[Oratam]

There are two guys who really just didn’t belong as far as I can figure. Lawford I partially understand as a conduit to the president, but what, really, did Joey Bishop bring to the table?

[cuban leaf]

6. Bishop, often the forgotten member of the Rat Pack, was the brains behind the operation. He wrote most of the stage banter that seemed so effortlessly improvised and was a steady emcee while making it appear as if Sinatra were actually in charge.

[tsowellfan]

I agree. Liza Mennelli was the one who replaced Martin when Martin dropped out around 1988

[robowombat]

Bishop was the straight man for the gags and ‘jokes’. He had a comedians sense of perfect timing so the ‘Chairman of the Board’ always knew when he cracked wise Bishop would do the perfect setup or followup. Also Bishop was a really intelligent and level headed person who seemed to be the ‘adult’ in the Animal House with a smooth personality that never rubbed the inflated egos the wrong way.He also would put up with Sinatra's black moods and evil behavior with aplomb.

[bcsco]

The link to the History Channel feature doesn’t work. It takes you to a video about Benjamin Franklin. There’s another link to the Rat Pack feature, but it goes to a “Page not found”.