Remembering Sammy...

Fifty years ago in Las Vegas, the first of the Rat Pack films, the original Ocean's 11, was wrapping up production. While it was being shot, primarily in the wee hours of the morning, one of the movie's stars, Frank Sinatra, was also playing his nightly gig as the featured performer in the Sands Hotel Copa Room. And each night, before they reported to the movie set, Ocean's 11's other stars, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Jr., Peter Lawford and Joey Bishop, joined Sinatra at the Sands on stage. During the film's iconic closing shot, the Sands marquee can be seen in the background featuring all of the performers' names.

I worked at the Sands some 30 years later, in 1981 and 1982, as the hotel's Director of Marketing, and one of my fondest memories was the day I brought Sammy Davis, Jr. back to the Sands.

They're all gone now. Joey Bishop, the last member of the Rat Pack (if you don't count Rat Pack late-comer Liza Minnelli), died at age 89, two years ago this month. Sammy died at age 64 on May 16, 1990.

But, on that January day in 1982 when Sammy came back to the Sands to emcee the gala Sands Grand Reopening, he was as alive and as lively as ever.

Here's the story behind the story on Sammy's return to the Sands:

In 1980, the Pratt family of Dallas - owners of a slew of Holiday Inns in Texas and Mexico - had bought the Sands for $85 million. Almost immediately, they threw an additional $15 million into the Sands pot to refurbish the already aging Las Vegas landmark. And by late 1981, they were ready to unveil the new-look Sands.

So, they budgeted $350,000 and scheduled a day-night, indoor-outdoor gala celebration, a Sands Grand Reopening party that was destined to become the biggest party Las Vegas had ever seen. As Director of Marketing, I was in charge of the budget and, technically at least, in charge of the party plans.

I'll tell you the rest of the story in my next posting...