In this clip from the 1963 musical comedy "Robin and the 7 Hoods", Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin join their idol Bing Crosby for the terrific musical number "Style". The casting of Crosby was due to some intrigue in Sinatra's personal life. Originally Rat Packer Peter Lawford was cast in the role. However, Sinatra had felt betrayed by President John F. Kennedy, who he had campaigned for enthusiastically. Kennedy won by a sliver against former vice-president Richard Nixon in the election of 1960. Soon after the election, JFK appointed his own brother Robert F. Kennedy as Attorney General, a controversial move to be sure, and Bobby had publicly declared war on organized crime. He badgered JFK to drop all ties with Sinatra because of his alleged (but never proven) ties to the Mafia. JFK listened and gave Sinatra the cold shoulder. Sinatra then called upon Lawford, who was JFK's brother-in-law to sort things out and re-establish their friendship. When Lawford demurred, saying he couldn't have more influence on the president than his own brother, Sinatra responded by blackballing Lawford from the Rat Pack. Sinatra had spent a fortune adapting his mansion to accommodate
JFK when he visited. He even installed a helipad on the
property. When JFK shunned him, Sinatra was said to have gone on a
tirade and wrecked some of the improvements he had made. Adding insult to injury, when JFK did visit the area, he stayed with Bing Crosby- who was a Republican. Sinatra took it out on Lawford and dropped him from "Robin and the 7 Hoods" and cast Crosby in his place. He would never speak to Lawford again despite pleas from Sammy Davis Jr., who continued his friendship with Lawford. Ironically, while the film was in production, President Kennedy was assassinated, causing the filming to shut down temporarily.