George Jacobs is generally considered ''the last of the Rat Pack'', a member of the exclusive club that has fascinated us for decades. He was Sinatra''s valet and confidant from 1953, when Ava Gardner had just left him, until the end of his marriage to Mia Farrow in 1968. Racy and revealing, this is a record of one of the longest and most outrageous mid-life crises ever as George helped Sinatra juggle his many mistresses - women like Marilyn Monroe, Judy Garland, Grace Kelly and Peggy Lee. Hollywood stars and Mafia bosses, the Kennedys and European royalty also all had a major part to play in Frank''s glory years. But above all there was the Rat Pack who accepted George as one of their own. Dean Martin tried his comedy routines out on him and Peter Lawford did his drugs in front of him. MR S gives an insider''s view of the highs and lows of life with the Rat Pack - the spectacle, the sex, the unrecounted brawls, violence, tensions and hatreds among the revellers at the wildest moveable feast of the century.
''Explosive'' Mail on Sunday
''Scorching'' Sunday Mirror
Industry Reviews
So much has been written about the colourful and turbulent life of this enduring icon that another biography would not appear to offer readers the promise of anything new. This one however has a very personal touch and presents a fascinating portrait of one of the world's most enduring singers by someone who knew him intimately. George Jacobs worked as Sinatra's valet and confidant from 1953, following the star's desertion by Ava Gardner, until 1968 at the end of his disastrous marriage to Mia Farrow. George became known as 'the last of the Rat Pack', that exclusive and mythical group of Sinatra intimates. The boozing and womanising are legendary and Jacobs adds more salacious detail to the abundance of information regarding the star's love of women. When Sinatra stole George from the powerful Hollywood superagent Swifty Lazar, it was a blatant declaration of power and a demonstration that his career, which had reached an all-time low, was now on the ascent again. But at this time, Sinatra was still emotionally battered from his recent rejection by his great love, Ava Gardner. He needed someone reliable who would be there at all hours for him and George was willing and able. He describes going to work for Sinatra as embarking on the 'wild ride of the century' and yet was amazed at the star's neat and orderly home and his polite and warm way with people. George describes Sinatra's unorthodox lifestyle, his nocturnal habits, and his guilt about his ex-wife and young children whom he only saw once a week. There were other idiosyncrasies that hinted at the underlying insecurities that plagued his boss. Every morning George had to spray the star's bald patch with hair colour or help him to apply a custom-made hairpiece; there were elevators in his shoes to increase his five-foot seven-inch frame and he used make-up to cover scars inflicted by a difficult birth. He regularly studied the dictionary, self-conscious about his poor education. George joined Sinatra's life at the time of his big comeback, following the success of From Here to Eternity. It was to be a time of excess for the rejuvenated star - a prolonged mid-life crisis. George was witness to the highs and lows of the wild years, an observer of the prolific seduction of Hollywood stars and call girls, the dangerous relationships with Mafia bosses and the close friendships with the likes of Sammy Davis Junior and Dean Martin. It is a glamorous cocktail peopled with 'everyone who was anyone' in the 1950s and early '60s - from the Kennedys to Monroe. This is the intimate story of a gifted man who was ultimately the victim of his own insecurities. In the end, however, it is the legacy of Sinatra's voice that lingers and transcends the glamour, gangsters and scandal that made up his roller-coaster life. (Kirkus UK)
