Peter Sydney Lawford (September 7, 1923 – December 24, 1984) was a Hollywood actor and member of Frank Sinatra's "Rat Pack," perhaps more noted for his off-screen activities as a celebrity than for his acting.

Born in London, England, the son of British World War I hero Sir Sydney Turing Lawford and the former May Somerville Bunny, he spent his early childhood in France, and began acting at a young age. May and Sir Sydney were not married when Peter was conceived, and the resulting scandal caused the couple to flee England for America. In America, Lord and Lady Lawford were treated like royalty among the well-to-do people in their new neighborhood of Palm Beach, Florida, and were always invited to the events there. As a child, he severely injured his arm - in his words, "attempting to run through a glass door." Doctors were able to save the arm, but the injury continued to bother him throughout his life, and his arm was slightly deformed. In fact, the injury was considered so damaging as to keep him from entering World War II, but this turn of fate was probably the greatest boon to his career. At that time, Hollywood was infatuated with the heroic Englishmen; and as war movies were being churned out by the dozens and American actors began to be drafted, Lawford put his considerable talents to work for the cause.

Prior to the war, Lawford had a gained a contract position with the MGM studios. Once he signed with MGM, his mother, May, insisted that studio head, Louis B. Mayer, pay her a salary as Peter's personal assistant. He declined. Lady Lawford responded by claiming her son to be "homosexual," and that he needed to be "supervised." When Peter learned of his mother's actions, their relationship was never the same, and over the years, he saw his mother's antics as an embarassment. Lawford's first major movie role was A Yank At Eton (1942). He played a snobby bully opposite Mickey Rooney. The picture was a smash hit, and Lawford's performance was widely praised. He won even greater kudos for his performance in The White Cliffs Of Dover (1944), in which he played a young soldier in World War II. MGM gave him another important role in The Picture of Dorian Gray (1945). Lawford also made Son Of Lassie (1945) and won a Modern Screen magazine readers' poll as the most popular actor in Hollywood. His fan mail jumped to thousands of letters a week. Lawford had become a major star.

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#omgfacts During the 50's Americans were never more than 10ft away from Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr or Peter Lawford
Neil_Mawer (Neil Mawer) Thu, 17 Dec 2009 05:22:49 -0000
#omgfacts During the 50's Americans were never more than 10ft away from Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr or Peter Lawford
@Myndrunner I knew Frank...and you are no Frank Sinatra.. Peter Lawford,,,Maybe
all_sabrina (Sabrina Brown) Wed, 16 Dec 2009 10:15:30 -0000
@Myndrunner I knew Frank...and you are no Frank Sinatra.. Peter Lawford,,,Maybe
@janieo I liked the way Peter Lawford talked.
66Betty (Cathy Gunderson) Sat, 12 Dec 2009 19:16:29 -0000
@janieo I liked the way Peter Lawford talked.

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