[Gail]

Originally Posted by Nancy

Wrote one critic:
"Through subtleties of gesture and of voice - a shift of tone, a way of rushing or delaying the beat - Mr. Sinatra brought to his songs a sense of hard-fought inner drama that made them character studies as well as musical gems."

Don't know if people are reading these so I'm repeating this one.

worth repeating....and repeating....... I read this thread each time I log on

[Nancy]

Another wonderful tidbit:

"Doris is so cute," said FS. "She has something wonderful about her style. It kind of bubbles. I love working with her." Doris remembered, "Frank is a wonderful guy to work with. I really owe him so much. Just watching him and working with him is a lot of help to any singer. He's so relaxed, he gave me confidence. He's just the sweetest person I've ever known in the business."

[SinatraFan]

(From the Guestbook page and the online book Frank Sinatra: An American Legend by Nancy Sinatra )

SEPTEMBER 5-14, 1985: Dad played to sold-out audiences for his entire nine-show engagement at Carnegie Hall. Wrote one critic: "Through subtleties of gesture and of voice - a shift of tone, a way of rushing or delaying the beat - Mr. Sinatra brought to his songs a sense of hard-fought inner drama that made them character studies as well as musical gems."

SEPTEMBER 8–20, 1981: He played a two-week engagement with George Shearing at Carnegie Hall. George, who was blind, called Frank "Old Blue Eyes" and himself "Old No Eyes."

SEPTEMBER 8–20, 1980: Frank returned to London for memorable concerts at the Royal Festival and Royal Albert Halls. Critic Derek Jewell of the Sunday Times wrote: "Sinatra has become the keeper of the flame for everyone from 40 to 80. His songs distill the youth, the nostalgia of millions. He also happens to be the best at it: an artist of colossal stature. He shapes songs like no one else. That's genius."

From the stage in London, Frank greets
close friend Claudette Colbert, who
wrote: "Frank has had a very special
corner of my heart for a long time."

SEPTEMBER 3-9, 1979: More shows at Atlantic City's Resorts International.

SEPTEMBER 2-8, 1976: While at Caesars Palace, Frank performed another good deed. He made his usual appearance on Jerry Lewis' Labor Day Telethon for Muscular Dystrophy, singing "Stargazer" and Eric Carmen's "Never Gonna Fall in Love Again." Then, capping three months of elaborate secret planning, he said to Jerry, "Listen, I have a friend who loves what you do every year ... Would you send my friend out, please? Where is he?" Out strolled Jerry's former partner, Dean Martin. The two had not seen or spoken to each other in more than 20 years. As they warmly embraced, Dad said, "I think it's about time, don't you?" To which Jerry replied, wiping away tears, "You son of a bitch." To Dean, Jerry said, "So, how ya been?" And Dean replied, "You know, it seems like we haven't seen each other for 20 years." Then Frank and Dean did a 10-song medley. Afterward, Jerry commented, "When Francis Albert is around, usually there's gonna be excitement."

SEPTEMBER 8–20, 1975: FS, Count Basie and Ella Fitzgerald co-headlined for two hugely successful weeks at New York's Uris Theater, grossing more than $1 million. After one show, Dad escorted Jacqueline Onassis to the "21" Club.


Fitzgerald, Basie and Sinatra.

SEPTEMBER 4-18, 1974: Dad and Frankie and I played Harrah's in Lake Tahoe and then headed a bill at Caesars in Vegas. It was a family affair, with my mother, Hugh and A.J. along as well.

AUGUST 30-SEPTEMBER 9, 1967: He did two weeks at the Sands, missing three nights because of fatigue.

AUGUST 23-SEPTEMBER 8, 1963: With Dean and Sammy, he headlined a two-week engagement at the Sands.

SEPTEMBER 8, 1942: Dad left the band for good. He had asked Dorsey to let him out of his contract, but Tommy had refused. So he had to ask for help from some influential friends. Over the years, all sorts of outrageous accounts have been told of how he extricated himself from the punitive Dorsey deal—and the stories are as punishing and unfair as that ridiculous contract, which my dad described as a "ratty piece of paper. It called for me to pay him one third of my earnings for as long as I was in the entertainment business."

FRANK ON GETTING OUT OF THE DORSEY CONTRACT: It began to come out of the ground that my mother went to Tommy or that the racket guys went to Tommy and convinced him that he should let me go. And that's so far afield it's scary. It's incredible.

BREAKING THE DORSEY CONTRACT: While the band was performing in Washington, D.C., Dad went into Dorsey's dressing room and told him he wanted to leave. Dorsey smiled. "What for?" he asked. "You're doing great with the band and we've got a lot of arrangements for you." Dad said he appreciated all the things Dorsey had done for him, but now he wanted to get on with his career. "I don't think so," said Dorsey, citing the terms of their contract: 43 percent of his professional income for life. Dad replied, "I had a contract with Harry [James], but he took the contract and tore it up and wished me luck." But even when Dad offered to give his boss a year's notice, Dorsey stood firm.

"I loved and admired the guy," said Dad. "He was a taskmaster and a brilliant musician, and I liked the way he made everybody toe the line. But he was also a man who detested the idea that a member of his orchestra would leave. He wanted the band to be set. I could understand that, because the orchestra was drilled like a platoon and when new men arrived, it meant rehearsing and getting the guy to fit in. But I was earning $150 a week and saw no future."

To Dorsey's dismay, Dad began going out as a single on weekend gigs. Then Columbia's Manie Sacks helped find him a few bookings. That brought angry letters from Dorsey's attorneys, demanding their share of his earnings as specified in the contract. What happened then has been the subject of rumor and innuendo ever since. "According to legend," says Dad, "I secured my release from Tommy when three men told him out of the sides of their mouths to 'sign or else.' What actually happened was I hired a couple of lawyers to get me out of it." Manie Sacks took Frank to Henry Jaffe, an entertainment attorney whose clients included the American Federation of Radio Artists. Dorsey's manager refused even to discuss the contract with Jaffe until FS had paid him the share called for under their original contract.

"Do you like broadcasting on NBC?" Jaffe asked Dorsey, referring to the many shows the band had aired on that network. "I like it a lot," said Dorsey. "Well, then," said Jaffe, "how about we talk about Frank Sinatra and we'll see what kind of deal we can make—that is, if you want to continue on radio." When Dorsey still refused to cancel the contract, Jaffe went to Jules Stein, head of MCA, the talent agency, and offered to let them represent Dad, who was then handled by Rockwell-O'Keefe. Jaffe said he'd get the other agency to release Dad if MCA could get Dorsey to make a deal. So Stein had a heart-to-heart chat with Dorsey. After a series of phone calls from Radio Artists officials and recording executives who took Jaffe's threats very seriously, Dorsey was finally persuaded to take $75,000 and some additional bookings through MCA in exchange for letting Frank go. "My end of it cost me something like $25,000," my father recalled. "I hope you fall on your ass," said Dorsey in a parting shot. But Dad's powerful new agents, Sonny Werblin and Norman Weiss, didn't get to be partners in MCA by betting on the wrong client.

MARIO PUZO ON THE SINATRA/DORSEY LEGEND VS. THE GODFATHER LEGEND: I took something I had heard or read. I can't remember where. I think I just picked it up from one of those gossip columns. It could have been Lee Mortimer. I remember it said that Tommy Dorsey had him all sewn up. I tried to imagine how Frank would feel and think. I constructed a persona based on his legend. I made up the line "I'll make you an offer you can't refuse."

FRANK, WHEN ASKED IF HE WAS THE SINGER PORTRAYED IN THE GODFATHER: No way!

AUGUST 27-SEPTEMBER 16, 1941: After a Midwestern swing, Dorsey returned East for a third sold-out run at the Paramount in New York. By now Dad was the band's big draw, and he was beginning to think about going solo.

SEPTEMBER 8, 1935: Frank Sinatra's first big break came when he and a local trio who called themselves the Three Flashes auditioned separately for an appearance on Major Bowes and His Original Amateur Hour, a popular radio show broadcast nationwide on NBC from the stage of the Capitol Theater in New York. "They won and I won," said my father, "and when I was accepted, the old man said, 'They're going to be on the show a week from Sunday. Why don't we put you on together and we'll call it the Hoboken Four.'" The brash 19-year-old declared on the air, "I'm Frank, Major. We're looking for jobs. How about it? Everyone that's ever heard us, liked us. We think we're pretty good." They sang the Mills Brothers song "Shine"—and racked up the biggest vote in the history of the show, with 40,000 people calling in. Bowes was so impressed that he brought them back several weeks in a row.

MAJOR BOWES' ORIGINAL AMATEUR HOUR: Broadcasting from the stage of New York's Capitol Theater, Major Bowes and His Original Amateur Hour was a Depression-era phenomenon that capitalized on America's hunger for entertainment. Bowes sifted through legions of aspiring singers and entertainers in tryouts, gonging lame or overlong acts off the stage and singling out the best for his NBC show. "Round and round she goes," the Major would intone, "and where she stops, nobody knows." The "she" was the wheel of fortune, and one of those acts, on September. 8, 1935, was the Hoboken Four, Bowes' own name for a singing group that included Sinatra, Pat Principe, James Petrozelli and Fred Tamburro (above), who proceeded to bring down the house—and run up the biggest score on the applause meter in the history of the show.

[Dates of new entries highlighted in blue]

[Gregory]

Originally Posted by SinatraFan

SEPTEMBER 8, 1935: Frank Sinatra's first big break came when he and a local trio who called themselves the Three Flashes auditioned separately for an appearance on Major Bowes and His Original Amateur Hour, a popular radio show broadcast nationwide on NBC from the stage of the Capitol Theater in New York. "They won and I won," said my father, "and when I was accepted, the old man said, 'They're going to be on the show a week from Sunday. Why don't we put you on together and we'll call it the Hoboken Four.'" The brash 19-year-old declared on the air, "I'm Frank, Major. We're looking for jobs. How about it? Everyone that's ever heard us, liked us. We think we're pretty good." They sang the Mills Brothers song "Shine"—and racked up the biggest vote in the history of the show, with 40,000 people calling in. Bowes was so impressed that he brought them back several weeks in a row.

MAJOR BOWES' ORIGINAL AMATEUR HOUR: Broadcasting from the stage of New York's Capitol Theater, Major Bowes and His Original Amateur Hour was a Depression-era phenomenon that capitalized on America's hunger for entertainment. Bowes sifted through legions of aspiring singers and entertainers in tryouts, gonging lame or overlong acts off the stage and singling out the best for his NBC show. "Round and round she goes," the Major would intone, "and where she stops, nobody knows." The "she" was the wheel of fortune, and one of those acts, on September. 8, 1935, was the Hoboken Four, Bowes' own name for a singing group that included Sinatra, Pat Principe, James Petrozelli and Fred Tamburro (above), who proceeded to bring down the house—and run up the biggest score on the applause meter in the history of the show.

[Dates of new entries highlighted in blue]

That's an important date.

[SinatraFan]

(From the Guestbook page and the online book Frank Sinatra: An American Legend by Nancy Sinatra )

SEPTEMBER 9, 1985: FS was interviewed at the Waldorf-Towers by Arlene Francis for her WOR radio show.

SEPTEMBER 5-14, 1985: Dad played to sold-out audiences for his entire nine-show engagement at Carnegie Hall. Wrote one critic: "Through subtleties of gesture and of voice - a shift of tone, a way of rushing or delaying the beat - Mr. Sinatra brought to his songs a sense of hard-fought inner drama that made them character studies as well as musical gems."

SEPTEMBER 8–20, 1981: He played a two-week engagement with George Shearing at Carnegie Hall. George, who was blind, called Frank "Old Blue Eyes" and himself "Old No Eyes."

SEPTEMBER 8–20, 1980: Frank returned to London for memorable concerts at the Royal Festival and Royal Albert Halls. [See September 8th]

SEPTEMBER 3-9, 1979: More shows at Atlantic City's Resorts International.

SEPTEMBER 8–20, 1975: FS, Count Basie and Ella Fitzgerald co-headlined for two hugely successful weeks at New York's Uris Theater, grossing more than $1 million. After one show, Dad escorted Jacqueline Onassis to the "21" Club.

SEPTEMBER 4-18, 1974: Dad and Frankie and I played Harrah's in Lake Tahoe and then headed a bill at Caesars in Vegas. It was a family affair, with my mother, Hugh and A.J. along as well.

AUGUST 30-SEPTEMBER 9, 1967: He did two weeks at the Sands, missing three nights because of fatigue.

SEPTEMBER 9, 1957: It was reported in Time magazine that Frank Sinatra fired off a telegram to Florida Senator George Smathers of the Interstate and Foreign Commerce Committee, accusing Mitch Miller of confessing that he accepted payola in the form of "large sums of money" from songwriters whose songs Miller recorded at Columbia Records. Smathers introduced an amendment to the Federal Communications Act to prevent broadcasters from owning stock in publishing or record companies. It failed to become law.

SEPTEMBER 9, 1946: When Phil Silvers signed to star at the Copacabana in New York, he planned to appear with Rags Ragland, his buddy and best friend from their early days in burlesque. Sadly, Rags died two weeks before opening night, and Phil was about to go on alone, grieving and distraught, when there came a knock on his dressing room door an hour before curtain time. It was his friend Frank Sinatra, who had worked with him on Rags' routines while they were entertaining the troops in Europe. "Hi," he said, "what do we open with?"

[Photo: Edward Ozern]

PHIL SILVERS ON OPENING NIGHT AT THE COPA WITH SINATRA: Frank was in the middle of making a picture in Hollywood, but there he was standing in the doorway. I know Frank—you don't say, "Gee, you came." You play it cool. So I said, "Well, I'll do a few minutes first, and when I touch my tie you appear and we'll do our routines. You know them all." I can't tell you the reaction when he came out and I looked at him and said, "Scram, kid, I work alone." And then the standard jokes like, "I know there's a food shortage, but this is ridiculous," and "The blood bank is two blocks up the street," etc. We proceeded to do an hour and three quarters of material, and at our conclusion received an ovation. But gratitude embarrassed Frank. I looked for him to thank him for this expression of love and friendship, and he was gone—back to Hollywood, where he had caused a two-day delay because of this gesture. But that's Sinatra. You don't thank him. You just lean back and accept it.

AUGUST 27-SEPTEMBER 16, 1941: After a Midwestern swing, Dorsey returned East for a third sold-out run at the Paramount in New York. By now Dad was the band's big draw, and he was beginning to think about going solo.

[Dates of new entries highlighted in blue]

[SinatraFan]

(From the Guestbook page and the online book Frank Sinatra: An American Legend by Nancy Sinatra )

SEPTEMBER 5-14, 1985: Dad played to sold-out audiences for his entire nine-show engagement at Carnegie Hall. Wrote one critic: "Through subtleties of gesture and of voice - a shift of tone, a way of rushing or delaying the beat - Mr. Sinatra brought to his songs a sense of hard-fought inner drama that made them character studies as well as musical gems."

SEPTEMBER 8–20, 1981: He played a two-week engagement with George Shearing at Carnegie Hall. George, who was blind, called Frank "Old Blue Eyes" and himself "Old No Eyes."

SEPTEMBER 8–20, 1980: Frank returned to London for memorable concerts at the Royal Festival and Royal Albert Halls. [See September 8th]

SEPTEMBER 10–16, 1976: Back to Lake Tahoe with John Denver at Harrah's.

SEPTEMBER 8–20, 1975: FS, Count Basie and Ella Fitzgerald co-headlined for two hugely successful weeks at New York's Uris Theater, grossing more than $1 million. After one show, Dad escorted Jacqueline Onassis to the "21" Club.

SEPTEMBER 4-18, 1974: Dad and Frankie and I played Harrah's in Lake Tahoe and then headed a bill at Caesars in Vegas. It was a family affair, with my mother, Hugh and A.J. along as well.

SEPTEMBER 10, 1973: Dad was interviewed on ABCs Wide World of Sports at the Muhammad Ali-Ken Norton heavyweight title bout at the Forum in Inglewood, California.

SEPTEMBER 10, 1965: Dad appeared with Sammy in a predictable pie-throwing episode of The Soupy Sales Show taped earlier that summer in New York.

SEPTEMBER 10–30, 1947: Hearst columnist Westbrook Pegler, fueled by Lee Mortimer and the FBI, resumed his attacks on my father, this time raking up the 1938 morals charge of "seducing a woman of good repute," never mentioning that the woman was discredited and the charges dismissed. In addition, Pegler attempted unsuccessfully to link Frank to a rogues' gallery of gangsters that included not only Lucky Luciano but Frank Costello, Joe Adonis, Longie Zwillman, Bugsy Siegel, Meyer Lansky and Willie Moretti, reputed Mob chief of Bergen County, New Jersey.

AUGUST 27-SEPTEMBER 16, 1941: After a Midwestern swing, Dorsey returned East for a third sold-out run at the Paramount in New York. By now Dad was the band's big draw, and he was beginning to think about going solo.

[Dates of new entries highlighted in blue]

[SinatraFan]

(From the Guestbook page and the online book Frank Sinatra: An American Legend by Nancy Sinatra )

SEPTEMBER 5-14, 1985: Dad played to sold-out audiences for his entire nine-show engagement at Carnegie Hall. Wrote one critic: "Through subtleties of gesture and of voice - a shift of tone, a way of rushing or delaying the beat - Mr. Sinatra brought to his songs a sense of hard-fought inner drama that made them character studies as well as musical gems."

SEPTEMBER 11, 1982: A hospital benefit in Ottawa, Canada, with Rich Little.

SEPTEMBER 8–20, 1981: He played a two-week engagement with George Shearing at Carnegie Hall. George, who was blind, called Frank "Old Blue Eyes" and himself "Old No Eyes."

SEPTEMBER 8–20, 1980: Frank returned to London for memorable concerts at the Royal Festival and Royal Albert Halls. [See September 8th]

SEPTEMBER 11–16, 1978: After a brief break, he was back on the road, this time in London for an engagement at the Royal Festival Hall.

SEPTEMBER 10–16, 1976: Back to Lake Tahoe with John Denver at Harrah's.

SEPTEMBER 8–20, 1975: FS, Count Basie and Ella Fitzgerald co-headlined for two hugely successful weeks at New York's Uris Theater, grossing more than $1 million. After one show, Dad escorted Jacqueline Onassis to the "21" Club.

SEPTEMBER 4-18, 1974: Dad and Frankie and I played Harrah's in Lake Tahoe and then headed a bill at Caesars in Vegas. It was a family affair, with my mother, Hugh and A.J. along as well.

SEPTEMBER 11, 1960: I became Mrs. Tommy Sands. Frank Sinatra gave me away with tears in his eyes. Just before he walked with me down the aisle, he presented me with a pair of star-shaped diamond earrings, "to match the stars in your eyes."

When I married Tommy Sands, Dad didn't interfere or lecture on the hazards of getting married to a singer. We both, of course, realized the obvious parallels, but this was Hollywood, and I was definitely a Hollywood kid—my feet firmly rooted in celluloid, in glorious Technicolor.

SEPTEMBER 10–30, 1947: Hearst columnist Westbrook Pegler, fueled by Lee Mortimer and the FBI, resumed his attacks on my father, this time raking up the 1938 morals charge of "seducing a woman of good repute," never mentioning that the woman was discredited and the charges dismissed. In addition, Pegler attempted unsuccessfully to link Frank to a rogues' gallery of gangsters that included not only Lucky Luciano but Frank Costello, Joe Adonis, Longie Zwillman, Bugsy Siegel, Meyer Lansky and Willie Moretti, reputed Mob chief of Bergen County, New Jersey.

SEPTEMBER 11, 1945: Putting his convictions on the line, Dad played himself, preaching tolerance to a group of boys in The House I Live In, a 10-minute short for RKO—his last project with that studio—on the theme of racial tolerance: "Look, fellas, religion makes no difference except to a Nazi or somebody as stupid. Why, people all over the world worship God in different ways. This wonderful country is made up of a hundred different kinds of people, and a hundred different ways of talking, and a hundred different ways of going to church. But they're all American ways. My dad came from Italy, but I'm an American. Should I hate your father 'cause he came from Ireland or France or Russia? Wouldn't I be a first-class fathead?" The film was written by Albert Maltz, produced by Frank Ross and directed by Mervyn LeRoy, but it was Dad's baby from start to finish: It was his idea, he persuaded everyone involved to donate their time and, because he was the star, its message of tolerance was communicated to a lot of people who might not have been inclined to listen otherwise. The proceeds were donated to various charities, and the film won a special Oscar from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

A staged shot with the cast of the
film The House I Live In.

FRANK ON PREJUDICE: Prejudice is nothing new to me. In Hoboken, when I was a kid, I lived in a tough neighborhood. When somebody called me "a dirty little guinea," there was only one thing to do—break his head. When I got older, I realized you shouldn't do it that way. I realized you've got to do it through education—maybe with a few exceptions.

ORSON WELLES ON SINATRA'S PRINCIPLES: We drove to his uncle's house for calamari and on the way back we stopped for coffee. Our driver, as it happened, was a black man and the guy in the diner wouldn't serve him. Your dad reached across the counter and grabbed this nine-foot giant by the front of his shirt and said, "You're serving coffee for three." After a beat, the man said, "Yes." No sporting event here. It was a mosquito vs. a gorilla. Frank made the score with sheer force of character.



Gathering in the Oscar for The House I Live In, FS shares the stage with the actor (later senator) who presented it, George Murphy, and the young actress Peggy Ann Garner. He could not have known how long it would be before he'd hold another Oscar or how important the next one would be to his life, career and spirits.

AUGUST 27-SEPTEMBER 16, 1941: After a Midwestern swing, Dorsey returned East for a third sold-out run at the Paramount in New York. By now Dad was the band's big draw, and he was beginning to think about going solo.

[Dates of new entries highlighted in blue]

"FRANK ON PREJUDICE: Prejudice is nothing new to me. In Hoboken, when I was a kid, I lived in a tough neighborhood. When somebody called me "a dirty little guinea," there was only one thing to do—break his head. When I got older, I realized you shouldn't do it that way. I realized you've got to do it through education—maybe with a few exceptions."

---I like the "maybe with a few exceptions" part.

"ORSON WELLES ON SINATRA'S PRINCIPLES: We drove to his uncle's house for calamari and on the way back we stopped for coffee. Our driver, as it happened, was a black man and the guy in the diner wouldn't serve him. Your dad reached across the counter and grabbed this nine-foot giant by the front of his shirt and said, "You're serving coffee for three." After a beat, the man said, "Yes." No sporting event here. It was a mosquito vs. a gorilla. Frank made the score with sheer force of character."

---This obviously qualified as an "exception". Such a wonderful story.

[SinatraFan]

(From the Guestbook page and the online book Frank Sinatra: An American Legend by Nancy Sinatra )

SEPTEMBER 5-14, 1985: Dad played to sold-out audiences for his entire nine-show engagement at Carnegie Hall. Wrote one critic: "Through subtleties of gesture and of voice - a shift of tone, a way of rushing or delaying the beat - Mr. Sinatra brought to his songs a sense of hard-fought inner drama that made them character studies as well as musical gems."

SEPTEMBER 12, 1982: At the Hilton in New York, Frank Sinatra was inducted into the Broadcasters Hall of Fame.

SEPTEMBER 8–20, 1981: He played a two-week engagement with George Shearing at Carnegie Hall. George, who was blind, called Frank "Old Blue Eyes" and himself "Old No Eyes."

SEPTEMBER 8–20, 1980: Frank returned to London for memorable concerts at the Royal Festival and Royal Albert Halls. [See September 8th]

SEPTEMBER 11–16, 1978: After a brief break, he was back on the road, this time in London for an engagement at the Royal Festival Hall.

SEPTEMBER 10–16, 1976: Back to Lake Tahoe with John Denver at Harrah's.

SEPTEMBER 8–20, 1975: FS, Count Basie and Ella Fitzgerald co-headlined for two hugely successful weeks at New York's Uris Theater, grossing more than $1 million. After one show, Dad escorted Jacqueline Onassis to the "21" Club.

SEPTEMBER 4-18, 1974: Dad and Frankie and I played Harrah's in Lake Tahoe and then headed a bill at Caesars in Vegas. It was a family affair, with my mother, Hugh and A.J. along as well.

SEPTEMBER 12, 1963: Frank Jr., who was all of 19, made his New York professional singing debut at the Americana Hotel. The audience was packed with Sinatra friends and supporters, including Jackie Gleason, Toots Shor, Joe E. Lewis and Jack E. Leonard. "There isn't one of us that doesn't wish him good luck and perhaps a climb to stardom," wrote critic Louis Sobel in the New York Journal American. "A tribute to his mother," wrote columnist Earl Wilson. Dad, who had his hands full in Nevada and California, missed opening night but finally caught a midweek performance. His glowing review: "The kid sings better than I did at that age."

Jilly Rizzo, Frank Sr., Frank Jr. and
friend Frankie Shaw after one of
Frankie's shows.



"I've studied with Frank Sinatra," says Frank Jr., "although he doesn't know I've studied with him. I've been following him around all my life." Asked what kind of advice he would give his son about the press, FS answered, "The press? This will get laughs, but I mean it. Be honest and courteous and hope the press reciprocates. I don't mean the entertainer should be subservient, but he should be frank and square. He'll need members of the press all his life. All of us do. In spite of my so-called problems, I've had a damned good press. Frankie should trust individual members until he finds that he can't."

SEPTEMBER 12, 1963: While in New York, Dad sang "Ol' Man River" at another Carnegie Hall benefit for Martin Luther King's Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Frank Jr., who was sitting in the balcony, recalled, "Here was the greatest black leader in history watching this white man sing a song about slavery, and there were tears on his cheeks."

SEPTEMBER 10–30, 1947: Hearst columnist Westbrook Pegler, fueled by Lee Mortimer and the FBI... [See September 10th]

SEPTEMBER 12, 1945: The Frank Sinatra Show was revived on CBS radio, this time as a half-hour program with guest stars sponsored by Old Gold cigarettes. It would remain on the air for almost two years.

SEPTEMBER 12, 1943: Primed and ready to embark on a movie career, Dad signed a seven-year deal with RKO. "If you're a singer and you want to go into the acting business," he recalled years later, "you begin by learning to use the lyric of a song as a script."

RKO cast Dad in his first important role—playing himself—in the 1943 musical Higher and Higher, which generated not only big box office but also magazine covers and the sales of sheet music for the hottest new singing star in show business.

AUGUST 27-SEPTEMBER 16, 1941: After a Midwestern swing, Dorsey returned East for a third sold-out run at the Paramount in New York. By now Dad was the band's big draw, and he was beginning to think about going solo.

[Dates of new entries highlighted in blue]

[SinatraFan]

(From the Guestbook page and the online book Frank Sinatra: An American Legend by Nancy Sinatra )

SEPTEMBER 13, 1988: Interviewed by USA Today.

SEPTEMBER 13, 1985: After the show at Carnegie Hall, FS received the Italo-American Coalition Entertainer of the Year Award at the Waldorf-Astoria.

SEPTEMBER 5-14, 1985: Dad played to sold-out audiences for his entire nine-show engagement at Carnegie Hall. Wrote one critic: "Through subtleties of gesture and of voice - a shift of tone, a way of rushing or delaying the beat - Mr. Sinatra brought to his songs a sense of hard-fought inner drama that made them character studies as well as musical gems."

SEPTEMBER 13, 1984: FS was master of ceremonies at a Friars Club tribute to Dean Martin.

SEPTEMBER 13, 1982: With Buddy Rich and Charlie Callas at a Carnegie Hall benefit for the World Mercy Fund.

SEPTEMBER 13–23, 1982: At a Carnegie Hall concert, a young woman who was an admitted fan of rock music was quoted by the New York Times as saying, "Frank Sinatra is one thing I can agree with my parents about. They've been playing his records since I was born, and I don't ordinarily like that kind of music much, but he's a great singer."

SEPTEMBER 8–20, 1981: He played a two-week engagement with George Shearing at Carnegie Hall. George, who was blind, called Frank "Old Blue Eyes" and himself "Old No Eyes."

SEPTEMBER 8–20, 1980: Frank returned to London for memorable concerts at the Royal Festival and Royal Albert Halls. [See September 8th]

SEPTEMBER 11–16, 1978: After a brief break, he was back on the road, this time in London for an engagement at the Royal Festival Hall.

SEPTEMBER 10–16, 1976: Back to Lake Tahoe with John Denver at Harrah's.

SEPTEMBER 8–20, 1975: FS, Count Basie and Ella Fitzgerald co-headlined for two hugely successful weeks at New York's Uris Theater, grossing more than $1 million. After one show, Dad escorted Jacqueline Onassis to the "21" Club.

SEPTEMBER 4-18, 1974: Dad and Frankie and I played Harrah's in Lake Tahoe and then headed a bill at Caesars in Vegas. It was a family affair, with my mother, Hugh and A.J. along as well.

SEPTEMBER 13, 1962: Shooting began on Paramount's screen adaptation of Neil Simon's hit play Come Blow Your Horn. Dad played a devil-may-care lothario—and sang the title song.

Frank with Barbara Rush in a scene
from Come Blow Your Horn.

SEPTEMBER 10–30, 1947: Hearst columnist Westbrook Pegler, fueled by Lee Mortimer and the FBI... [See September 10th]

AUGUST 27-SEPTEMBER 16, 1941: After a Midwestern swing, Dorsey returned East for a third sold-out run at the Paramount in New York. By now Dad was the band's big draw, and he was beginning to think about going solo.

[Dates of new entries highlighted in blue]

[SinatraFan]

(From the Guestbook page and the online book Frank Sinatra: An American Legend by Nancy Sinatra )

SEPTEMBER 5-14, 1985: Dad played to sold-out audiences for his entire nine-show engagement at Carnegie Hall. Wrote one critic: "Through subtleties of gesture and of voice - a shift of tone, a way of rushing or delaying the beat - Mr. Sinatra brought to his songs a sense of hard-fought inner drama that made them character studies as well as musical gems."

SEPTEMBER 13–23, 1982: At a Carnegie Hall concert, a young woman who was an admitted fan of rock music was quoted by the New York Times as saying, "Frank Sinatra is one thing I can agree with my parents about. They've been playing his records since I was born, and I don't ordinarily like that kind of music much, but he's a great singer."

SEPTEMBER 8–20, 1981: He played a two-week engagement with George Shearing at Carnegie Hall. George, who was blind, called Frank "Old Blue Eyes" and himself "Old No Eyes."

SEPTEMBER 8–20, 1980: Frank returned to London for memorable concerts at the Royal Festival and Royal Albert Halls. [See September 8th]

SEPTEMBER 11–16, 1978: After a brief break, he was back on the road, this time in London for an engagement at the Royal Festival Hall.

SEPTEMBER 10–16, 1976: Back to Lake Tahoe with John Denver at Harrah's.

SEPTEMBER 8–20, 1975: FS, Count Basie and Ella Fitzgerald co-headlined for two hugely successful weeks at New York's Uris Theater, grossing more than $1 million. After one show, Dad escorted Jacqueline Onassis to the "21" Club.

SEPTEMBER 4-18, 1974: Dad and Frankie and I played Harrah's in Lake Tahoe and then headed a bill at Caesars in Vegas. It was a family affair, with my mother, Hugh and A.J. along as well.

SEPTEMBER 14, 1956: FS was Edward R. Murrow's guest on his television interview show, Person to Person, filmed at Dad's new Coldwater Canyon home.

SEPTEMBER 10–30, 1947: Hearst columnist Westbrook Pegler, fueled by Lee Mortimer and the FBI... [See September 10th]

AUGUST 27-SEPTEMBER 16, 1941: After a Midwestern swing, Dorsey returned East for a third sold-out run at the Paramount in New York. By now Dad was the band's big draw, and he was beginning to think about going solo.

[Dates of new entries highlighted in blue]

[SinatraFan]

(From the Guestbook page and the online book Frank Sinatra: An American Legend by Nancy Sinatra )

SEPTEMBER 15, 1988: Press question-and-answer session with Frank, Liza and Sammy.

Dad has known Liza since she was born.
She calls him Uncle Frank. They tease
each other about the song "New York,
New York." Liza constantly reminds Dad,
"It was written for me."

SEPTEMBER 15, 1986: Frank attended a memorial service for DJ William B. Williams at the Palace Theater in New York City.

SEPTEMBER 15, 1985: FS was honored in New York City at the Players Club Pipe Night.

SEPTEMBER 15, 1982: Princess Grace of Monaco died in an automobile accident. Dad was unable to attend the funeral but he sent the following words of comfort to her family: "...I feel as though the sword of suffering pierced my heart...God is a jealous lover and wanted Grace now. Indeed our hearts are restless until they rest in Him."

SEPTEMBER 13–23, 1982: At a Carnegie Hall concert, a young woman who was an admitted fan of rock music was quoted by the New York Times as saying, "Frank Sinatra is one thing I can agree with my parents about. They've been playing his records since I was born, and I don't ordinarily like that kind of music much, but he's a great singer."

SEPTEMBER 15, 1981: He taped a Chrysler commercial and on the same day appeared on Arlene Francis's WOR radio show.

SEPTEMBER 8–20, 1981: He played a two-week engagement with George Shearing at Carnegie Hall. George, who was blind, called Frank "Old Blue Eyes" and himself "Old No Eyes."

SEPTEMBER 8–20, 1980: Frank returned to London for memorable concerts at the Royal Festival and Royal Albert Halls. [See September 8th]

SEPTEMBER 11–16, 1978: After a brief break, he was back on the road, this time in London for an engagement at the Royal Festival Hall.

SEPTEMBER 10–16, 1976: Back to Lake Tahoe with John Denver at Harrah's.

SEPTEMBER 8–20, 1975: FS, Count Basie and Ella Fitzgerald co-headlined for two hugely successful weeks at New York's Uris Theater, grossing more than $1 million. After one show, Dad escorted Jacqueline Onassis to the "21" Club.

SEPTEMBER 4-18, 1974: Dad and Frankie and I played Harrah's in Lake Tahoe and then headed a bill at Caesars in Vegas. It was a family affair, with my mother, Hugh and A.J. along as well.

SEPTEMBER 15–18, 1962: Frank and Dean Martin did four days at the Sands Hotel.

SEPTEMBER 15, 1954: He did a comedy turn on radio's long-running series, Amos and Andy, which starred his friends Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll. No one, with the exception of Jack Benny, made him laugh as hard.

SEPTEMBER 10–30, 1947: Hearst columnist Westbrook Pegler, fueled by Lee Mortimer and the FBI... [See September 10th]

AUGUST 27-SEPTEMBER 16, 1941: After a Midwestern swing, Dorsey returned East for a third sold-out run at the Paramount in New York. By now Dad was the band's big draw, and he was beginning to think about going solo.

[Dates of new entries highlighted in blue]

[Nancy]

SEPTEMBER 15, 1986: Frank attended a memorial service for DJ William B. Williams at the Palace Theater in New York City.

I can't believe it has been so long. What a profound loss to all of us.

[SinatraFan]

(From the Guestbook page and the online book Frank Sinatra: An American Legend by Nancy Sinatra )

SEPTEMBER 16, 1984: In London, U.S. Ambassador and Mrs. Price held a dinner party honoring Frank and Barbara.

SEPTEMBER 13–23, 1982: At a Carnegie Hall concert, a young woman who was an admitted fan of rock music was quoted by the New York Times as saying, "Frank Sinatra is one thing I can agree with my parents about. They've been playing his records since I was born, and I don't ordinarily like that kind of music much, but he's a great singer."

SEPTEMBER 8–20, 1981: He played a two-week engagement with George Shearing at Carnegie Hall. George, who was blind, called Frank "Old Blue Eyes" and himself "Old No Eyes."

SEPTEMBER 8–20, 1980: Frank returned to London for memorable concerts at the Royal Festival and Royal Albert Halls. [See September 8th]

SEPTEMBER 11–16, 1978: After a brief break, he was back on the road, this time in London for an engagement at the Royal Festival Hall.

SEPTEMBER 10–16, 1976: Back to Lake Tahoe with John Denver at Harrah's.

SEPTEMBER 8–20, 1975: FS, Count Basie and Ella Fitzgerald co-headlined for two hugely successful weeks at New York's Uris Theater, grossing more than $1 million. After one show, Dad escorted Jacqueline Onassis to the "21" Club.

SEPTEMBER 4-18, 1974: Dad and Frankie and I played Harrah's in Lake Tahoe and then headed a bill at Caesars in Vegas. It was a family affair, with my mother, Hugh and A.J. along as well.

SEPTEMBER 16, 1965: Dad appeared as a guest star on the premiere of The Dean Martin Show, a new NBC variety program. Dean was in rare form that night, addressing my father by his new title, "Chairman of the Board." Dad, who had been called a lot of things in his life, was clearly tickled. The title stuck.

SEPTEMBER 15–18, 1962: Frank and Dean Martin did four days at the Sands Hotel.

SEPTEMBER 10–30, 1947: Hearst columnist Westbrook Pegler, fueled by Lee Mortimer and the FBI... [See September 10th]

AUGUST 27-SEPTEMBER 16, 1941: After a Midwestern swing, Dorsey returned East for a third sold-out run at the Paramount in New York. By now Dad was the band's big draw, and he was beginning to think about going solo.

[Dates of new entries highlighted in blue]

[Gregory]

Originally Posted by SinatraFan

SEPTEMBER 13–23, 1982: At a Carnegie Hall concert, a young woman who was an admitted fan of rock music was quoted by the New York Times as saying, "Frank Sinatra is one thing I can agree with my parents about. They've been playing his records since I was born, and I don't ordinarily like that kind of music much, but he's a great singer."

I love this. Frank closes the generational gap

[SinatraFan]

(From the Guestbook page and the online book Frank Sinatra: An American Legend by Nancy Sinatra )

SEPTEMBER 17–22, 1984: Six shows at the Royal Albert Hall in London.

SEPTEMBER 13–23, 1982: At a Carnegie Hall concert, a young woman who was an admitted fan of rock music was quoted by the New York Times as saying, "Frank Sinatra is one thing I can agree with my parents about. They've been playing his records since I was born, and I don't ordinarily like that kind of music much, but he's a great singer."

SEPTEMBER 8–20, 1981: He played a two-week engagement with George Shearing at Carnegie Hall. George, who was blind, called Frank "Old Blue Eyes" and himself "Old No Eyes."

SEPTEMBER 8–20, 1980: Frank returned to London for memorable concerts at the Royal Festival and Royal Albert Halls. [See September 8th]

SEPTEMBER 17–19, 1979: More recording sessions for the Trilogy collection, this time at Western Recorders in L.A. The songs: "The Song Is You," "But Not for Me," "Street of Dreams," "More Than You Know," "New York, New York" and "My Shining Hour." McClintick: "Outside the recording studio on Sunset Boulevard the temperature hovers just under 90 degrees. Brush and forest fires are sprinkling soot on this seedy and vaguely menacing stretch of Hollywood from a sky that has turned from beige to rust to black as the sun has set. It is a Nathanael West sort of evening, and thus is a perfect foil for the magical contrast one finds inside the studio. For inside, it is unmistakably a Mabel Mercer sort of evening. Frank Sinatra, Billy May, a twelve-voice choir and a 55-piece orchestra are making a record of "My Shining Hour," an extraordinary song composed for the Fred Astaire film The Sky's the Limit in 1948. 'I can't believe we never got to this one—I've been wanting to do it for 35 years,' says Sinatra. On these sooty September evenings Sinatra is rerecording several renditions that he and May had completed two months earlier and that seemed perfectly acceptable then. But after listening repeatedly to cassettes of the July recordings, Sinatra decided he could do better. He changed a few keys, slowed a few tempos and generally gained further internal command of the songs." [See also AUGUST 20-22, 1979]

FS with the Trilogy arrangers: Billy
May, Don Costa and Gordon Jenkins.

SEPTEMBER 8–20, 1975: FS, Count Basie and Ella Fitzgerald co-headlined for two hugely successful weeks at New York's Uris Theater, grossing more than $1 million. After one show, Dad escorted Jacqueline Onassis to the "21" Club.

SEPTEMBER 4-18, 1974: Dad and Frankie and I played Harrah's in Lake Tahoe and then headed a bill at Caesars in Vegas. It was a family affair, with my mother, Hugh and A.J. along as well.

SEPTEMBER 15–18, 1962: Frank and Dean Martin did four days at the Sands Hotel.

SEPTEMBER 17, 1952: In New York, Dad recorded "Why Try to Change Me Now?" with Percy Faith. This was the last song he would sing for Columbia Records before ending his 10-year relationship with the company.

SEPTEMBER 10–30, 1947: Hearst columnist Westbrook Pegler, fueled by Lee Mortimer and the FBI... [See September 10th]

[Dates of new entries highlighted in blue]

[SinatraFan]

(From the Guestbook page and the online book Frank Sinatra: An American Legend by Nancy Sinatra )

SEPTEMBER 17–22, 1984: Six shows at the Royal Albert Hall in London.

SEPTEMBER 13–23, 1982: At a Carnegie Hall concert, a young woman who was an admitted fan of rock music was quoted by the New York Times as saying, "Frank Sinatra is one thing I can agree with my parents about. They've been playing his records since I was born, and I don't ordinarily like that kind of music much, but he's a great singer."

SEPTEMBER 8–20, 1981: He played a two-week engagement with George Shearing at Carnegie Hall. George, who was blind, called Frank "Old Blue Eyes" and himself "Old No Eyes."

SEPTEMBER 8–20, 1980: Frank returned to London for memorable concerts at the Royal Festival and Royal Albert Halls. [See September 8th]

SEPTEMBER 17–19, 1979: More recording sessions for the Trilogy collection... [See September 17th]

SEPTEMBER 8–20, 1975: FS, Count Basie and Ella Fitzgerald co-headlined for two hugely successful weeks at New York's Uris Theater, grossing more than $1 million. After one show, Dad escorted Jacqueline Onassis to the "21" Club.

SEPTEMBER 4-18, 1974: Dad and Frankie and I played Harrah's in Lake Tahoe and then headed a bill at Caesars in Vegas. It was a family affair, with my mother, Hugh and A.J. along as well.

SEPTEMBER 15–18, 1962: Frank and Dean Martin did four days at the Sands Hotel.

SEPTEMBER 18, 1955: FS made an unscheduled guest appearance on The Colgate Comedy Hour, hosted that week by Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis.

SEPTEMBER 10–30, 1947: Hearst columnist Westbrook Pegler, fueled by Lee Mortimer and the FBI... [See September 10th]

[Dates of new entries highlighted in blue]

[SinatraFan]

(From the Guestbook page and the online book Frank Sinatra: An American Legend by Nancy Sinatra )

SEPTEMBER 19, 1993: Dad and Barbara hosted a fund-raising dinner at Chasen's restaurant in Los Angeles to support the mayoral reelection bid of Teddy Kollek of Jerusalem. The affair, attended by such luminaries as Gregory Peck, Barbra Streisand and Marvin Davis, was another demonstration of my father's abiding dedication to Israel and to his friendship with Kollek.

SEPTEMBER 17–22, 1984: Six shows at the Royal Albert Hall in London.

SEPTEMBER 13–23, 1982: At a Carnegie Hall concert, a young woman who was an admitted fan of rock music was quoted by the New York Times as saying, "Frank Sinatra is one thing I can agree with my parents about. They've been playing his records since I was born, and I don't ordinarily like that kind of music much, but he's a great singer."

SEPTEMBER 8–20, 1981: He played a two-week engagement with George Shearing at Carnegie Hall. George, who was blind, called Frank "Old Blue Eyes" and himself "Old No Eyes."

SEPTEMBER 8–20, 1980: Frank returned to London for memorable concerts at the Royal Festival and Royal Albert Halls. [See September 8th]

SEPTEMBER 17–19, 1979: More recording sessions for the Trilogy collection... [See September 17th]

SEPTEMBER 8–20, 1975: FS, Count Basie and Ella Fitzgerald co-headlined for two hugely successful weeks at New York's Uris Theater, grossing more than $1 million. After one show, Dad escorted Jacqueline Onassis to the "21" Club.

SEPTEMBER 19, 1959: Dad hosted a luncheon honoring Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev and attended by more than 400 Hollywood stars where Khrushchev and 20th Century Fox president Spyros Skouras debated the relative merits of capitalism and communism. Visiting a movie set, the Khrushchevs enjoyed watching my father film a scene from Can-Can—but the Russian premier proceeded to denounce the can-can itself as a decadent example of Western culture. When they were denied permission to visit Disneyland for security reasons, my father offered to escort Mrs. Khrushchev there personally—an offer vetoed by the Secret Service. But later he sat with her and looked patiently at photos of her grandchildren.

Soviet Premier and Mrs. Nikita Khrushchev visit the set of Can-Can in 1959.
Khrushchev called the can-can dance number "immoral." Reporting that
advance ticket sales for the film were bigger than those for Ben-Hur,
Newsweek added: "being condemned by Khrushchev may be an even
bigger commercial asset than being banned in Boston."

SEPTEMBER 19, 1955: In a prestigious television appearance—aired in a new process NBC called "living color"—Dad played the Stage Manager in a television version of Thornton Wilder's Our Town, starring Paul Newman and Eva Marie Saint. One of the songs introduced in it, Sammy Cahn and Jimmy Van Heusen's "Love and Marriage," would win an Emmy and become one of Dad's biggest hits. This was Jimmy's first formal job for my father and he told me that "when the time came to run through the score for him, I went to your home. Conditions there made it slightly difficult to hear the seven songs for the first time. Tina and Frankie and you were all over his lap and your mother was in the kitchen getting some beautiful food ready and with the clatter of plates and kids underfoot it was not easy to impress him with my clever cantatas. Those were the lean years for him but there was nothing lean about his love for his family. And I watched it all, first with impatience because my cadenzas got clobbered, but later with the great wish that I were as lucky as he."

SEPTEMBER 10–30, 1947: Hearst columnist Westbrook Pegler, fueled by Lee Mortimer and the FBI... [See September 10th]

[Dates of new entries highlighted in blue]

[Nancy]

Westbrook Pegler and Lee Mortimer

Yep! Two of our least favorite people, kind of like early neocon, witch hunting vigilantes.

[ToddGordon]

Originally Posted by SinatraFan

SEPTEMBER 17–22, 1984: Six shows at the Royal Albert Hall in London.

Just remembered where I was on September 19th, 1984!

I was too mean (or impoverished!) to buy the swanky official program, having paid £55 ($90) for the ticket - which I later discovered had a face value of £12.50 ($20)... too young and naive to know how these things worked, I thought I was going to be in a great seat near to the stage; instead I was up in the gods fighting off vertigo!