Editors
D. Schwartz (Ed.)
Document Type
Occasional Paper
Publication Date
8-2010
Publication Title
Center for Gaming Research Occasional Paper Series: Paper 06
Publisher Location
Las Vegas, Nevada
First page number:
1
Last page number:
8
Abstract
Las Vegas has been linked with Frank Sinatra since the 1950s. The highly‐publicized performances of the Rat Pack (consisting of Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Jr., Joey Bishop, and Peter Lawford) at the Sands crystallized the image of Las Vegas as a place that mingled economic mobility with excess. This excess was often associated with ethnicity and frequently linked to crime. It was, however, the excess that made Las Vegas and Sinatra glamorous to many audiences.
Keywords
American Ethnicity; Americans – Ethnic identity; Gangsters; Mafia; Nevada – Las Vegas; Rat Pack (Entertainers); Sinatra; Frank; 1915-1998; Social mobility
Disciplines
American Popular Culture | Cultural History | Music | Race, Ethnicity and Post-Colonial Studies | Social Influence and Political Communication
File Format
Language
English
Repository Citation
Kenna, L. C.
(2010).
The Promise of Gangster Glamour: Sinatra, Vegas, and Alluring, Ethnicized, Excess. In D. Schwartz (Ed.),
Center for Gaming Research Occasional Paper Series: Paper 06
1-8.
Available at:
https://digitalscholarship.unlv.edu/occ_papers/16
Included in
American Popular Culture Commons, Cultural History Commons, Music Commons, Race, Ethnicity and Post-Colonial Studies Commons, Social Influence and Political Communication Commons