Rat Pack Legends Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr. and Dean Martin’s Kids Open Up About Their Incredible Bond — “You Could Feel Their Energy”

In this week’s issue of Closer Weekly, Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr. and Dean Martin’s kids open up about how their dads supported one another in good times and in bad.

“My fondest memories were when they were all dressed up,” Sammy’s daughter Tracey tells Closer of the group also know as the Rat Pack. “They all smelled of cologne, and they were drinking bourbon, and I just got to sit in the middle of it as a little girl and think, ‘This is so cool.’ You could feel their energy.”

“They really did have a tremendous bond,” Dean’s daughter Deana shares with Closer. “After my dad passed away, Frank said, ‘We were not brothers by blood, but by choice.’ All three of them felt that connection.”

The Rat Pack.

They may not always have been model citizens but Tracey tells Closer Weekly that they knew the meaning of hard work. “They weren’t a boy band — they were really talented. In the old days, you had to grind and grind and grind. You couldn’t just tweet out a song. Their friendship was forged by hard work, and they all had the same work ethic.”

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When it came to the important issues of the day, they all agreed. “They definitely talked about politics and civil rights,” says Tracey. “They all had a good sense of history, and they were well aware of the dynamic changes that were coming.”

Dean, Sammy and Frank in 1987.

They helped bring about those changes by refusing to appear at segregated venues. Notes Tracey, “Frank and Dean would say, ‘If Sammy can’t play here, we won’t come back.’” This loyalty lasted the rest of their lives. “They helped my dad get through the death of my brother, when we lost Dean Paul [in a 1987 plane crash],” says Deana, 68. “Or when Frank Jr. was kidnapped [in 1963] — that was a very scary time.” After Sammy lost an eye in a 1954 car accident, “Dad and Uncle Frank went to his side and helped him,” she adds.

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Like any family, they occasionally fought. “When my dad was doing cocaine in the late ’70s, Frank didn’t like that lifestyle, so they stopped talking,” remembers Tracey. “When Dad stopped doing it, he said, ‘Hey, sorry, I was a jackass,’ and they were good friends again like nothing happened.”
As different as they were, they came together in perfect harmony. “Their personalities fit together like a puzzle,” says Tracey. “When that happened, it was complete joy.”

To read the full story on the Rat Pack, pick up the new issue of Closer Weekly, on newsstands now!

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