Jerry Lewis was an American comedian, actor, singer, filmmaker, and humanitarian. As his contributions to comedy and charity made him a global figure in pop culture, Lewis was nicknamed "The King of Comedy".
Lester Raymond Brown was an American jazz musician who led the big band Les Brown and His Band of Renown for nearly seven decades from 1938 to 2000.
Dean Martin was an American singer, actor, and comedian. One of the most popular and enduring American entertainers of the mid-20th century, Martin was nicknamed "The King of Cool." Martin gained his career breakthrough together with comedian Jerry Lewis, billed as Martin and Lewis, in 1946. They performed in nightclubs and later had numerous appearances on radio, television and in films.
The Rat Pack was an informal group of entertainers, the second iteration of which ultimately made films and appeared together in Las Vegas casino venues. They originated in the late 1940s and early 1950s as a group of A-list show business friends, such as Errol Flynn, Nat King Cole, Mickey Rooney, Frank Sinatra and others who met casually at the Holmby Hills home of Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall. In the 1960s, the group featured Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Joey Bishop, and Peter Lawford, among others. They appeared together on stage and in films in the 1950s and 1960s, including the films Ocean's 11, and Sergeants 3; after Lawford's expulsion, they filmed Robin and the 7 Hoods with Bing Crosby in what was to have been Lawford's role. Sinatra, Martin, and Davis were regarded as the group's lead members after Bogart's death.
Shelley Winters was an American actress whose career spanned seven decades. She appeared in numerous films. She won Academy Awards for The Diary of Anne Frank (1959) and A Patch of Blue (1965), and received nominations for A Place in the Sun (1951) and The Poseidon Adventure (1972). She also appeared in A Double Life (1947), The Night of the Hunter (1955), Lolita (1962), Alfie (1966), Next Stop, Greenwich Village (1976), and Pete's Dragon (1977). In addition to film, Winters appeared in television, including a tenure on the sitcom Roseanne, and wrote three autobiographical books.
Samuel George Davis Jr. was an American singer, dancer, actor, comedian, film producer and television director.
Neal Joseph Schon is an American rock guitarist, songwriter, and vocalist, best known as the founder and lead guitarist for the band Journey. He is the sole original member to remain throughout the group's history. He was a member of the rock band Santana before forming Journey, was a member for the group Bad English during Journey's hiatus from 1987-1995 and was also an original member of Hardline.
Steve Lawrence is an American singer, comedian and actor, best known as a member of a duo with his wife Eydie Gormé, billed as "Steve and Eydie", and for his performance as Maury Sline, the manager and friend of the main characters in The Blues Brothers. Steve and Eydie first appeared together as regulars on Tonight Starring Steve Allen in 1954 and continued performing as a duo until Gormé's retirement in 2009. Gormé died August 10, 2013.
Clerow "Flip" Wilson Jr. was an American comedian and actor best known for his television appearances during the late 1960s and 1970s. From 1970 to 1974, Wilson hosted his own weekly variety series The Flip Wilson Show, and introduced viewers to his recurring character Geraldine. The series earned Wilson a Golden Globe and two Emmy Awards, and it was the second highest-rated show on network television for a time. Wilson was the first African American to host a successful TV variety show. In January 1972, Time magazine featured Wilson's image on its cover and named him "TV's first black superstar". He released a number of comedy albums in the 1960s and 1970s and won a Grammy Award for his 1970 album The Devil Made Me Buy This Dress.
The Hollywood Palace was an hourlong American television variety show broadcast Saturday nights on ABC from January 4, 1964, to February 7, 1970. Titled The Saturday Night Hollywood Palace for its first few weeks, it began as a midseason replacement for The Jerry Lewis Show, another variety show, which had lasted only three months.
Norman Rae Taurog was an American film director and screenwriter. From 1920 to 1968, Taurog directed 180 films. At the age of 32, he received the Academy Award for Best Director for Skippy (1931). He is the second youngest person ever to win the award after Damien Chazelle, who won for La La Land in 2017. He was later nominated for Best Director for the film Boys Town (1938). He directed some of the best-known actors of the twentieth century, including his nephew Jackie Cooper, Spencer Tracy, Mickey Rooney, Judy Garland, Deanna Durbin, Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly, Deborah Kerr, Peter Lawford, Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis, and Elvis Presley. Taurog directed six Martin and Lewis films, and nine Elvis Presley films, more than any other director.
Samuel Louis Nistico, better known as Sammy Nestico, was an American composer and arranger. Nestico is best known for his arrangements for the Count Basie orchestra.
The Rat Pack is a 1998 American HBO made-for-television drama film about the Rat Pack. The movie stars Ray Liotta as Frank Sinatra, Joe Mantegna as Dean Martin, Don Cheadle as Sammy Davis, Jr., and Angus Macfadyen as Peter Lawford. Despite his membership in the Pack, Joey Bishop is given minimal screen time, while John F. Kennedy, depicted as an on-and-off friend of Sinatra's, is given a more central role.
Ernest Aaron Freeman was an American pianist, organist, bandleader, and arranger. He was responsible for arranging many successful rhythm and blues and pop records from the 1950s to the 1970s.
"The Things We Did Last Summer" is a popular song about nostalgia from 1946. The words were written by Sammy Cahn, with the composition by Jule Styne. The most well known version is the 1946 Top ten hit by Jo Stafford. Versions by Frank Sinatra and by Vaughn Monroe also charted that year. Shelley Fabares had a hit cover in 1962 on the pop chart. Several recordings have been made, including versions by Frank Sinatra, Vaughn Monroe, and Dean Martin who recorded different versions for his 1959 and 1966 Christmas LPs.
Antonio Morelli (1904-1974) was a producer, arranger, bandleader, movie producer, and conductor most well known for serving as orchestra leader for the famous Sands Hotel Copa Room in its Rat Pack heyday from 1954 through 1971. He was music director, band leader, and friend to some of the biggest names in show business for twenty years and is credited with bringing classical music to Las Vegas. He was also a songwriter, arranger, and music director for several Broadway musicals, and beloved for his devotion to philanthropic endeavors in his community most notably founding The Las Vegas Pops.
Come Back to the 5 & Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean is a 1976 play by Ed Graczyk, originally performed at the Players Theatre Columbus in Columbus, Ohio. Despite the interpretation of the name in the title, it refers to the legendary "Rebel Without a Cause", James Dean, as opposed to Jimmy Dean, the country-western singer who had a hit in 1961 with Big Bad John. The play, in fact, revolves around a James Dean fan club that reunites at a Texas five-and-dime store.
Ralph Robert Shaw was a librarian, a publisher, and an innovator in library science. In 1999, American Libraries named him one of the "100 Most Important Leaders We Had in the 20th Century".
Samuel Benjamin Watkins is an American football wide receiver for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Clemson and was drafted by the Buffalo Bills fourth overall in the 2014 NFL Draft. He has also played for the Los Angeles Rams, Kansas City Chiefs, and Green Bay Packers. Watkins became a Super Bowl champion as a member of the Chiefs.
Deana Martin is an American singer and actress. She is the daughter of singer Dean Martin.
