Frank Sinatra|
#1701
12-05-2009, 09:36 AM
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#1702
12-05-2009, 11:57 PM
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Allen "Could start for the corner... turn up in Spain... why try to change me now..." 
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#1703
12-06-2009, 12:01 AM
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December 6th
(From the Guestbook page and the online book Frank Sinatra: An American Legend by Nancy Sinatra
 )DECEMBER 5–10, 1977: Back for another gig at Caesars, then home to Palm Springs to celebrate his 62nd birthday. NOVEMBER 26–DECEMBER 19, 1968: Returning to Las Vegas... [See November 26th] NOVEMBER 27–DECEMBER 10, 1964: Back at the Sands in Las Vegas... [See November 27th] DECEMBER 6, 1951: Both the Los Angeles Examiner and the Los Angeles Times reported that after a group of Los Angeles ministers complained to authorities about widespread bigamy in connection with Nevada divorces, the Nevada Bar Association agreed to hear a complaint that Sinatra perjured himself to obtain his divorce. Las Vegas attorney William G. Ruymann filed the charge, noting that Sinatra swore under oath on November 1 that he was a resident of Nevada and the next day, on his Pennsylvania marriage license application, claimed to be a resident of Beverly Hills, California. The story made headlines everywhere for days, but eventually the matter fizzled when writers began to point out that thousands of divorces and marriages occurred under near-identical circumstances. NOVEMBER 7–DECEMBER 17, 1945: Back in New York, Dad ran the gamut of audiences from... [See November 7th] [Dates of new entries highlighted in blue] |
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#1704
12-07-2009, 06:12 AM
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December 7th
(From the Guestbook page and the online book Frank Sinatra: An American Legend by Nancy Sinatra
)DECEMBER 5–10, 1977: Back for another gig at Caesars, then home to Palm Springs to celebrate his 62nd birthday. NOVEMBER 26–DECEMBER 19, 1968: Returning to Las Vegas... [See November 26th] DECEMBER 7, 1966: A Man and His Music, Part II, produced by Gary Smith and directed by Dwight Hemion, aired on CBS. This time he decided to share the spotlight—and I was the lucky guest. NOVEMBER 27–DECEMBER 10, 1964: Back at the Sands in Las Vegas... [See November 27th] NOVEMBER 7–DECEMBER 17, 1945: Back in New York, Dad ran the gamut of audiences from... [See November 7th] DECEMBER 7, 1941: When the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor precipitated America's entry into World War II, Dad was drafted almost immediately, but because of the punctured eardrum resulting from his birth injury, he was turned down and classified 4-F. He tried in vain to enlist for the next several years. [Dates of new entries highlighted in blue] |
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#1705
12-07-2009, 11:37 PM
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December 8th
(From the Guestbook page and the online book Frank Sinatra: An American Legend by Nancy Sinatra
)DECEMBER 8, 1983: FS performed at the Meadowlands in New Jersey. DECEMBER 8–10, 1982: He performed at the Golden Nugget in Atlantic City. DECEMBER 8–10, 1980: FS filled in for an ailing Liza Minnelli at the Riviera Hotel in Las Vegas. DECEMBER 5–10, 1977: Back for another gig at Caesars, then home to Palm Springs to celebrate his 62nd birthday. NOVEMBER 26–DECEMBER 19, 1968: Returning to Las Vegas... [See November 26th] DECEMBER 8, 1964: During his stand in Las Vegas, FS guested with Larry King for the first time in a phone interview on King's late-night radio talk show broadcast from Miami. NOVEMBER 27–DECEMBER 10, 1964: Back at the Sands in Las Vegas... [See November 27th] DECEMBER 8–14, 1963: Sixteen days after the assassination of the president, another cataclysmic event occurred, this one striking the very heart of our family. My 19-year-old brother was kidnapped, and the next seven days plunged us all into the worst nightmare of our lives. [See below] DECEMBER 8, 1949: Ava remembered when their relationship finally began to turn serious. She wrote in her book that he told her: "All my life, being a singer was the most important thing in the world. Now you're all I want." They turned up together in New York to attend the premiere of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, and gossip columnists reported spotting them at the Hampshire House hotel, where Manie Sacks had a suite. The wire services picked up the story, and their romance, despite proforma denials, made headlines. George Evans advised Dad to stay away from Ava as long as he was still married to Nancy. And he warned that Louis B. Mayer at MGM was threatening to terminate both their contracts if there was more adverse publicity about them. It was about this time that Evans announced his resignation. NOVEMBER 7–DECEMBER 17, 1945: Back in New York, Dad ran the gamut of audiences from... [See November 7th] [Dates of new entries highlighted in blue] Last edited by SinatraFan; 12-09-2009 at 11:46 AM. |
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#1706
12-07-2009, 11:38 PM
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December 8–14, 1963 (Part 1)
THE KIDNAPPING OF FRANK SINATRA JR. President Kennedy died in Dallas on November 22, 1963. Sixteen days later, on December 8, 1963, my brother was appearing with Sam Donahue and The Tommy Dorsey Band at Harrah’s Club in Lake Tahoe. Frankie and his friend, trumpet player John Foss, were having dinner before the show in Frankie’s room at the lodge where Harrah’s entertainers stayed. Shortly after nine o’clock there was a knock at the door."Who is it?" asked Frankie. "I have a delivery for Mr. Sinatra—a package." He opened the door to find a .38 revolver pointed at him. Two men in ski parkas pushed their way into the room and told them to lie face down on the floor with their hands behind their backs. The men taped John’s and Frankie’s hands, blindfolded them and took their wallets. Then the men untaped Frankie’s hands and told him to stand up and put on a coat and shoes. As he was getting into his coat he heard one of the men say to John, "Don’t make any noise for at least 10 minutes. If we don’t make it to Sacramento, there will be trouble." Then my brother was dragged out into the darkness. Snow had been falling all day. High winds had knocked down many of the tall Sierra trees. It was a dreadful, windy night. Under his coat my brother wore only a T-shirt, trousers and loafers—no socks. Freezing, he was shoved into the backseat of a car and made to lie down. They drove off into the storm. When John Foss was able to undo his taped wrists, he phoned the police. A dispatcher for the Nevada State Highway Patrol sent a message to the FBI: "According to the Douglas County Sheriff's Office, Frank Sinatra Jr., was kidnapped at Harrah’s Club Lodge about half an hour ago. Two men were involved. They have him in a car. Roadblocks are being established." The message was received at FBI headquarters in Washington, D.C., and forwarded to FBI Chief J. Edgar Hoover and Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy. The car carrying Frankie quickly came upon a roadblock. The driver removed Frankie’s blindfold and ordered him to pretend he was asleep. Frankie did not believe that John Foss had sufficient time to break free and notify the police. He thought the roadblock had been set up to make certain that cars were equipped with tire chains. Hearing the kidnappers threaten to shoot if any policeman gave them trouble, Frankie kept very still and did as he had been told. When the car passed through the roadblock, his blindfold was restored and he was forced to swallow two sleeping pills. My mother was at home in Bel Air, having a relaxing Sunday night, when the phone call came from Frankie’s manager, Tino Barzie, who had the room next door to 417. My sister heard Mom gasp. Tina: "After she hung up the phone, she began pacing up and down in disbelief." Mom somehow composed herself enough to make two phone calls. The first was to Dad in Palm Springs, the second to me in New Orleans. There were other calls. One to Bobby Kennedy. He said, "Yeah, we’re on to it. I have got two hundred and forty-eight men on it. There’ll be more by tonight." Next, Dad called Mickey Rudin and chartered a plane to Reno, where at midnight he met Charles W. Bates, special agent in charge of the San Francisco office of the FBI. By then the FBI agents at Mom’s house had already put taps on her phones. At the Mapes Hotel in Reno, Dad received some telephone advice from FBI Chief J. Edgar Hoover: "Just keep your mouth shut, Frank. Don’t talk to anyone but law officers..." He also received a more personal call from Bobby Kennedy, one father to another. I was in my room at the Roosevelt Hotel in New Orleans watching TV, while Tommy was singing in his show downstairs when Mom called. She told me to sit down because she had bad news. As I listened to her voice: "Brother...kidnapped...Dad...Reno...", she sounded far away and calm. She told me three FBI men were staying in her house and she had to get off the line in case the kidnappers tried to contact her. Kidnappers. FBI. These are words you never want to have crash into your life. I called the backstage extension and left word for my husband to call me as soon as he got offstage. My first thought was to pack and go home on the next plane, but then I grew frightened: What if it’s a conspiracy? My life’s been threatened before...people have threatened to kidnap me before...What should I do? I really didn’t know what to do. I also didn’t know that FBI men already had arrived at the hotel to guard me. When Tommy came upstairs, we decided I shouldn’t be moving around and should stay put and await instructions. In New Jersey, Grandma and Grandpa heard the horrible news from their son. The kidnap car was traveling toward Los Angeles while we waited nearly 17 hours—in California, Nevada, Louisiana and New Jersey—for the kidnappers to make contact. Dad had been joined in Reno by Mickey Rudin, Jack Entratter and Dean Elson, special agent in charge of the FBI in Nevada. Dean Elson: "Sinatra would have gone anywhere, paid any amount, risked everything; all he wanted was his son back alive." At 4:45 p.m. on December 9, he received his first phone call from the kidnappers. The FBI taped it: "Is this Frank Sinatra?" "Speaking. This is Frank Sinatra Senior." "It doesn’t sound like Sinatra." "Well, it is. This is Frank Sinatra." "Can you be available at 9 a.m. tomorrow morning?" "Yes, I can." "OK. Your son is in good shape, don’t worry about him. See if you can do something about the roadblocks." The next morning, the 10th, after another sleepless night Dad received the second call. "Hello." "Sinatra?" "Yeah." A new voice: "Hello, Dad?" "Frankie?" "Yeah." "How are you, son?" "All right." "Are you warm enough?" No response. "You on the other end of the phone there—you on the other end of the phone there?" "Yeah." "You want to talk to me about making a deal? You want to resolve this thing?" "Yeah, I do, but I can’t do it now, Frank." "Why not?" "Gotta wait till around two o’clock." ’Well, do you have any idea what you want?" "Oh, naturally we want money." "Well, just tell me how much you want." "Well, I can’t tell you that now." "I don’t understand why you can’t give me an idea so we can begin to get some stuff ready for you." "Well, that’s what I’m afraid of. I don’t want you to have too much time to get ready." "Well, I gotta have some time." "I know. But you see, don’t—don’t rile me. You’re making me nervous. I’ll call you back about two o’clock." "Well, can you call before that?" "I don’t think so. I gotta hang up now." "Can I talk to Frankie again?" Dial tone. The next call ordered Dad to go to Ron’s Service Station in Carson City. By the time he and Dean Elson arrived, the station attendant had already received four calls for Frank Sinatra—and figured one of the owner’s friends was playing some kind of joke. The attendant was asked to leave the room while Dad answered the next call, which explained the ransom demand. When they left, Elson told the attendant not to mention to anyone what had happened. In Beverly Hills, Al Hart, a close family friend and president of the City National Bank, had been alerted and was ready. The kidnappers demanded $240,000 in small used bills. All day, until dark, At Hart and his people photographed each bill and made it ready for the drop. One of the FBI people said, "What are we going to put this money in, a paper bag?" The bills weighed 23 pounds. At Hart said, "Go buy a valise." The man went to the department store, J.W. Robinsons, which remained open until 9 p.m., then returned and said he didn’t have enough money to buy the $56 bag. Al Hart took some ransom money and gave it to him. They later put $239,985 into the new valise. Daddy was instructed to go to Los Angeles to await the next call. Mom, Tina and Daddy, with other family members and several FBI agents, waited together in Mom’s house. At 9:26 p.m, on the 10th, Dad was instructed to go to a gas station in Beverly Hills. There another phone call ordered him to have a courier bring the money to a phone booth in L.A. International Airport at 10 p.m. and use the name Patrick Henry. Dad asked J. Edgar Hoover to send an FBI courier who would stay cool and not get Frankie in trouble.The agent went to the designated phone and waited. "Patrick Henry? This is John Adams." The courier was directed to a gas station where he was to ask for a road map. "We’ll be looking for you at the gas station. Hang around for five minutes and drive north on Sepulveda, stop at another gas station at Sepulveda and Olympic." At the gas station, the FBI man was told that Frankie would be let go "four hours after you drop the money and get lost." The agent asked if he could "speak to Frank Jr." He was told no, because "he’s not here, he’s someplace else." And then the agent was told to go to still another gas station where the next call came. He was instructed to put the money between two school buses parked there, and then check into a hotel. He did so, after 10 p.m., December 10. My brother was being held captive by a third man in a small house in the San Fernando Valley. He was cold and tired and frightened. By the night of the drop, he had had it. The original two kidnappers had gone off to collect the money while the third man guarded Frankie. After receiving a phone call at 10 p.m. the man said, "We got the money, but we got a problem. One of the guys got scared and ran. I think I better not let you go." Frankie said, "You let me go or I’ll kill you. If you want to stop me, you’ll have to kill me. One of us is going to die." The next four hours seemed like 10 to the family. Mom, Dad and Tina in California, Tommy and me in New Orleans, Grandma and Grandpa in New Jersey were all hoping and praying that my brother, only 19 years old with his whole life before him, would be returned to us. |
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#1707
12-07-2009, 11:38 PM
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December 8–14, 1963 (Part 2)
THE KIDNAPPING OF FRANK SINATRA JR. (continued) At 2 a.m., December 11, four hours after the ransom was paid, Daddy went to get his son. If he was afraid the kidnappers wouldn’t keep their word he didn’t show it to his family. He held Tina’s face in his hands and said firmly, "I’m going to bring your brother home." And to Mom with greater conviction, "I’m going to bring him home." They clung together for a moment, sharing whatever it is parents share at a time like this, and then he left on the most important errand of his life and went looking for his boy. He got in his car as instructed—alone. Frankie, meanwhile, had suggested to the man guarding him that perhaps the two other kidnappers were not coming back with the money. Perhaps they were leaving him to take the rap. That had persuaded the man to drive Frankie to the designated drop-off point in Los Angeles—but now, approaching the drop-off point the man became apprehensive. Afraid someone had given him away, he told Frankie he was going to take him back. Frankie assured him that Frank Sinatra would not have told anyone. At 2:35 a.m. Daddy returned to the house—alone. "Do you know what Dad’s face looked like?" said Tina. "I’ve never seen a face like that." He thought the kidnappers had taken the money and not let Frankie go. But the man driving Frankie did let him go—after the designated time—at the drop-off point on the San Diego Freeway at the Mulholland Drive exit. Terrified that the man might come back, Frankie pulled down his blindfold and ran for cover. He picked up a big rock and stuck it in his pocket; it was the only thing he could find in the desolate spot that resembled a weapon. He didn’t see his father’s car, so he decided he’d better walk toward Bel Air. Once off the freeway, he heard a car engine screaming up the hill and ducked behind a hedge out of range of the headlights. It was a bronze Ford sedan with men wearing overcoats and hats. By the time he realized they must have been FBI men, they were gone. He saw a morning paper in someone’s driveway. It was dated December 11, 1963—one day before his father’s birthday. Another car came by, this time very slowly, and Frankie hid again. He was so scared. Then, realizing it was the private security service, the Bel Air Patrol, he shouted, "Hey!" The car stopped and Frankie identified himself and asked to be driven to his mother’s home. The driver was security man George C. Jones. Shivering with cold from his two-mile walk, Frankie asked Jones to turn on the heat. He still had no socks and had lost weight. He was hungry, exhausted, terrified and freezing. But alive. Because he had seen the press people crowding Mom’s driveway for three days, Jones stopped the car near the Bel Air Patrol office and said he was concerned about getting Frankie through the reporters and photographers. "Suppose I get in the trunk," my brother said. "Then if we can’t get through, we can go back to the office and do something else." Jones agreed. George C. Jones: "Nobody knew I had the boy in the trunk. I drove on up to the home, passed the cars, the newspaper people, all the officers, into the parking area in the front of the house." He then backed the trunk of the car to within a few feet of the front door and told Frankie he was going to go get Mom or Dad. "I went to the door and knocked. Two men opened the door and I recognized Mrs. Sinatra inside. I looked at her and said, ’Mrs. Sinatra, I have your boy in the trunk of my car—and he is all right.’ She gasped. She just stood there looking at me. Mr. Sinatra came to the door. I told him the same thing, that Frankie was OK, and in my trunk. He didn’t smile. All he said was ’Let’s get that trunk open.’ Then Mr. and Mrs. Sinatra and five or six other people came out and I unlocked the trunk—and there was Frankie." Frankie remembers seeing Dad’s shoes first, then legs, chest and face. He climbed out and said, "Hi, Mom. Hi, Dad." They put their arms around him and began hugging and kissing him. They invited Patrolman Jones to come in. He later said, "I was sure tickled to see that boy come up to the car—and happier still when he went into his own house." Our prayers had been answered. Frankie was home. Happy Birthday, Dad. Soon Bobby Kennedy called. He spoke to Dad and then to Frankie: "Are you all right son?" "Yes, sir." "Let me talk to one of my men." Elson took the phone and was told to "implement the ramrod." With Frankie home, the FBI began a full-scale search for the kidnappers. My brother broke open the case. Frank Sinatra Jr.: "When the agents came to interview me the night I got away from those bastards, they told me to remember every little thing. I said, 'When they led me into the house I tripped on a piece of weather stripping at the door, on the ground.’ I told them about hearing little airplanes overhead. I told them the make of the car: ’A Plymouth, a Plymouth station wagon.’ My aunt used to have one and I remembered the sound of the back door; this one had the same sound. One of the guys led me around because I was blindfolded, and I could feel his hands. I told the Bureau, ’The man who has this hand works with harsh chemicals. He’s a mechanic, a carpenter, or a painter ’cause it’s like alligator scales inside his hand.’ Turned out he was a painter. The FBI used all this stuff to break the case." My brother was questioned for hours by Dean Elson and the other FBI men who were at Mom’s house. When he finally went to sleep, it was in Tina’s room. His kid sister kept peeking at him as he slept making sure he was really there—that she wasn’t dreaming. As soon as I knew Frankie was safe, I flew home. We had a tearful, laughing reunion. That night we got the news that the kidnappers were in custody, and we opened a magnum of champagne. My mother, who doesn’t drink, drank most of it. She was so happy she didn’t even have a headache the next day. As J. Edgar wrote to me later: "I told your father how pleased I was that Frank Jr. has been safely returned. I recall pointing out to him that although he would now be besieged by inquiries from the news media, we still had numerous productive leads to pursue and would be able to do so only if the case received a minimum of publicity. Your father, of course, cooperated in every possible way. Within a short time, our investigation was completed and early in the morning of December 14th, I had the pleasure of telephoning your father again to inform him that the kidnappers were in custody." The ordeal took its toll on my father.The lack of sleep. Little food. The dramatic temperature changes. Flying in the stormy skies. He had been distraught even desperate—two things he had never been before. He handled each moment as it came. Even the worst one—when he’d gone to pick up his son and he wasn’t there. I can’t bear, even now, the image of him driving back to Mom’s, alone in the car. Afterward, his body reacted. He got sick. He went home to Palm Springs to recover. He spent the time healing. Reflecting. While mourners flied past the Eternal Flame at Arlington, while our country was still in shock, while Bobby and the other Kennedys were trying to pick up the torn pieces of their lives, my father was trying to understand all these shattering events. It was all so emotionally draining—Jack, Frankie, Cal-Neva...overwhelming. Although the kidnappers were later convicted—in near-record time by an angry federal jury—they defended themselves in court with the claim that they’d been hired to pull a publicity stunt to enhance Frank Jr.’s career. My father’s only comment: "This family needs publicity like it needs peritonitis." It took time for Frank Jr. to recover, too. It had never been easy being the son of Frank Sinatra, with all its privileges. And its illusions. We had all grown up in a cocoon, insulated from a world we never dreamed would touch us. Not like this. It changed us all, but no one more than Frankie himself. As he told a reporter in an interview for the Washington Post, "I want to look at things without distortion. It reminds me of a line in Becket when the king says, 'Why must you destroy all my illusions?’ And the man answers, ’Because you should have none, my prince.’" Christmas 1963: Dad received a note from a friend. In the midst of her own grief, Jacqueline Kennedy had taken time to send a note to my father. |
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#1708
12-08-2009, 03:53 AM
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My heart stops when I read these posts.
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#1709
12-09-2009, 11:42 AM
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December 9th
(From the Guestbook page and the online book Frank Sinatra: An American Legend by Nancy Sinatra
)DECEMBER 8–10, 1982: He performed at the Golden Nugget in Atlantic City. DECEMBER 8–10, 1980: FS filled in for an ailing Liza Minnelli at the Riviera Hotel in Las Vegas. DECEMBER 5–10, 1977: Back for another gig at Caesars, then home to Palm Springs to celebrate his 62nd birthday. NOVEMBER 26–DECEMBER 19, 1968: Returning to Las Vegas... [See November 26th] NOVEMBER 27–DECEMBER 10, 1964: Back at the Sands in Las Vegas... [See November 27th] DECEMBER 8–14, 1963: Sixteen days after the assassination of the president, another cataclysmic event occurred, this one striking the very heart of our family. My 19-year-old brother was kidnapped, and the next seven days plunged us all into the worst nightmare of our lives. [See below] DECEMBER 9, 1962: Dad guested on NBC's Dinah Shore Show with jazzman Gerry Mulligan. DECEMBER 9–23, 1958: FS recorded the album Come Dance with Me, arranged by Billy May and Heinie Beau and produced by Dave Cavanaugh. All brass, reeds and rhythm. Great album. Great cover. DECEMBER 9, 1953: Dad's recording of "Young at Heart" climbed to the top of the singles hit parade. It was the first time he'd been back on the charts in several years. "Nelson told me he had a song that had been floating around Vine Street [Capitol Records] and other companies for weeks or months," Dad recalled. "'I think it's a good song,' Nelson said, 'but nobody wants to do it.' I didn't even ask him if I could hear it. I just said let's do it, and it turned out to be 'Young at Heart.' We did a single and it was a big hit." NOVEMBER 7–DECEMBER 17, 1945: Back in New York, Dad ran the gamut of audiences from... [See November 7th] [Dates of new entries highlighted in blue] Last edited by SinatraFan; 12-09-2009 at 11:47 AM. |
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#1710
12-09-2009, 11:50 PM
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December 10th
(From the Guestbook page and the online book Frank Sinatra: An American Legend by Nancy Sinatra
)DECEMBER 10, 1994: He celebrated his 79th birthday at the Vintage Country Club in Indian Wells, California. DECEMBER 8–10, 1982: He performed at the Golden Nugget in Atlantic City. DECEMBER 8–10, 1980: FS filled in for an ailing Liza Minnelli at the Riviera Hotel in Las Vegas. DECEMBER 5–10, 1977: Back for another gig at Caesars, then home to Palm Springs to celebrate his 62nd birthday. DECEMBER 10, 1973: Dad recorded two songs in Hollywood: "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown" and "I'm Gonna Make It All the Way." NOVEMBER 26–DECEMBER 19, 1968: Returning to Las Vegas... [See November 26th] NOVEMBER 27–DECEMBER 10, 1964: Back at the Sands in Las Vegas... [See November 27th] DECEMBER 8–14, 1963: Sixteen days after the assassination of the president, another cataclysmic event occurred, this one striking the very heart of our family. My 19-year-old brother was kidnapped, and the next seven days plunged us all into the worst nightmare of our lives. [See below] DECEMBER 9–23, 1958: FS recorded the album Come Dance with Me, arranged by Billy May and Heinie Beau and produced by Dave Cavanaugh. All brass, reeds and rhythm. Great album. Great cover. NOVEMBER 7–DECEMBER 17, 1945: Back in New York, Dad ran the gamut of audiences from... [See November 7th] [Dates of new entries highlighted in blue] |
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#1711
12-10-2009, 11:23 PM
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December 11th
(From the Guestbook page and the online book Frank Sinatra: An American Legend by Nancy Sinatra
)NOVEMBER 26–DECEMBER 19, 1968: Returning to Las Vegas... [See November 26th] DECEMBER 11, 1967: Along with Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr., my father guest-starred on my NBC television special, Movin' with Nancy. DECEMBER 11–12, 1967: The Voice and The Duke—Sinatra and Ellington—collaborated on Francis A. and Edward K., an album recorded in part on Dad's birthday in Hollywood and released the following year. It included elegant renditions of "Sunny," "I Like the Sunrise," "Follow Me" and "Poor Butterfly." By the way, the A is for Albert, the K is for Kennedy. Stan Cornyn's liner notes paint a vivid image of the session: "A birthday event, hosted by Francis and Edward, you go to with your shoes high polished. Duke confounds. Strolling through the door, six feet plus, dressed with wry urbanity. His blue socks rolled down to an inch above the ankle, and zoot! three inch cuffs on his slacks. Ellington moves across the studio floor to his permanent address: a pock-marked product of Steinway & Sons, once proud, now circle-scarred from years of forgotten coffee cups. For the next five minutes, Ellington lays out his cafeteria, including Cokes, cigarettes and Kleenex. "Enter Sinatra. Wearing a vest, green and gold paisley tie at 3/4 mast. A break in recording Indian Summer. Sinatra ambles over to saxophone player Johnny Hodges, who asks if Frank ever recorded it before. He remembers doing it on the stand with Tommy Dorsey and how Dorsey refused to transpose the arrangement from Jack Leonard's key. And how 'my eyeballs'd fall out every time on the top note.' The birthday singer, at the peak of his powers. Moving gingerly through the lyrics. Caring about what's happening. This singer today is one year older. His singing, one year more profound. "Francis A. and Edward K. Both already wise in the ways of birthdays. They hear back their music. Sinatra's eyes, when his song is happening, they also happen. And Duke, during playback, strutting. Playback finished, they turn to one another. 'Elegant record, Francis.' 'Always glad to hear that about that kind of carrying on,' Frank replied." DECEMBER 11, 1965: The Armed Forces Radio Service broadcast a special tribute entitled The Legend of Frank Sinatra. DECEMBER 8–14, 1963: Sixteen days after the assassination of the president, another cataclysmic event occurred, this one striking the very heart of our family. My 19-year-old brother was kidnapped, and the next seven days plunged us all into the worst nightmare of our lives. [See below] DECEMBER 9–23, 1958: FS recorded the album Come Dance with Me, arranged by Billy May and Heinie Beau and produced by Dave Cavanaugh. All brass, reeds and rhythm. Great album. Great cover. NOVEMBER 7–DECEMBER 17, 1945: Back in New York, Dad ran the gamut of audiences from... [See November 7th] [Dates of new entries highlighted in blue] Last edited by SinatraFan; 12-10-2009 at 11:27 PM. |
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#1712
12-11-2009, 11:12 PM
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December 12th (Part 1)
(From the Guestbook page and the online book Frank Sinatra: An American Legend by Nancy Sinatra
)DECEMBER 12, 1990: What do you give a guy on his 75th birthday, a guy you love more than the moon, a guy who has achieved everything he ever dreamed of? I gave my dad...a tie. At a Los Angeles Kings hockey game, I saw a man wearing a cute tie decorated with M&Ms, Nestle's Crunch bars, Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, Hershey's Kisses and Life Savers. Showing absolutely no shame, I stopped him in the aisle and asked if he would give it to me. I just knew it was the perfect gift for Dad, who was a penny-candy kind of guy. Luckily, my audacious behavior was graciously rewarded: The guy promptly removed his neckwear, and Dad opened my gift with a delighted chuckle DECEMBER 12, 1986: Because he was still recovering from surgery [see November 9th], my father was unable to attend a black-tie dinner at Universal Studios in Los Angeles honoring Lew Wasserman on his 50th anniversary as chairman of MCA. Instead, Dad videotaped a special performance of "The Gentleman Is a Champ"—a parody of the old standard tailored to the evening's honoree—that was played at the ceremony. The recording was then pressed onto seven-inch souvenir records and handed out to the 800 guests along with their programs. These gold plastic discs have since become the most treasured Sinatra collectible on the market. DECEMBER 12, 1985: He taped an interview at his Rancho Mirage home for a Spencer Tracy tribute. DECEMBER 12, 1983: With Sarah Vaughan, Count Basie and Ed McMahon, FS performed at a benefit for the City of Hope BRAVO (Blood Revolves Around Victorious Optimism) chapter at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel. Frank, Sarah and Basie also received the Spirit of Life Award. After the benefit, Dad celebrated his birthday at Matteo's restaurant in Westwood. DECEMBER 12, 1980: Barbara surprised Frank with a 65th birthday party—a country-western barbecue for 250 friends—at her stables in Rancho Mirage. DECEMBER 12, 1979: Dad celebrated 40 years in show business on his 64th birthday with a huge celebration at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. The event was a sell-out that drew some of his oldest and dearest friends. It was taped for a two-hour TV special on NBC. [Sinatra: The First 40 Years] Among the 1,000 people in attendance were Cary Grant, Lucille Ball, Glenn Ford, Orson Welles, Don Rickles, Milton Berle and Dean Martin, as well as Egyptian and Israeli diplomats who read telegrams of congratulations from Anwar Sadat and Menachem Begin. DECEMBER 12, 1975: Full-page ads in the Hollywood trade papers saluted my father's 60th birthday with a tally of his work during the previous year: 140 performances in 105 days before live audiences of more than a half million people around the world. DECEMBER 12, 1970: Dad liked to give presents on his birthday, so I decided he should give me to Hugh Lambert. He did. Our wedding was held in St. Louis Catholic Church in Cathedral City, California. The church was normally filled on Sunday afternoons by the area's Mexican-American families. They were there as usual this Sunday but found the church closed and were milling about outside when my father drove up with Jilly and my brother. Frank Jr.: "These people were in their white dresses, carrying their little flowers, standing there, most of them speaking no English, and Pop wanted to know what was going on. The priest told him that they had closed the church for the wedding party. The color came up in Pop's face and he said, 'You closed their church? To them?' He said, 'Open up the doors, let them all in. Don't keep them out of their church.'" It was a beautiful day, but painful, too, because my grandpa wasn't there. I felt closer to Dad after he gave me away than ever before. He seemed more introspective, but at the same time more relaxed. He bought a piece of property in the mountains above Palm Springs and planned to build a house there so all of us could get away from the heat. He also bought back his Bowmont Drive home in Los Angeles. He sold his Grosvenor Square flat in London and his East 72nd Street apartment in New York. He re-established headquarters in Suite 2500 at the Waldorf Towers. He was beginning to plan for the future and I felt very much a part of it. NOVEMBER 26–DECEMBER 19, 1968: Returning to Las Vegas... [See November 26th] DECEMBER 11–12, 1967: The Voice and The Duke—Sinatra and Ellington—collaborated on Francis A. and Edward K.... [See December 11th] Last edited by SinatraFan; 12-11-2009 at 11:19 PM. |
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#1713
12-11-2009, 11:13 PM
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December 12th (Part 2)
DECEMBER 12, 1965: On his birthday, Look magazine published a cover story called "Sinatra at 50." Dad agreed to sit down with Look's John Bryson to talk about his life and times. In a rare moment of personal revelation, he admitted to sleeping badly and said that he often read the night away, consuming books on every subject from history to economics to fiction, countless magazines and an endless parade of film scripts. The chatty, admiring 10-page article described his Palm Springs home with its two bedrooms and a pair of two-bedroom guesthouses (Look wrongly reported that the guesthouses had five rooms), a saltwater swimming pool, a helicopter landing pad, tennis courts, an enormous, state-of-the-art kitchen with $100,000 worth of appliances and built-ins, books everywhere. Still visible was the red White House hotline telephone originally installed in anticipation of JFK's 1962 visit.
My father was at the half-century mark, and his circle of friends included Yul Brynner, writer Harry Kurnitz, Michael Romanoff, financier Armand Deutsch, songwriter Jimmy Van Heusen, comedian Joe E. Lewis, producer William Goetz and their respective wives. Look estimated that Dad's one-man industry required the efforts of 35 fulltime employees and grossed $3.5 million annually. If all the Sinatra records sold were stacked on top of each other, wrote Bryson, they would reach 187,500 feet. My mother threw a 50th birthday party for Dad at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel. Everybody was there but Sammy. Dad thought he wasn't coming and that he was working on the road. But when we rolled out the giant birthday cake, Sammy popped out. Everybody sang Sammy Cahn parodies, including my sister and me. All of Hollywood show biz was there—and most of New York. DECEMBER 8–14, 1963: Sixteen days after the assassination of the president, another cataclysmic event occurred, this one striking the very heart of our family. My 19-year-old brother was kidnapped, and the next seven days plunged us all into the worst nightmare of our lives. [See December 8th] DECEMBER 9–23, 1958: FS recorded the album Come Dance with Me, arranged by Billy May and Heinie Beau and produced by Dave Cavanaugh. All brass, reeds and rhythm. Great album. Great cover. DECEMBER 12, 1957: Starring with Mitzi Gaynor and Jeanne Crain, Dad took on another dramatic/musical role in Paramount's The Joker Is Wild, based on the true story of nightclub singer and close friend Joe E. Lewis, whose throat was cut after crossing the Mob, and who then made a comeback as a gravel-voiced standup comedian. This project was near and dear to all of us—we treasured Joe E. He was a fighter who won against great odds and Dad played the hell out of the role. Said Lewis after working with Frank during the production: "Frankie enjoyed playing my life more than I enjoyed living it." Lewis often co-starred with Sinatra in nightclubs. DECEMBER 12, 1949: On the Town, third in MGM's trio of co-starring roles for Dad and Gene Kelly, put them back in sailor suits with co-star Jules Munshin for a film version of the Broadway hit, with Gene and Stanley Donen directing, songs by Betty Comden and Adolph Green and an incidental score by Leonard Bernstein. Three sailors on shore leave in New York meet three pretty girls: What else does a movie musical need? "New York, New York, a wonderful town. The Bronx is up and the Battery's down..." Dad and Betty Garrett do one of the niftiest duets ever, "Come Up to My Place." I love this movie. So do my kids, by the way—and so does half the world, I think. In rehearsal, Gene taught Dad to "really dance." Gene recalled: "I took Frank's hands off the mike, so to speak, and taught him a few simple steps. He was a quick study." FS also came to admire co-stars Ann Miller, Betty Garrett and Vera-Ellen: "Those girls could move, and they gave us a lot of ooomph." Cast and crew shot musical numbers on city streets—a difficult technical achievement and an MGM first. It was another hit. NOVEMBER 7–DECEMBER 17, 1945: Back in New York, Dad ran the gamut of audiences from... [See November 7th] DECEMBER 12, 1915: My father almost died the day he was born. The doctor had trouble getting the huge 13½-pound baby out of his tiny mother, a woman less than five feet tall. Using forceps, the doctor tugged away, ripping and scarring the baby's ear, cheek and neck, and puncturing his eardrum. But the baby wasn't breathing, so his grandmother Rose, an experienced midwife, grabbed him from the doctor and held him under cold running water until he gasped his first breath and cried out. Francis Albert Sinatra entered the world fighting for his life—and he won. [Dates of new entries highlighted in blue] |
Wonderful!
Monika
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#1716
12-12-2009, 02:28 PM
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HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO FRANCIS ALBERT SINATRA 94
 WATCHED THE MSG SPECIAL MAIN EVENT YOUR DAD WAS MAGNIFICENT! I WANT TO THANK THE SINATRA CLAN FOR KEEPING YOUR DAD'S FLAME ALIVE. HE WAS THE GREATEST ENTERTAINER OF ANY GENERATION. MAY HE BE RIGHT THAT: THE BEST IS YET TO COME!:I too am disgusted with the Catholic Church. I was a Eucharistic Minister and because I believe in stem cell research and a woman's right to choose they told me i could not receive communion. I don't believe in annulments either and have successsfully helped friends fight and win in the Vatican in the Roman Rota. Our Church leaders have lost their way! We still believe in God and I donate to St. Jude Children;s Hospital because they never turn a child away! God's work must truly be our own, JFK said it first and we try to live it! Thank you Sinatra family for doing so much for the world!
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#1717
12-12-2009, 11:38 PM
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December 13th
(From the Guestbook page and the online book Frank Sinatra: An American Legend by Nancy Sinatra
)NOVEMBER 26–DECEMBER 19, 1968: Returning to Las Vegas... [See November 26th] DECEMBER 8–14, 1963: Sixteen days after the assassination of the president, another cataclysmic event occurred, this one striking the very heart of our family. My 19-year-old brother was kidnapped, and the next seven days plunged us all into the worst nightmare of our lives. [See December 8th] DECEMBER 13, 1959: On another of his Timex TV shows [An Afternoon With Frank Sinatra], Dad hosted an all-star cast that included Peter Lawford, Ella Fitzgerald, Nat "King" Cole and Dad's new girlfriend, Juliet Prowse, a dancer whom he had met on the set of Can-Can. DECEMBER 9–23, 1958: FS recorded the album Come Dance with Me, arranged by Billy May and Heinie Beau and produced by Dave Cavanaugh. All brass, reeds and rhythm. Great album. Great cover. NOVEMBER 7–DECEMBER 17, 1945: Back in New York, Dad ran the gamut of audiences from... [See November 7th] [Dates of new entries highlighted in blue] |
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#1718
12-13-2009, 11:57 PM
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December 14th
(From the Guestbook page and the online book Frank Sinatra: An American Legend by Nancy Sinatra
)DECEMBER 14, 1983: In San Diego at the Sports Arena. NOVEMBER 26–DECEMBER 19, 1968: Returning to Las Vegas... [See November 26th] DECEMBER 8–14, 1963: Sixteen days after the assassination of the president, another cataclysmic event occurred, this one striking the very heart of our family. My 19-year-old brother was kidnapped, and the next seven days plunged us all into the worst nightmare of our lives. [See December 8th] DECEMBER 14, 1958: He appeared at the Moulin Rouge in L.A. for the Friars' annual Christmas party for 750 orphans. DECEMBER 9–23, 1958: FS recorded the album Come Dance with Me, arranged by Billy May and Heinie Beau and produced by Dave Cavanaugh. All brass, reeds and rhythm. Great album. Great cover. NOVEMBER 7–DECEMBER 17, 1945: Back in New York, Dad ran the gamut of audiences from... [See November 7th] [Dates of new entries highlighted in blue] |
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#1719
12-14-2009, 11:38 PM
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December 15th
(From the Guestbook page and the online book Frank Sinatra: An American Legend by Nancy Sinatra
)DECEMBER 15, 1986: Still recuperating [see November 9th] but not wanting to miss the event, my father sang "New York, New York" at the grand opening of the second hundred years of Carnegie Hall. Two musical legends, conductors Leonard Bernstein and Zubin Mehta, also performed at the newly restored landmark. Dad commented that "I've worked here before, but this night has a special meaning for me." DECEMBER 15, 1985: FS was honored by Temple Isaiah in Palm Springs at a "Thank You, Frank" gala for all his help and support. DECEMBER 15, 1983: On to a concert at the Long Beach Convention Center. NOVEMBER 26–DECEMBER 19, 1968: Returning to Las Vegas... [See November 26th] DECEMBER 9–23, 1958: FS recorded the album Come Dance with Me, arranged by Billy May and Heinie Beau and produced by Dave Cavanaugh. All brass, reeds and rhythm. Great album. Great cover. NOVEMBER 7–DECEMBER 17, 1945: Back in New York, Dad ran the gamut of audiences from... [See November 7th] [Dates of new entries highlighted in blue] |
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#1720
12-15-2009, 11:50 PM
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December 16th
(From the Guestbook page and the online book Frank Sinatra: An American Legend by Nancy Sinatra
)DECEMBER 16, 1983: Dad appeared with Sammy, Dean and Diana Ross at a benefit for the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. NOVEMBER 26–DECEMBER 19, 1968: Returning to Las Vegas... [See November 26th] DECEMBER 9–23, 1958: FS recorded the album Come Dance with Me, arranged by Billy May and Heinie Beau and produced by Dave Cavanaugh. All brass, reeds and rhythm. Great album. Great cover. NOVEMBER 7–DECEMBER 17, 1945: Back in New York, Dad ran the gamut of audiences from... [See November 7th] [Dates of new entries highlighted in blue] |
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