- Title: USA: RAT PACK TRIBUTE SHOW IN LAS VEGAS
- Date: 1st October 1999
- Summary: CALDWELL, PARLER, KASTEN AND APPLE PERFORMING "THE BIRTH OF THE BLUES"
- Embargoed: 16th October 1999 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: LAS VEGAS, NEVADA, UNITED STATES
- Country: USA
- Topics: Entertainment
- Reuters ID: LVACMC4AVMKODHCX00LU7E4J181I
- Story Text: In a town where hotel-casinos live as long as it takes to tear them down, the Rat Pack is making a comeback and taking the town by storm.ls Vegas is once again the home of singers Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr.and comedian Joey Bishop.Well, sort of...
It's 1961, December 12th 1961 to be precise, and the Rat Pack have come together at the Desert Inn to pay tribute to Frank Sinatra on his 46th birthday.
It may sound like a television special from days gone by, but it's actually a live show playing in Las Vegas in 1999.
"The Rat Pack is Back" transports it's audience to a bygone era when legendary crooners and big bands were all the rage.Long before the glitz, glamour and pyrotechnics of Siegfried and Roy or the Rolling Stones, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis, Jr.awed audiences with the sheer power of their voices.
"These are the guys-the voices that made Vegas what it is today....said show producer David Cassidy.
Singer Bobby Caldwell headlines the show as "Frank" - last names have been excluded from the act to preempt potential lawsuits from the families.Caldwell, who crooned a hit of his own in 1979 with "What You Won't Do For Love", sounds eerily like the recently departed Sinatra and brings the house down with renditions of "Come Fly With Me" and "Luck be a Lady"
before being joined onstage by a seemingly drunken Dean Martin, portrayed by Steve Apple, for a birthday surprise.
Apple/Dino then takes the stage and serenades the females in attendance with "Everybody Loves Somebody".After a few more songs and a few more drinks - Apple admittedly took some artistic license with the heavy drinking but says it was part of the mystique - Dean is joined onstage by Lonnie Parlor in the role of Sammy.
Each of the performers is given a chance to display their solo talents with an occassional appearance by Rat Pack comedian Hiram Kasten who plays the part of Mater of Ceremonies Joey Bishop before all four take the stage to perform such memorable numbers as "The Birth of the Blues".
The 90-minute programme plays at the Desert Inn every Tuesday through Sunday and is expected to carry well into the year 2000. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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