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A Personal Look at “Old Blue Eyes”

FRANK SINATRA - Birth Name Francis Albert Sinatra

Height 5’ 8”

Nickname: The Voice, Chairman of the Board, Ol’ Blue Eyes, Swoonatra

Born: December 12^th, 1915 - Hoboken, New Jersey

Date of death: May 14^th, 1998 - Los Angeles, California, (heart & kidney disease; bladder cancer; senility) Buried in Cathedral City’s “Desert Memorial Park” in Palm Springs, California, May 20^th, 1998

May 15, 1998

Well, Frank,

Last night you departed the physical body – you are gone and I am still here – So many film heroes and legends are now gone. No doubt you are one of the all time GREAT legends. Microwave equipped trucks; film and TV crews line Cedars Hospital as well as your home in Beverly Hills. Certainly you will go down in film and entertainment history as one of the all time GREATS in the not only the film industry but more so the music industry. Your acting ability equaled your fabulous singing voice. The romantic legend you created with your voice is unequaled but what a disappointment in person!

As a young girl, more interested in swinging in my swing set my Dad had built than listening to the “Crooner” teenage girls were “swooning” over, how could I ever imagine that one day I would get to know this grown man singer? TV was practically unheard of in those days with only a few homes having them. I recall one friend’s radio had a small piece of glass about 3” X 6” for future television. We got the news from the radio and movie news, which were filled with teenage girls lined up outside of concert halls where you preformed. Yes! You were the FIRST to have that kind of adulation. You set the standard! Many people would assume it was Elvis Presley but you were the pioneer in the area of “swoons” and rightfully so. Your voice for decade after decade remained one of the very best. You were good – really good! I can’t say the same about you in person.

Drugs and other problems at Hollywood High lead me to think moving to a smaller community for my daughter’s last year of high school would be wise. Debbie was my first and foremost concern, not my fading career – what career - a would-be-never-made-it starlet – an ex-fashion and TV commercial model, a glorified prop – an “extra” or “U5” (under five lines.)

With multiple talents and abilities, I assumed I could obtain some sort of employment to get us through Debbie’s last year of High School. I didn’t see how I could afford college. She expressed no interest in attending; therefore, I wanted her last year to be as special as possible.

Debbie was certainly attractive but more than her looks, I was so proud of the way she turned out as a teenager. She was kind and understanding – a friend to all - regardless of race, religion, age was no factor. She was well liked by people of all ages and never saw a stranger. Adults felt they could sit and discuss things with her. That was because I had always treated her with some sort of equality regardless of her age. I was a far younger mother than her friends’ mothers, therefore, they treated me as a girlfriend or “big sister,” especially since Debbie often referred to me as her sister. Debbie used to say that her grandmother would have to be “grandma” to her kids as I had no lap to bounce them on – little did she know “mature” aging changes thin bodies for many of us!

The year before, I consulted my ex-husband in Denver when I needed to buy a car. Since he had always been in the car business when he wasn’t attempting to be an actor I assumed his recommendation was valid. He sent me to a “trustworthy” dealer down at the beach area. There sat a very clean large Thunderbird – light blue inside and out with lots of shiny chrome. Most women buy a car for the way it looks. I admit it must be a “pretty” car for me to buy it. Once I owned a GRAY Oldsmobile that I never liked because of the color. This T-Bird was so in love with auto repairmen, it never failed to automatically turn in to any repair shop it saw. There was more investment in repairs than in payments! The career wasn’t going well either.

I was on a spiritual “kick” and along with a spiritual female friend I had been attending events with, I moved to the mountains to share a house with her. We had grandiose plans to raise the money to buy a Boy Scout camp that had originally been built by an Indian Prophet, temple, et al. At that time it was for sale for a million dollars. It had the usual camp buildings plus this lovely Indian temple, round in structure with a golden dome. We found a house we could rent just outside the gate. There was an apartment downstairs so that Debbie and I had our own living space.

I was unbelievably broke and facing Bankruptcy. Debbie got a job in Lake Arrowhead at the Ice Cream Parlor while I worked as a cocktail waitress at the Inn. It wasn’t much but anything helped. Jeannie and I wrote letters asking for donations and attempted to find someone who could afford to buy the camp.

We wanted to create a retreat where anyone could go. We planned to offer courses for those who wished to go deeper into their spiritual path. It was to be open to all who needed a retreat. If one wanted to paint or write a book, this would be the place they could find peace and contentment.

Much to my chagrin, I was forced to turn in my beautiful but “a bomb” T-Bird back to the finance company. Of course, my credit plummeted. I had held on to a few hundred dollars that would help buy a car. I found a used car dealer in San Bernardino who sold all his cars for under $600. Ahh, that was the place for me. I found a large Mercury – I don’t recall the year, I remember it had an electric back window that was great for air circulation. It ran well the whole time that I had it. I ended up dating the owner a bit but don’t recall that helped me with the price of the car!

When late August and early September fog set in along mountain roads and my daughter facing her fun socializing last year of high school, suddenly great fear set in on ME! We were not getting anywhere with our Spiritual Center plans – My friend and her son seemed to be “way out in left field” in their actions and thinking. Debbie and I discussed the situation and made a quick decision to move to the desert.

School had just begun – Debbie missed only a few days. I had just enough money to pay for an apartment. I found a job immediately as a hostess in a restaurant in one of the best hotels. I had the early shift so that I planned to work two jobs. I didn’t even have money enough to pay for Debbie’s school supplies.

Only a few nights after we moved into the one bedroom furnished apartment, I heard a loud crash out on the street. When I went out past the pool to the street parking, there was my Mercury with the back fender smashed. GREAT! That was all I needed – a hit and run driver! The next morning I reported it to the police for all the good it would do – but – as luck would have it – the driver called the police and gave his name, insurance, etc. Within days I had an insurance payment enough to get us by for Debbie’s school supplies, etc. The Mercury never got repaired.

That was September – the job was very hard and very little money. By the time I got finished with my shift, after walking and on my feet all day, my feet and body were so tired, I couldn’t work another job. Perhaps due to the glamour of being a model, I was generally accepted anywhere. One day, I sat at the bar of the hotel where I was working, talking to a friend who was staying in the hotel. The manager told me I was not allowed to be in the bar at the hotel. I got a bit huffy at their ridiculous rules. European macho men owned the hotel and I was a bit too independent to put up with macho men’s attitudes. I began looking for work as a cocktail waitress.

In those days, cocktail waitresses were older with year of experience. I described cocktail waitresses as women could “bite nails with their teeth” and I don’t mean fingernails!

I was still very “green.” As a non-drinker, I didn’t know the names or content of different drinks, which caused some embarrassment for me. I went to work at the bar popular as a dance spot with very heavy weekend traffic. I do recall a man ordering Scotch and I asked if he wanted it with coke. I got a weird look and quickly learned the mixes. I met lots of guys. It was great for dating. It was hard work. I remember that I had rather go dancing than work there. “Caribbean Woman” was the popular song that I loved dancing to.

I don’t recall how the offer to have the coat and cigarette concession came up for the new nightspot, “Jilly’s.” You may have been part owner. I know that Jilly was one of your best friends. I got the job and created a cute uniform of a white blouse, short white leather skirt with a gold chain hanging belt. I bought the cigarettes at the drugstore across the street and put them in the tray selling for about twice what I paid. Very few coats came in when I took the job – it was before Thanksgiving and still warm in Palm Springs. Being a non-smoker, I knew nothing about purchasing cigarettes. I depended on the cocktail waitresses to tell me what to buy and what price to charge. I was not very smart about getting good tips. That seems to be a learned trait. I felt like such a novice among the cocktail waitresses who made it their profession for years. In those days, unlike today, a woman had to be older and experienced to get the really good cocktail waitress jobs. I finally learned that by changing the price of the cigarettes so that I gave the customer back only dimes. The little dimes seemed too small to pick up but not showy enough for a tip, so it increased my tips greatly.

When one entered Jilly’s on Indian Avenue, there was a dining area and the bar that had a small stage for entertainers. In the larger back dining room was my little coat check booth. This room was not always occupied so that I could get away from the smoke-filled bar area. It was the room that you and your guest usually occupied.

Being from New York, Jilly attracted many New Yorkers, thus, better coat tips. Jilly wasn’t there very often. The manager, Jimmy, who was my boss, was a very typical not-to-bright Brooklyn “hood” type man. It took a lot of psychology to get along with him.

You came in several times a week. I was seeing Frank Sinatra IN PERSON for the first time – THE legend! “Old Blue Eyes” known the world over! Your eyes were very expressive but I saw in them great loneliness. You stared at me often. I didn’t just imagine it because you seemed to find some excuse to come over and talk to me when I was at the coat booth. I watched your groups come and go – puppets all.

No doubt you had your reasons for a bit of paranoia. I had never seen anyone insist on all unopened bottles of booze and mixers. I was amused at the show – you were the puppeteer. Famous and rich people were your puppets. You were the king – You spoke, they listened - you stood, all rose! I am sure you enjoyed that kind of power and adulation; yet, we each live in our own cocoon with our own personal needs, insecurities, etc. You definitely had yours.

Dear sweet, Ruby, of Ruby Dunes, your favorite restaurant, was always so kind to me. Ruby always liked me but knew, of course, he was much too old for me. He had allowed a friend and me to stay at his house on occasions when visiting Palm Springs. He would often talk to me about you. “Match Maker, Match Maker, make me a match!” Ruby wanted us to get together. Ruby’s was the “hot spot” in the desert in those days. If anyone wanted to see stars, they went to Ruby’s. Your booth was in the corner and rarely occupied by anyone except you and your guest. I rarely saw you with a date. On Thursday night large fresh lobsters were flown in from New England and were they good! They were consistently huge and the best! Consistent good meals are never forgotten.

Speaking of lasting memories at Ruby Dunes, one evening a friend and I went there on a rainy evening. After having drinks at the bar, we decided it leave. As we stood under that small half round awning awaiting our car, Lucille Ball’s husband, Gary, came barreling out the door, pushing us out into the rain stating, “Step aside, Miss Ball is coming through!” “What the hell right does MISS BALL have to have us pushed out in the rain!” I said.

I felt a bit weird with Ruby trying to “fix” me up with you. After all, you had your choice of the most beautiful and the richest women in the world! Still, that never kept our eyes from fixing on each other each time you came into Jilly’s as well as at Ruby’s. I certainly was not going to make any forward advances toward THE Frank Sinatra and you seemed a bit shy toward saying anything very personal to me.

I remember Barbara Marks often sitting at the bar in Ruby’s. I assume she had her “eye” on you at the time but you didn’t seem interested or pursue her at all. I knew of her from my friend, John Guedel, who produced Grocho Marks’ show, John pointed her out and told of her marriage to one of the Marks brothers. John had also opened his house to some of my friend and me when we wanted to go to Palm Springs for the weekend. If my memory is correct, it was in the same complex with your house as well as some of the Marks brothers.

At Jilly’s I was making just enough to barely get by. Christmas was upon me with no money to spend. My brother’s son had been killed in August in a car accident. I wished that I could send gifts to his family as well as making Debbie’s Christmas special.

You had several guests in your home for the holidays. One was a cook from New York. We talked often at Jilly’s. I explained my plight to him one evening when he gave me a ride home from work. Debbie had used my car. We talked about the sterility of Jilly’s at Christmas time and that a few decorations would help. When I started to get out of the car, he pushed some bills in my hand and told me to spent no more than $50. for decorations, buy a special cigarette lighter for him and use the rest for Debbie’s and my Christmas.

When I got in the house, sitting on my bed, I opened the bills – a hundred dollar bill, another and another – at least five one hundred dollar bills or more! It looked like thousands to me at that time! My heart leaped with joy. I awoke Debbie to tell her there really WAS a Santa Clause! My sleep was restless – what could he “expect” in return? No man gives THAT kind of money without expecting some sort of sexual favors! NO! I could not accept it! I would not have any sort of obligation “hanging over my head!” I never would accept money from any man! As I have grown older, sometimes I regret that I did not make wiser decisions regarding men and their money when I was young and cute.

I did as he requested. I found the lighter he wanted and purchased ample Christmas decorations. I went to Jilly’s around noon to decorate. When I gave him the lighter, he took out a small piece of paper - lit it and it denigrated before my eyes! I did not want to know more! I assumed there might be some sort of Mafia affiliations and I wanted no part of it. I did not want to know a thing! I thanked him for his caring and concern for us but I could not accept his money. I made it very clear that I had nothing to offer him in return. As I explained and handed him the money he walked away saying he expected or wanted nothing from me.

It seems I still had around $500. left which I held onto like gold! I remember keeping it in the house terrified someone would steal it. I wrapped it in plastic and taped it behind my nightstand or under a drawer, moving it from one to the other. It was my emergency “stash” and gave me comfort to know it was THERE after bankruptcy and having nothing. I held on to it through the spring when I found it necessary to return to L.A. to look for work when tourist season ended in the desert that became disserted.

Danny, one of your best friends, lived in both San Francisco and Palm Springs. He was in your group in Jilly’s having dinner. He wanted to have a party for you at his house. Jimmy, the manager, was sending the band over to play. Jimmy came up to me and said Frank wants you to go to the party as his date. I told Jimmy it was too early for me to leave. Jimmy looked at me stunned. “If Frank wants you to go – you GO!” I WAS curious to know more about the real Frank Sinatra! Maybe this was the opportunity to see what was behind the loneliness I saw in your expressive blue eyes.

We went in Ruby’s car. He drove; you and I sat in the front seat with him. Like many “macho” men, seems the two of you carried on a conversation with each other more than with me. You did manage to show some affection, like a simple kiss. I noticed a very prominent scar behind your ear. Vaguely, I remembered stories about how you got it. There were always rumors about your Mafia connections. I really did not want to know a anything about those connections. I was totally surprised with your kisses. Somehow I imagined this extremely romantic, sexy singer would also be romantic in person. Not so! Your kisses reminded me of an awkward schoolboy not really knowing how to be sensuous. I, too, felt very awkward. Through the years I dated numerous famous men so that was not an issue with me. I did not want to be just “another notch on your belt” that you would forget after “a romp in the hay.” Fortunately or unfortunately which ever the case might be, I was having my period and no way was I open to have sex! I really wanted to know what went on inside of you – to know the real you. Silly me! Perhaps your interest in me was because you saw something of Grace Kelly in me as so many others had. Maybe you fell in love with Grace when you worked together in “High Society.”

Danny and his wife’s house was fairly new and was a lovely home. We headed for the bar. You were upset because the musicians were not there yet. Big deal! I didn’t see what difference it made. You reminded me of - again – a little boy stomping his feet to get his way. You went behind the bar, which was sunken so that your eyes were at my eye level. Two girls were there and in my estimation a bit “cheap” looking. They asked you for a drink and you replied in rather insulting words. Oh, oh! I took a look at you and thought – “If you talk to me in that tone of voice, I’m outta here!” I guess you saw it in my eyes because your whole mannerism changed as you asked me very sweetly “Honey, what would you like to drink.” There weren’t a lot of people there. You kept asking where is the band? Everyone seemed tense that you were upset! You grabbed me and told Ruby “Let’s get out of here!” I came with you so obviously I had to leave with you but I felt you were totally rude to the host and hostess. They were your friends and I am sure understood you far better than I did but they seemed upset that you were angry.

Ruby dropped us off at your house and went his way. I don’t remember much about your home. We seemed to enter the den and bar area. It was fairly ordinary looking – nice, but nothing spectacular. Perhaps other parts of it were more impressive. I believe it had several guest apartments. Books are always a way to know something about a person. I stood looking at your books while you went behind the bar. There on the bookshelves sat your Oscar. Ahhh, and my dream of owning one myself. I asked if I could pick it up. I never realized you received two Oscars – one in 1945 for “The House I Live In” – I did remember the 1953 “Maggio” role in “From Here to Eternity” – plus another nomination for “The Man With the Golden Arm,” which should have won. It was not the first Oscar that I held. Richard Lang, whom I dated off and on for several years, had Clark Gable’s Oscar. Gable had given it to him when he was a small boy. He had used it for a hammer. He had it reshaped and re-dipped in gold and in tiptop shape to give to Gable’s son.

Among your books was Pablo Picasso’s art works. I never knew you were called the “Picasso of Popular Music.” I was amused and told you – “You’re a bit like Picasso, I think. Seems to me Picasso sometimes tested just how far that he could go with the ridiculous. Still people bought and adored every thing he did. You are like that. I think you also test just how far you can go with people who flock around you like puppy dogs.” I don’t remember your comment if any. We talked a bit when I made a terrible choice of words. I wanted you to know that I was with you because I wanted to know YOU not the “LEGEND” – so, instead of thinking before I spoke, I started a sentence with “I’ve never been that much of a fan of yours…” WRONG thing to say! You never let me finish my statement. You stomped over to the phone and said angrily “I’ll get someone to come and take you home!” With several drinks in me, I got mad that you would not let me finish what I was saying, so I said, “Never mind, I can get home!” I saw where the gate release button was and hit it and off I went into the dark night! God! Now, I can’t believe I did that. Did I think I could walk 13 miles home after midnight across the desert! I was mad and hurt maybe a bit embarrassed too.

As I look back on the whole scenario now, it seems a bit humorous or Daemon Runyon-ish! I didn’t get more than a few blocks down the road, which is now Frank Sinatra Drive, when the big black Cadillac came screeching up in front of me, blocking my path. Jimmy was driving and Jilly was in the passenger side. Jilly jumped out and said, “Get in the car, Broad!” shoving me between the two of them. Was I to be taken out in the desert and shot or what? Jimmy wheeled the car around and drove back to your house. Jilly jumped out as you stood at your front door (not the one we had entered earlier), “What shall we do with her Frank?” he yelled out. “Take her home.” “Which car should we use?” Jilly yelled out - (like it mattered!) By this time, I was really upset, with all the commotion I knew for sure there went my job that I desperately needed with Debbie in her senior year of high school and only a few months to go. I walked toward you and told you that I had done NOTHING to you – and you were causing me to loose my job that I needed. Then I said, “You look like the loneliest man in the world.” (I guess Barbara Marks soon changed all that!) With that remark, Jilly was really angry and pushed me back in the car. Jimmy wheeled the big black Cadillac out the driveway back toward Palm Springs.

This was even more Daemon Runyon – both Jimmy and Jilly assured me that I no longer had a job! As we rode back on one of the side roads, we came upon a car sitting upside down on the road. Jimmy was going to barrel right past them but I ORDERED him to see if anyone was hurt. “You can’t just leave those people there without trying to help them!” I blurted out. (After all, I’d lost my job, what did I have to loose now except, maybe – my life?) No one was hurt. They drove on to my house and dropped me off.

Needless to say, I had a very restless night with no money and no job facing me. I didn’t know what I was going to do. About 11 A.M. the next morning, Jimmy called me and asked, “What time you coming in tonight?” like nothing had happened. I said, “I thought I was fired?” “Be there at 6!” he said, end of conversation. From that evening it was never mentioned again.

I don’t remember if you continued to come into Jilly’s thereafter or did I choose to go back to LA within a short time. I was working on tips only so when the tourist left the desert, the money was scarce.

My heart went out to you when your mother was killed in a plane crash in the mountains between the desert and Las Vegas, on her way to Vegas. With the past events, I didn’t feel it my place to say or do anything. You were so close and devastated with her death. Perhaps today you are with her once again – I hope so.

I must say with all the rumors I had heard about your generosity and heavy tipping. I certainly never experienced it. I knew others that had received your “blessings!” You sent a cocktail waitress that you liked to Florida on your private plane when she needed to be there for some emergency. There were stories like that floating around about your helping people, just not me!

Debbie stayed with friends while I went back to LA to seek work. She had done well popularity-wise in school. She was Rodeo Sweetheart along with runner-up in several beauty contests around the desert. She was very popular and had lots of friends.

I would come back to the desert often. On one occasion when visiting with Ruby, he said he was meeting you later in the afternoon with a group of people, why didn’t I join him at Jilly’s. I did not like the way things had ended and would have liked to at least be on friendlier terms. I told him I was meeting a friend. He said bring her along but not to be late. Sure enough, she was late. We arrived about thirty or forty-five minutes late. Ruby had gone. I shall never forget - we had barely sat down at a table in front of where you were sitting with your group to your left and right. You took one look at me, and then you seems like a choir director, you stood, raised your hands and all the puppets stood up and left with you. Not a word to me! That was it!

Almost two year later, after Debbie vanished off the face of the earth, and after I had stood all the grief and endless police investigations of her disappearance that I could handle in Texas, I returned to California for some R and R. I recall driving into LA to stay with friends. It was Thanksgiving weekend. They were gone. Instead of staying there alone at their house, I decided to turn around and head back to Palm Springs. While there, I was having dinner with Ruby at Ruby Dunes, when you came in and joined us. You hardly spoke to me. Ruby exclaimed to you that it was such a tragedy that my daughter, Debbie, had disappeared and I shall never forget your response, “Oh that’s too bad what time are we playing golf in the morning” without a breath between! What a cold, indifferent, impersonal response I thought! I was a bit annoyed at your attitude. That was the last time I ever saw you.

I thought about your cold response through the years, as my daughter never turned up dead or alive. Perhaps it was at the suggestion of others that knew about this whole scenario that because of your ego and the fact that I had walked out that night, could it be possible that you had anything to do with her disappearance. That I will never know. Chances are that you did not; still it is an unanswered question in the minds of those who knew.

For the next few days, maybe weeks, you will be eulogized again and again. Thousands, millions will grieve for you. Every radio station will play all your old records. They always take advantage of these times of morning to commercialize.

With rumors of family squabbling over your estate for the past few months, it seemed clear that no matter what family members hope your last days on earth were good. Barbara certainly stood by you through these years, looking smashing and ageless. I hope you were very happy with her.

It would have been nice for our limited association to be of a more positive nature but at least it makes for an interesting story, don’t you think? It is always interesting to see the inner circles and personal life of one as famous as you – to see that you too had “feet of clay” no different from the rest of us no matter how insignificant one may feel his or her life may be.

The day of your funeral so many famous people turned out to pay their tributes to you. Flown to the desert in a private plane your body was “laid to rest” there. They mentioned Jilly was buried in the same cemetery, perhaps Ruby, too. Tell Ruby “hello” for me and give him a hug. Soon or later, we’ll all get “there.” At this mature age –seems as though so many are THERE and not HERE! “How time flies!” Most of the “Rat Pack” must be with you now celebrating your arrival! Party time! Each Christmas season there are advertisements for the Christmas songs of the Rat Pack – and I recall how strange it seems today that I did have that date with you, Dean Martin and had dinner and drinks with Peter Lawford, his wife and my date. reported to the press, you were pretty sick. I have no reason to hold ill will toward you. I

You made your mark on history in your career of 50 or more years - from teen idol to “Picasso of Popular Music” to “Chairman of the Board” and the “Grand Old Man of Music that touched the hearts of all.” You were a King in every way and you DID IT YOUR WAY! No matter how grand your accomplishments as a singer, actor, producer, popularity with the world, the only Frank Sinatra I ever wanted to know was the real person inside, your innermost thoughts, fears, your loves – that was my reason for being with you. I don’t know why you wanted to be with me – did I remind you of Grace Kelly? I just know that it wasn’t a momentary decision to ask me to go with you to Danny’s party or to your home because you had starred at me for months before with a longing stare that I will never know your real reason for inviting me into your life. For a little girl in Texas when both you and Dean Martin were already famous stars to grow up and date you both seems like a very far fetched idea, but it did happen and now I cherish those memories.

POSTSCRIPT: Years later, upon returning to Palm Springs as an ordained minister, I did many weddings in and around the Palm Springs area. One special wedding was for Frank Sinatra fans. The couple wanted everything in Sinatra taste. The bride said that your favorite color was orange, so we did orange flowers and decorations. Not only did I officiate their wedding, I did all the planning. We kept the cake, flowers, everything that we could create similar to the Sinatra image. They decided to have their wedding at the bar at Ingleside Inn on New Year’s Eve. I didn’t think they would allow it but they did. It was held under the Frank Sinatra photograph at the piano bar. A Frank Sinatra impersonator provided the music and the whole New Years evening was a huge success and memorable event. I spent days collecting titles of your songs, which I used in the vows: “Maybe This Time” “Love Walked In” and you found “Love and Marriage” is when “The Look of Love” was in your eyes. “More Than You Know” this IS a sacred commitment between the two of you. Maybe you think “You’re taking a Chance On Love” but “That’s Life.” “This is All I Ask” is “To Love and Be Loved.” “There Are Such Things” “Just In Time” “If” you use your “Imagination” always finding things to share and tell each other “It’s Always You” and “I Love You”. “Fairy Tales” begin with “Once Upon a Time” and I’ll bet you both thought “For Once in My Lifetime” it is “From Here to Eternity” and you’re both filled with “High Hopes.” “How Little We Know” of the real depth of the love between two people.

FRANK SINATRA’S WIVES:

Barbara Marx – (May 1976 – May 14^th, 1998 (his death)

Mia Farrow – (19 July 1966 - 1968) (divorced)

Ava Gardner – (7 November 1951 - 5 July 1957) (divorced)

Nancy Barbato (4 February 1939 - 1951) (divorced) 3 children Nancy (b. 1940), Frank (b.1944), Christina (b.1948)

Hungarian-born actress Eva Bartok claimed that her daughter, Deana, born in 1957 and fathered by Sinatra during a brief affair after his Ava Gardner breakup. Hr never acknowledged paternity.

GENERAL INFORMATION:

Sinatra grew up poor in Hoboken, New Jersey. It gave him the determination to succeed. He was a saloon singer, then a band singer, first with Harry James, then Tommy Dorsey. In the early 1940s as a kid, I remember the bobbysoxer frenzy in the newsreels at the movies and radio. They swooned over him and all the silly stuff that continues with musicians today. After his years of performing as a singer, he had a natural ability for acting with no formal training. His singing career was almost ended in 1952 after a vocal cord hemorrhage. Fortune smiled on him with the role of Maggio in From Here to Eternity in 1953 that won him an Oscar. He also won a special Academy Award for the 1945’s The House I Live In, in 1971 the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award - Bob Hope, who hosted the Oscars that year, remarked, “It’s interesting how Sinatra announced his retirement, and they gave him a humanitarian award.” He was honored with a Lifetime Achievement award, named Humanitarian of the Year in 1983 by the Variety Clubs of America, an Academy Awards for his many contributions to charity over the years. He hosted or co-hosted the Academy Awards in 1963, 1969, 1975, and 1985. He was named Entertainer of the Century in 2000 and inducted into the Big Band and Jazz Hall of Fame in 1980. I assume the “Rat Pack” was more or less an accidentally formed group of entertainers that all performed in Las Vegas consisting of Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., Peter Lawford and Joey Bishop, plus Shirley MacLaine and probably a few others. Sinatra was referred to as “Chairman of the Board.”

The epitaph on Sinatra’s headstone reads “The best is yet to come.” At his funeral, friends and family members placed items in his coffin that include ten dimes, several Tootsie Roll candies, a pack of Black Jack chewing gum, a roll of wild cherry Life Savers candy, a ring engraved with the word “Dream”, a mini bottle of Jack Daniel’s whiskey, a pack of Camel cigarettes, and a Zippo cigarette lighter. A provision in Sinatra’s will stated that if anyone contests it, they are automatically disinherited.

PERSONAL QUOTES:

“I’m trying to figure out, Chairman of what Board? People come up to me and seriously say ‘Well, what are you Chairman of?’ And I can’t answer them.” “I’m for anything that gets you through the night, be it prayer, tranquilizers or a bottle of Jack Daniels.” “A friend is never an imposition.” His last words: “I’m losing it”. After Dean Martin quit The Together Again Tour “You can’t put a gun to his head. He just didn’t want to do it.” “Nothing anybody’s said or written about me ever bothers me, except when it does.” “I’m next. I ain’t scared, either. Everybody I ever knew is already over there.” (After the deaths of Sammy Davis Jr., Ava Gardner, Jilly Rizzo, and Dean Martin.) On Elvis Presley’s early years: “His kind of music is deplorable, a rancid smelling aphrodisiac...It fosters almost totally negative and destructive reactions in young people.” Then on Elvis Presley’s death in 1977 “There have been many accolades uttered about his talent and performances through the years all of which I agree to whole-heartedly, I shall miss him dearly as a friend.” On Ava Gardner “I love her, and God damn me for it.”

FRANK SINATRA’S FILMS AND TV

(Mostly he appeared as himself):

Gene Kelly: Anatomy of a Dancer (2002), Nightclub Years, The (2001), “Jazz” (2001), All the Way... A Decade of Song (1999), Yours for a Song: The Women of Tin Pan Alley (1999),Off the Menu: The Last Days of Chasen’s (1998), Kennedys: The Power, Seduction and Hollywood (1998), Frank Sinatra: The Very Good Years (1998), Frank Sinatra: The Bobby Sox Years (1998), The Music of Kander and Ebb: Razzle Dazzle (1997), Judy Garland’s Hollywood (1997),L.A. Confidential (1997), Las Vegas: Gamble in the Desert and House of Cards (1996),Rodgers & Hammerstein: The Sound of Movies (1996), Sinatra: 80 Years My Way (1995), Television’s Greatest Performances (1995), The First 100 Years: A Celebration of American Movies (1995), Young at Heart (1995), Sinatra Duets (1994), Bob Hope: Happy 91^st Birthday, Bob (1994), La Classe américaine (1993), In Person (1993), Fame in the Twentieth Century (1993), A Place of Dreams: Carnegie Hall at 100 (1991), Empire of the Air: The Men Who Made Radio (1991), Frank Sinatra: The Best Is Yet to Come (1990), You’re the Top: The Cole Porter Story (1990), Listen Up: The Lives of Quincy Jones (1990), Sammy Davis, Jr. 60^th Anniversary Celebration (1990), The 1950’s: Music, Memories & Milestones (1988), Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988), That’s Dancing! (1985), Salute to Lady Liberty (1984), Cannonball Run II (1984), The Kennedy Center Honors (1983), TheFirst Deadly Sin (1980), Sinatra: The First 40 Years (1980), Cinderella at the Palace (1978), Contract on Cherry Street (1977), All-Star Tribute to John Wayne, An (1976), That’s Entertainment, Part II (1976), John Denver and Friend (1976), The American Film Institute Salute to Orson Welles (1975), The World at War (1974), René Simard au Japon (1974), That’s Entertainment! (1974), Dirty Dingus Magee (1970), The 42^nd Annual Academy Awards (1970), Frank Sinatra: Sinatra (1969), Frank Sinatra: Francis Albert Sinatra Does His Thing (1968), Lady in Cement (1968), “Dean Martin Presents the Golddiggers” (1968), The Detective (1968), Think Twentieth (1967), Movin’ with Nancy (1967), Tony Rome (1967), The Naked Runner (1967), Frank Sinatra: A Man and His Music Part II (1966), The Oscar (1966), Assault on a Queen (1966), Cast a Giant Shadow (1966), Tribute to the Will Rogers Memorial Hospital, A (1965), Marriage on the Rocks (1965), Von Ryan’s Express (1965), None But the Brave (1965), Robin and the 7 Hoods (1964), Paris - When It Sizzles (1964), 4 for Texas (1963), A New Kind of Love (1963), Come Blow Your Horn (1963), The List of Adrian Messenger (1963), Sinatra in Israel (1962), Turn of the Tide (1962), The Manchurian Candidate (1962), Advise and Consent (1962), The Road to Hong Kong (1962), The Judy Garland Show (1962), Sergeants 3 (1962), The Devil at 4 O’Clock (1961), Pepe (1960), Ocean’s Eleven (1960), Frank Sinatra’s Welcome Home Party for Elvis Presley (1960), Can-Can (1960), Invitation to Monte Carlo (1959), Never So Few (1959), Premier Khrushchev in the USA (1959), Hole in the Head, A (1959), Some Came Running (1958), Kings Go Forth (1958), Joker Is Wild, The (1957), Pal Joey (1957), The Frank Sinatra Show (1957), Private Little Party for a Few Chums, A (1957), The Edsel Show (1957), Pride and the Passion, The (1957), Around the World in Eighty Days (1956), High Society (1956), Johnny Concho (1956), Meet Me in Las Vegas (1956), Screen Snapshots: Playtime in Hollywood (1956), The Man with the Golden Arm (1955), The Tender Trap (1955), Guys and Dolls (1955), Not as a Stranger (1955), Dateline: Disneyland (1955), The 27^th Annual Academy Awards (1955), Young at Heart (1955),Anything Goes (1954), Suddenly (1954), 26^th Annual Academy Awards, The (1954), From Here to Eternity (1953), Screen Snapshots: Hollywood Night Life (1952), Danny Wilson (1952), Double Dynamite (1951), “Frank Sinatra Show, The” (1950), On the Town (1949), Take Me Out to the Ball Game (1949),Lucky Strike Salesman’s Movie 48-A (1948), The Kissing Bandit (1948), The Miracle of the Bells (1948), It Happened in Brooklyn (1947), Till the Clouds Roll by (1946), The House I Live In (1945), MGM Christmas Trailer (1945), Anchors Aweigh (1945), All-Star Bond Rally, The (1945), Road to Victory (1944), Higher and Higher (1943), Show Business at War (1943), Upbeat in Music (1943), Step Lively (1943), Reveille with Beverly (1943), Ship Ahoy (1942), Las Vegas Nights (1941), Major Bowes Amateur Theater of the Air (1935)

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER:

First Deadly Sin, The (1980) (executive producer) Hole in the Head, A (1959)

PRODUCER:

None But the Brave (1965), Robin and the 7 Hoods (1964), Sergeants 3 (1962), X-15 (1961) Johnny Concho (1956)

TV GUEST APPEARANCES:

“Hudson Street” (1995), “Daddy Dearest” (1993), “Who’s the Boss?” (1984), “Magnum, P.I.” (1980), The Name of the Game (1968) several, The Danny Thomas Hour (1967), “What’s My Line?” (1950), “The Hollywood Palace” (1964), “The Dean Martin Show” (1965), “Burke’s Law” (1963), “The Bob Hope Show” (1952), “Toast of the Town” (1948), “Producers’ Showcase” (1954), “The Jack Benny Program” (1950).