The Rat Pack – (1958–1964)
In-Person – Tuesday 1:10 pm – 2:50 pm
Jan. 14, 21, 28 and Feb. 4, 11 
The Rat Pack was the notorious group of showbiz celebrities originally formed and led by Humphrey Bogart (whose wife Lauren Bacall came up with their tongue-in-cheek sobriquet). In the mid- to late – 1950’s, with the passing of Bogie, The Rat Pack torch was passed to Frank Sinatra. Along with pals Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Jr., Peter Lawford, Joey Bishop and Shirley MacLaine, among many others, Sinatra raised the visibility and hipness factor to new heights. expanding its playground from Hollywood and New York to Miami, Palm Springs and Las Vegas—a town the Rat Pack members unquestionably put on the map and ruled. We examine the history and development of The Rat Pack and its individual members, the music and films they made, their legendary performances in Vegas, as well as some of the darker aspects of all their fun, frivolity and assorted peccadilloes.
- Week 1: Origin/history of The Rat Pack
- Week 2: Frank and Dino
- Week 3: Frank and Sammy
- Week 4: Frank, Peter and JFK
- Week 5: Beatlemania and the (unofficial—and rather messy) end of The Rat Pack
Gary Carlson is a retired Professor of English at CT State Community College Norwalk (formerly Norwalk Community College). Over a period of 25 years, he created and taught a wide variety of courses on writing, literature, film and pop culture. A published writer of fiction, non-fiction, film and music criticism, he has also hosted several local radio programs on music history and was the founder and host of the long-running Movies-of-the-Month Film Series at the college.