191 Facts About Frank Sinatra

Francis Albert Sinatra was an American singer and actor.

Frank Sinatra is among the world's best-selling music artists, with an estimated 150 million record sales globally.

Frank Sinatra joined the Harry James band as the vocalist in 1939 before finding success as a solo artist after signing with Columbia Records in 1943, becoming the idol of the "bobby soxers".

In 1960, Frank Sinatra left Capitol Records to start his own record label, Reprise Records, releasing a string of successful albums.

Frank Sinatra collaborated with Count Basie on Sinatra-Basie: An Historic Musical First and It Might as Well Be Swing.

Frank Sinatra retired in 1971 following the release of "My Way" but came out of retirement two years later.

Frank Sinatra recorded several albums and released "New York, New York" in 1980.

Frank Sinatra appeared in musicals such as On the Town, Guys and Dolls, High Society, and Pal Joey, which won him a Golden Globe Award.

On television, The Frank Sinatra Show began on CBS in 1950, and he continued to make appearances on television throughout the 1950s and 1960s.

In 1983, Frank Sinatra was honored at the Kennedy Center Honors.

Frank Sinatra was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1985 and the Congressional Gold Medal in 1997.

Frank Sinatra received eleven Grammy Awards, including the Grammy Trustees Award, Grammy Legend Award, and the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.

Francis Albert Frank Sinatra was born on December 12,1915, in a tenement at 415 Monroe Street in Hoboken, New Jersey, the only child of Italian immigrants Natalina "Dolly" Garaventa and Antonino Martino "Marty" Frank Sinatra.

Frank Sinatra's grandmother resuscitated him by running him under cold water until he gasped.

Frank Sinatra's mother was energetic and driven; biographers believe that she was the dominant factor in the development of her son's personality and self-confidence.

Frank Sinatra's fourth wife Barbara would later claim that Dolly "knocked him around a lot" when he was a child.

Frank Sinatra worked as a midwife, and according to Sinatra biographer Kitty Kelley, ran an illegal abortion service that catered to Italian Catholic girls, for which she was nicknamed "Hatpin Dolly".

Frank Sinatra had a gift for languages and served as a local interpreter.

Frank Sinatra's illiterate father was a bantamweight boxer who later worked at the Hoboken Fire Department, working his way up to captain.

Frank Sinatra spent much time at his parents' tavern in Hoboken, working on his homework and occasionally singing for spare change.

At a young age, Frank Sinatra developed an interest in music, particularly big band jazz and listened to Gene Austin, Rudy Vallee, Russ Colombo, and Bob Eberly while idolizing Bing Crosby.

Dolly found her son work as a delivery boy at the Jersey Observer newspaper, where his godfather Frank Sinatra Garrick worked; he later worked as a riveter at the Tietjen and Lang shipyard.

Frank Sinatra began performing in local Hoboken social clubs and sang for free on radio stations such as WAAT in Jersey City.

In New York, Frank Sinatra found jobs singing for his supper or for cigarettes.

Frank Sinatra never learned to read music but learned by ear.

Frank Sinatra got his first break in 1935 when his mother persuaded a local singing group called the 3 Flashes to let him join.

Baritone Fred Tamburro stated that "Frank Sinatra hung around us like we were gods or something", admitting that they only took him on board because he owned a car and could chauffeur the group.

Frank Sinatra soon learned they were auditioning for the Major Bowes Amateur Hour show and "begged" the group to let him join.

In 1938, Frank Sinatra found employment as a singing waiter at a roadhouse called "The Rustic Cabin" in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, for which he was paid $15 a week.

Frank Sinatra became increasingly frustrated with the Harry James band, feeling that he was not achieving the major success and acclaim he was looking for.

Frank Sinatra earned $125 a week, appearing at the Palmer House in Chicago, and James released Frank Sinatra from his contract.

Dorsey was a major influence on Frank Sinatra and became a father figure.

Frank Sinatra copied Dorsey's mannerisms and traits, becoming a demanding perfectionist like him, even adopting his hobby of toy trains.

Frank Sinatra asked Dorsey to be godfather to his daughter Nancy in June 1940.

Later, Frank Sinatra helped Rich form his own band with a $25,000 loan and provided financial help to Rich during times of the drummer's serious illness.

Frank Sinatra first heard the recordings at the Hollywood Palladium and Hollywood Plaza and was astounded at how good he sounded.

Frank Sinatra was so excited you almost believed he had never recorded before.

Frank Sinatra persuaded Stordahl to come with him and become his personal arranger, offering him $650 a month, five times his salary from Dorsey.

Dorsey and Frank Sinatra, who had been very close, never reconciled their differences.

When Frank Sinatra returned to the Paramount in October 1944, only 250 persons left the first show, and 35,000 fans left outside caused a near riot, known as the Columbus Day Riot, outside the venue because they were not allowed in.

Frank Sinatra initially had great success, and performed on the radio on Your Hit Parade from February 1943 until December 1944, and on stage.

Frank Sinatra did not serve in the military during World War II.

However, Army files reported that Frank Sinatra had actually been rejected because he was "not acceptable material from a psychiatric viewpoint;" his emotional instability was hidden to avoid "undue unpleasantness for both the selectee and the induction service".

Briefly, there were rumors reported by columnist Walter Winchell that Frank Sinatra paid $40,000 to avoid military service, but the FBI found this to be without merit.

Toward the end of the war, Frank Sinatra entertained the troops during several successful overseas USO tours with comedian Phil Silvers.

Frank Sinatra worked frequently with the popular Andrews Sisters in radio in the 1940s, and many USO shows were broadcast to troops via the Armed Forces Radio Service.

In 1944, Frank Sinatra released "I Couldn't Sleep a Wink Last Night" as a single and recorded his own version of Irving Berlin's "White Christmas".

Such was Sinatra's command at Columbia that his love of conducting was indulged with the release of the set Frank Sinatra Conducts the Music of Alec Wilder, an offering unlikely to appeal to Sinatra's core fanbase of teenage girls at the time.

When Frank Sinatra was featured as a priest in The Miracle of the Bells, due to press negativity surrounding his alleged Mafia connections at the time, it was announced to the public that Frank Sinatra would donate his $100,000 in wages from the film to the Catholic Church.

Sinatra's last two albums with Columbia, Dedicated to You and Sing and Dance with Frank Sinatra, were released in 1950.

In financial difficulty following his divorce and career decline, Frank Sinatra was forced to borrow $200,000 from Columbia to pay his back taxes after MCA refused to front the money.

Tom Santopietro notes that Frank Sinatra began to bury himself in his work, with an "unparalleled frenetic schedule of recordings, movies and concerts", in what authors Anthony Summers and Robbyn Swan describe as "a new and brilliant phase".

On March 13,1953, Frank Sinatra met with Capitol Records vice president Alan Livingston and signed a seven-year recording contract.

That same month, Frank Sinatra released the single "Young at Heart", which reached No 2 and was awarded Song of the Year.

Frank Sinatra became one of Las Vegas's pioneer residency entertainers, and a prominent figure on the Vegas scene throughout the 1950s and 1960s onwards, a period described by Rojek as the "high-water mark" of Frank Sinatra's "hedonism and self-absorption".

Rojek notes that the Rat Pack "provided an outlet for gregarious banter and wisecracks" but argues that it was Frank Sinatra's vehicle, possessing an "unassailable command over the other performers".

Frank Sinatra would fly to Las Vegas from Los Angeles in Van Heusen's plane.

On October 4,1953, Frank Sinatra made his first performance at the Sands Hotel and Casino, after an invitation by the manager Jack Entratter.

Frank Sinatra typically performed there three times a year and later acquired a share in the hotel.

Frank Sinatra embarked on his first tour of Australia the same year.

Frank Sinatra sang at that year's Democratic National Convention and performed with The Dorsey Brothers for a week soon afterward at the Paramount Theatre.

In 1958, Frank Sinatra released the concept album Come Fly with Me with Billy May, designed as a musical world tour.

Frank Sinatra grew discontented at Capitol and feuded with Alan Livingston, which lasted over six months.

Frank Sinatra and Count Basie collaborated for the album Frank Sinatra-Basie the same year, a popular and successful release which prompted them to rejoin two years later for the follow-up It Might as Well Be Swing, arranged by Quincy Jones.

Also in 1962, as the owner of his own record label, Sinatra was able to step on the podium as conductor again, releasing his third instrumental album Frank Sinatra Conducts Music from Pictures and Plays.

In 1963, Frank Sinatra reunited with Nelson Riddle for The Concert Frank Sinatra, an ambitious album featuring a 73-piece symphony orchestra arranged and conducted by Riddle.

Frank Sinatra increasingly became involved in charitable pursuits in this period.

The Rat Pack concert, called The Frank Sinatra Spectacular, was broadcast live via satellite to numerous movie theaters across America.

Granata considers the album to have been one of the finest of his Reprise years, "a reflective throwback to the concept records of the 1950s, and more than any of those collections, distills everything that Frank Sinatra had ever learned or experienced as a vocalist".

In 1966, Frank Sinatra released That's Life, with both the single of "That's Life" and album becoming Top Ten hits on Billboards pop charts.

Frank Sinatra was backed by the Count Basie Orchestra, with Quincy Jones conducting.

Frank Sinatra pulled out from the Sands the following year when he was driven out by its new owner Howard Hughes after a fight.

Frank Sinatra started 1967 with a series of recording sessions with Antonio Carlos Jobim.

Frank Sinatra released the album The World We Knew, which features a chart-topping duet of "Somethin' Stupid" with daughter Nancy.

Frank Sinatra recorded it in one take, just after Christmas 1968.

Frank Sinatra told songwriter Ervin Drake in the 1970s that he "detested" singing the song because he believed audiences would think it was a "self-aggrandizing tribute".

In 1970, Frank Sinatra released Watertown, a critically acclaimed concept album, with music by Bob Gaudio and lyrics by Jake Holmes.

Frank Sinatra performed several charity concerts with Count Basie at the Royal Festival Hall in London.

On November 2,1970, Frank Sinatra recorded the last songs for Reprise Records before his self-imposed retirement, announced the following June at a concert in Hollywood to raise money for the Motion Picture and TV Relief Fund.

Around this time, Frank Sinatra designed Villa Maggio, a holiday home and retreat near Palm Desert.

Frank Sinatra obliged and chose to sing "My Kind of Town" for the rally held in Chicago on October 20,1972.

In 1973, Frank Sinatra came out of his short-lived retirement with a television special and album.

The television special, Magnavox Presents Frank Sinatra, reunited Sinatra with Gene Kelly.

Frank Sinatra initially developed problems with his vocal cords during the comeback due to a prolonged period without singing.

In 1975, Frank Sinatra performed in concerts in New York with Count Basie and Ella Fitzgerald, and at the London Palladium with Basie and Sarah Vaughan, and in Tehran at Aryamehr Stadium, giving 140 performances in 105 days.

Frank Sinatra continued to perform at Caesars Palace in the late 1970s and was performing there in January 1977 when his mother Dolly died in a plane crash on the way to see him.

Frank Sinatra canceled two weeks of shows and spent time recovering from the shock in Barbados.

In 1978, Sinatra filed a $1million lawsuit against a land developer for using his name in the "Frank Sinatra Drive Center" in West Los Angeles.

Also in 1981, Frank Sinatra was embroiled in controversy when he worked a 10-day engagement for $2million in Sun City, in the internationally unrecognized Bophuthatswana, breaking a cultural boycott against apartheid-era South Africa.

Frank Sinatra donated a lot of his earnings to charity.

Frank Sinatra put on a performance at the White House for Italian president Sandro Pertini, and performed at the Radio City Music Hall with Luciano Pavarotti and George Shearing.

Frank Sinatra was honored at the 1983 Kennedy Center Honors, alongside Katherine Dunham, James Stewart, Elia Kazan, and Virgil Thomson.

On September 21,1983, Frank Sinatra filed a $2million court case against Kitty Kelley, suing her for punitive damages, before her unofficial biography, His Way, was even published.

Frank Sinatra was always adamant that such a book would be written on his terms, and he himself would "set the record straight" in details of his life.

Kelley says that Tina Frank Sinatra blamed her for her father's colon surgery in 1986.

Frank Sinatra was forced to drop the case on September 19,1984, with several leading newspapers expressing concerns about censorship.

In 1986, Frank Sinatra collapsed on stage while performing in Atlantic City and was hospitalized for diverticulitis, which left him looking frail.

Two years later, Frank Sinatra reunited with Martin and Davis and went on the Rat Pack Reunion Tour, during which they played many large arenas.

On June 6,1988, Frank Sinatra made his last recordings with Reprise for an album that was not released.

Frank Sinatra recorded "My Foolish Heart", "Cry Me a River", and other songs.

In 1990, Frank Sinatra was awarded the second "Ella Award" by the Los Angeles-based Society of Singers, and performed for a final time with Ella Fitzgerald at the award ceremony.

Frank Sinatra maintained an active touring schedule in the early 1990s, performing 65 concerts in 1990,73 in 1991, and 84 in 1992 in seventeen countries.

In 1993, Frank Sinatra returned to Capitol Records and the recording studio for Duets, which became his best-selling album.

The album and its sequel, Duets II, released the following year, would see Frank Sinatra remake his classic recordings with popular contemporary performers, who added their vocals to a pre-recorded tape.

Esquire reported of the show that Frank Sinatra was "clear, tough, on the money" and "in absolute control".

In recognition of his many years of association with Las Vegas, Frank Sinatra was elected to the Gaming Hall of Fame in 1997.

Frank Sinatra could follow a lead sheet during a performance by "carefully following the patterns and groupings of notes arranged on the page" and made his own notations to the music, using his ear to detect semitonal differences.

Frank Sinatra was an aficionado of classical music, and would often request classical strains in his music, inspired by composers such as Puccini and Impressionist masters.

Frank Sinatra would insist on always recording live with the band because it gave him a "certain feeling" to perform live surrounded by musicians.

Frank Sinatra never liked to discuss a performance afterward because he knew his voice wasn't as good as it used to be.

Arrangers such as Nelson Riddle and Anthony Fanzo found Frank Sinatra to be a perfectionist who constantly drove himself and others around him, stating that his collaborators approached him with uneasiness because of his unpredictable and often volatile temperament.

Granata comments that Frank Sinatra was almost fanatically obsessed with perfection to the point that people began wondering if he was genuinely concerned about the music or showing off his power over others.

Unlike many of his contemporaries, Frank Sinatra insisted upon direct input regarding arrangements and tempos for his recordings.

Frank Sinatra would spend weeks thinking about the songs he wanted to record and would keep an arranger in mind for each song.

Frank Sinatra attempted to pursue an acting career in Hollywood in the early 1940s.

Frank Sinatra made his film debut performing in an uncredited sequence in Las Vegas Nights, singing "I'll Never Smile Again" with Tommy Dorsey's Pied Pipers.

Frank Sinatra had a cameo role along with Duke Ellington and Count Basie in Charles Barton's Reveille with Beverly, making a brief appearance singing "Night and Day".

Frank Sinatra briefly appeared at the end of Richard Whorf's commercially successful Till the Clouds Roll By, a Technicolor musical biopic of Jerome Kern, in which he sang "Ol' Man River".

Frank Sinatra co-starred again with Gene Kelly in the Technicolor musical Take Me Out to the Ball Game, in which they play baseball players who are part-time vaudevillians.

Frank Sinatra teamed up with Kelly for a third time in On the Town, playing a sailor on leave in New York City.

Frank Sinatra had long been desperate to find a film role that would bring him back into the spotlight, and Columbia Pictures boss Harry Cohn had been inundated by appeals from people across Hollywood to give Frank Sinatra a chance to star as "Maggio" in the film.

The Los Angeles Examiner wrote that Frank Sinatra is "simply superb, comical, pitiful, childishly brave, pathetically defiant", commenting that his death scene is "one of the best ever photographed".

Frank Sinatra starred opposite Doris Day in the musical film Young at Heart, and earned critical praise for his performance as a psychopathic killer posing as an FBI agent opposite Sterling Hayden in the film noir Suddenly.

Frank Sinatra was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor and BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role for his role as a heroin addict in The Man with the Golden Arm.

Frank Sinatra featured alongside Bing Crosby and Grace Kelly in High Society for MGM, earning a reported $250,000 for the picture.

Santopietro considers the scene in which Frank Sinatra sings "The Lady Is a Tramp" to have been the finest moment of his film career.

Frank Sinatra next portrayed comedian Joe E Lewis in The Joker Is Wild ; the song "All the Way" won the Academy Award for Best Original Song.

Frank Sinatra personally financed the film and paid Martin and Davis fees of $150,000 and $125,000, respectively, sums considered exorbitant for the period.

Frank Sinatra had a leading role opposite Laurence Harvey in The Manchurian Candidate, which he considered to be the role he was most excited about and the high point of his film career.

Frank Sinatra directed None but the Brave, and Von Ryan's Express was a major success.

Frank Sinatra played a similar role in The Detective.

Frank Sinatra starred opposite George Kennedy in the western Dirty Dingus Magee, an "abysmal" affair according to Santopietro, which was panned by the critics.

Santopietro said that as a troubled New York City homicide cop, Frank Sinatra gave an "extraordinarily rich", heavily layered characterization, one which "made for one terrific farewell" to his film career.

In 1942, Frank Sinatra hired arranger Axel Stordahl away from Tommy Dorsey before he began his first radio program that year, keeping Stordahl with him for all of his radio work.

Frank Sinatra appeared as a special guest in the sisters' ABC Eight-to-the-Bar Ranch series, while the trio in turn guested on his Songs by Sinatra series on CBS.

Frank Sinatra had two stints as a regular member of the cast of Your Hit Parade; his first was from 1943 to 1945, and second was from 1946 to May 28,1949, during which he was paired with the then-new girl singer, Doris Day.

In October 1951, the second season of The Frank Sinatra Show began on CBS Television.

Ultimately, Frank Sinatra did not find the success on television for which he had hoped.

In 1957, Sinatra formed a three-year $3million contract with ABC to launch The Frank Sinatra Show, featuring himself and guests in 36 half-hour shows.

When Frank Sinatra came out of retirement in 1973, he appeared in a TV special that shared its title with his contemporaneously released album, Ol' Blue Eyes Is Back.

Frank Sinatra starred as a detective in Contract on Cherry Street, cited as his "one starring role in a dramatic television film".

Frank Sinatra was married to Nancy Frank Sinatra from 1939 to 1951.

Frank Sinatra met Barbato in Long Branch, New Jersey, in the summer of 1934 while working as a lifeguard.

Frank Sinatra agreed to marry her after an incident at "The Rustic Cabin" that led to his arrest.

Frank Sinatra had numerous extramarital affairs, and gossip magazines published details of affairs with women including Marilyn Maxwell, Lana Turner, Joi Lansing, and Marilyn Monroe.

Frank Sinatra adored the company of women and knew how to treat them.

Frank Sinatra was married to Hollywood actress Ava Gardner from 1951 to 1957.

Frank Sinatra continued to feel very strongly for her, and they remained friends for life.

Frank Sinatra reportedly broke off engagements to Lauren Bacall in 1958 and Juliet Prowse in 1962.

Frank Sinatra was romantically linked to Pat Sheehan, Vikki Dougan, and Kipp Hamilton.

Frank Sinatra said that her father had a vasectomy years before Farrow's birth.

Frank Sinatra was married to Barbara Marx from 1976 until his death.

Frank Sinatra often played golf with Venturi at the course in Palm Springs, where he lived in the house Twin Palms he had commissioned from E Stewart Williams in 1947 Frank Sinatra liked painting, reading, and building model railways.

Frank Sinatra died as a practicing Catholic and had a Catholic burial.

Frank Sinatra spent lavishly on expensive custom-tailored tuxedos and stylish pin-striped suits, which made him feel wealthy and important and that he was giving his very best to the audience.

Frank Sinatra wrote an angry letter in response, calling Royko a "pimp" and threatening to "punch you in the mouth" for speculating that he wore a toupee.

Frank Sinatra was known for his generosity, particularly after his comeback.

Kelley notes that when Lee J Cobb nearly died from a heart attack in June 1955, Sinatra flooded him with "books, flowers, delicacies", paid his hospital bills, and visited him daily, telling him that his "finest acting" was yet to come.

Frank Sinatra became the stereotype of the "tough working-class Italian American", something which he embraced.

Frank Sinatra said that if it had not been for his interest in music, he would have likely ended up in a life of crime.

Frank Sinatra was present at the Mafia Havana Conference in 1946, and the press learned of his being there with Lucky Luciano.

Frank Sinatra was reported to be a good friend of mobster Sam Giancana, Kelley quoted Jo-Carrol Silvers that Sinatra "adored" Bugsy Siegel and boasted to friends about him and how many people Siegel had killed.

The FBI documented that Sinatra was losing esteem with the Mafia as he grew closer to President Kennedy, whose younger brother Attorney General Robert F Kennedy was leading a crackdown on organized crime.

Frank Sinatra's mother, Dolly, was a Democratic Party ward leader.

In November 1945, Frank Sinatra was invited by the mayor of Gary, Indiana, to try to settle a strike by white students of Froebel High School against the "Pro-Negro" policies of the new principal.

Frank Sinatra's comments, while praised by liberal publications, led to accusations by some that he was a communist, which he denied.

Frank Sinatra often invited Kennedy to Hollywood and Las Vegas, and the two would womanize and enjoy parties together.

In 1962, Frank Sinatra was snubbed by the President as, during his visit to his Palm Springs, Kennedy stayed with the Republican Bing Crosby instead of Frank Sinatra, citing FBI concerns about the latter's alleged connections to organized crime.

Frank Sinatra had spared no expense upgrading the facilities at his home in anticipation of the President's visit, fitting it with a heliport, which he smashed with a sledgehammer after the rejection.

Frank Sinatra officially changed allegiance in July 1972 when he supported Richard Nixon in the 1972 presidential election.

Frank Sinatra arranged Reagan's Presidential gala, as he had done for Kennedy.

In June 1984, Frank Sinatra performed at the State Dinner in the White House honoring Sri Lankan President JR Jayawardena at the invitation of Reagan.

Frank Sinatra gave a series of concerts in Israel in 1962 and donated his entire $50,000 fee for appearing in a cameo role in Cast a Giant Shadow to the Youth Center in Jerusalem.

From his youth, Frank Sinatra displayed sympathy for black Americans and worked both publicly and privately all his life to help the struggle for equal rights.

Frank Sinatra blamed racial prejudice on the parents of children.

Frank Sinatra played a major role in the desegregation of Nevada hotels and casinos in the 1950s and 1960s.

On January 27,1961, Frank Sinatra played a benefit show at Carnegie Hall for Martin Luther King Jr.

When he changed his political affiliations in 1970, Frank Sinatra became less outspoken on racial issues.

Frank Sinatra made no public appearances following a heart attack in February 1997.

Frank Sinatra's funeral was held at the Church of the Good Shepherd in Beverly Hills, California, on May 20,1998, with 400 mourners in attendance and thousands of fans outside.

Frank Sinatra was buried in a blue business suit; his grave, adorned with mementos from family members, was next to his parents in Desert Memorial Park in Cathedral City, California.

Frank Sinatra's gravestone was changed as of 2021 to read "Sleep Warm, Poppa", due to damage caused to the original gravestone under mysterious circumstances, according to the magazine Palm Springs Life.

Frank Sinatra's popularity is matched only by Bing Crosby, Elvis Presley, The Beatles, and Michael Jackson.

Frank Sinatra is seen as one of the icons of the 20th century, and has three stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his work in film and music.

Frank Sinatra Drive runs parallel to the Hudson River Waterfront Walkway.

Wynn Resorts' Encore Las Vegas resort features a restaurant dedicated to Frank Sinatra which opened in 2008.

In 1984 and 1985, Frank Sinatra received an Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts from Loyola Marymount University and an Honorary Doctorate of Engineering from the Stevens Institute of Technology.

Frank Sinatra was written by Abby Mann and Philip Mastrosimone and produced by Frank Sinatra's daughter, Tina.

Frank Sinatra has subsequently been portrayed on screen by Ray Liotta, James Russo, Dennis Hopper, and Robert Knepper, and spoofed by Joe Piscopo and Phil Hartman on Saturday Night Live.

Frank Sinatra believed that Johnny Fontane, a mob-associated singer in Mario Puzo's novel The Godfather, was based on him.

Puzo wrote in 1972 that when the author and singer met in Chasen's, Frank Sinatra "started to shout abuse", calling Puzo a "pimp" and threatening violence.