Born in London, England and son of a British World War I hero, Lawford had spent most of his childhood in Paris, France and began his acting career at a very young age. His parents were not married when their son was born. As a result of the scandal, The Lawfords fled to America.

As a young child, the young Peter injured his arm by in his own words, "attempt to run through a glass door." Lawford's arm was badly injured. However, doctors could saved it. The injury was so bad, it was slightly deformed and bothered him throughout life. But such was his luck, the injury kept him off the draft for World War II, which became the biggest boon of his acting career.

When Lawford was signed to MGM, his mother approached studio head, Louis B. Mayer, to pay her a salary as her son's personal assistant. However, Mayer declined. She then claimed that her son was "homosexual" and needed to be "supervised". This damaged the relationship between her and her son.

Lawford starred in his first major movie called _A Yank at Eton (1942)_ , co-starring Mickey Rooney, Ian Hunter and Freddie Bartholomew. His performance was widely praised. During this time, Lawford started to get more leads when major MGM star Clark Gable was drafted into the war. Later, it was Good News, co-starring June Allyson that became Lawford's greatest to fame.

Probably Lawford's most controversial affair, amongst many, was with African-American actress Dorothy Dandridge. It was rumored that both Lawford and Dandridge were planning to get married but canceled fearing it would jeopardize their careers.

Besides his successful career and being a socialite, Lawford was also part of the Rat Pack, with Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, Joey Bishop and 'Sammy Davis, Jr.' .


Ashes scattered in the Pacific Ocean. Uncle of Maria Shriver. Brother-in-law of John F. Kennedy. Became U.S. Citizen in 1960. Son of actor Sidney Lawford. Fluent in English, French, Spanish, and Italian. His mother's childhood nickname for him was Pierrot. Met his third wife Mary Rowan (daughter of Dan Rowan) in December 1970 while he was appearing on her father's TV show "Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In" (1968). Romantically linked with actresses Lana Turner, Ava Gardner, Dorothy Dandridge, June Allyson, Lee Remick, Kim Novak, Judy Holliday, Evelyn Keyes, and socialites Sharman Douglas and Melissa Weston. When he was child he fell through a French door and cut his right arm very badly; consequently, he never regained full use of his right arm and hand. Thus, he was turned down as unfit for military duty and did not serve during World War II. Is portrayed by Angus Macfadyen in The Rat Pack (1998) (TV) and by Ian Buchanan in Marilyn & Bobby: Her Final Affair (1993) (TV). Was the first member of the Rat Pack to pass away. With the death of Joey Bishop in October, 2007, no surviving members of the Rat Pack remain. Nephew of Ernest Lawford. His ex-wife Patricia Kennedy died on 17th September 2006 from complications from pneumonia at the age of 82. Largely due to political reasons, he and former friend Frank Sinatra were estranged after the mid-1960s. In fact, when Lawford came to attend a Sinatra performance at Caeser's Palace in Las Vegas some years later, Sinatra reportedly found out about it and refused to go on until after Lawford had left.