A "Rat Pack"-er replies

Joey Bishop

Reference Date: May 15th






For the anniversary of the founding of Las Vegas, I wrote to the only surviving member of the "Rat Pack", which was the group of ultra cool entertainers who ruled that town in the 1960's. They were led by The "Chairman of the Board" Frank Sinatra, and his buddies Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr. Together, they played sold out engagements at the Sands Hotel. People still talk about the witty repartee and banter that flew from the mouths of these giants. What hasn't been documented very well was the fact that Joey Bishop, a successful standup comedian and host of the Rat Pack shows, was the genius who wrote most of those classic lines. Mr. Bishop, who had two TV shows of his own and guest hosted the "Tonight Show" more than anyone else in history, is retired in California, but was kind enough to reply (by autographed photo) to my letter. This is what Mr Bishop said (short but sweet:)

To Chris:

I owe it all to honesty!

Joey Bishop

I sent him a thank you the next day.