone he impersonates four singers and four actors. To me the reason he is so convincing is aided by the changes in his facial expressions, hand movements and leg movements as well as adapting his clothing to show the audience an all round impression of the people he wants them to see.
He also has a unique way of including the audience in his act and making them feel as though he is entertaining them personally; when he is changing between two impersonations in “Because of You” he whispers to the audience “Watch this, watch this” in a way that makes me feel as though he’s only speaking to me at that moment in time. This is also apparent in the “Medley” where he performs some dance moves and then breaks off to explain to the ‘older members of the audience’ what these dance moves are.
He plays to the audiences’ wants and needs and seems to constantly want to please them, at the end of each performance he thanks his audience repeatedly, this could be because of the racial inequalities at the time and as a black performer he felt he needed to thank the white audience for letting him perform for them.
He is also very conscious of the orchestra when on stage; he interacts with them and acknowledges them as part of his performance.

He loves to play for laughs, and this is emphasized even more when he is onstage with the rest of the Rat Pack. One key moment of seeing how Sammy fitted into the group is when he performs with Peter Lawford in “Shall we Dance”. Although Lawford can sing, his voice seems to be overshadowed by the strength of Sammy’s and stood next to Sammy onstage Lawford looks awkward and uncomfortable compared to Sammy. The joke of the sketch is that Lawford isn’t a strong dancer and yet wants to dance with Sammy, the strongest dancer in the group.

When the Rat Pack perform together at concerts such as St. Louis (1964) or The Summit at the Sands (1960) I find that they have an almost magical ease of being able to interrupt and perform over each other and the performances all flow into one showcase of talent; and yet it never looks staged or forced because they are strong performers in their own right, and also close friends.
To me the appeal of the Rat Pack is that by watching them onstage together I almost feel included in their private jokes and as one of the group. When they are performing together it is almost as though they’re merely entertaining a group of friends.
Ethnicity is referred to frequently onstage between them, not just for Sammy but everyone’s identity was the source of a joke in some way. As Sammy was a black Jew, he usually ended up being the butt of the joke more frequently than the others as these were the times when black rights were still being campaigned for. Although this never bothered him onstage and he could always retort with a witty comeback.

As a performer in his own right and as a member of the Rat Pack to me Sammy Davis Junior is the most talented, natural and all round performer who oozed comedy and gave a unique singing style to the group.

1000 words

yea i definately think thats a good idea! i will post my 1000 words when i can find my usb stick!
xxxx

Idea (nicked from Magic!)

Hey up all!
I think this may be a good, going on what the magic lot do! We should all each post our 1000 words on Frank, Dean and Sammy on here. So we all get ideas of what each is like as a performer!
What do we all think?

NICK

first blog for ratpack!

hi guys this is our blog!
any information you want to add do! i think it would be very helpfull for us all to add information and help each other!
laura
xxxx