Peter Lawford: Biography of the Rat Pack Star and Hollywood Icon
Discover the life of Peter Lawford, the Rat Pack actor and Kennedy in-law who left a lasting mark on Hollywood and 1960s pop culture.
Peter Sydney Ernest Aylen was born in 1923 in London, the son of a soldier in World War I. He studied in Paris and at the age of 7 he made his first film appearance in the film Poor Old Bill. His mother became pregnant while she was still dating his father, and because of this “scandal”, his family moved to America.
At 13 he made his Hollywood debut in the film Lord Jeff, in which he shared the screen with 5 other boys. Invited to be part of the MGM cast, he began to have problems with his mother: she contacted L.B. Mayer and informed him that her son was homosexual and that he needed special attention from her as a mother. She asked for a salary for herself, which was denied. Peter, after this affair, never rekindled his relationship with her.
After temporarily leaving the cinema, he returned in 1940 with White Cliffs of Sorrow and A Yank at Eton (with Mickey Rooney and Freddie Bartholomew). He specialized in romantic comedies and musicals. He made several musical films, such as Ziegfeld Follies, Easter Parade (with Judy Garland and Fred Astaire), Good News (with June Allyson) and Royal Wedding, among others. He was married four times, the first time to Patricia Kennedy (John’s sister, with whom he had four children), Mary Rowan (a ballerina), Deboreah Gould and Patricia Seaton.
He also dated Ava Gardner (a romance that undermined the friendship between him and Frank Sinatra), Rita Hayworth, Lana Turner and Marilyn Monroe (she made her last call to him, he also helped in her relationship with John Kennedy). He made more than 60 films. Peter died at the age of 61, on Christmas Day 1984, from kidney failure, also resulting from an unbridled life of drugs and alcohol.
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