July 7 – August 23, 2009
Conceived by David Grapes and Todd Olson
Book by Todd Olson
Original Production Directed by David Grapes
Directed by David Grapes
The Life of Frank Sinatra
By Gary Cadwallader
The Voice. The Sultan of Swoon. The Chairman of the Board. Ol' Blue Eyes. The Greatest Singer of the Popular Song. These are all nicknames for one of the greatest entertainers of the 20th century, a man whose career successes spanned more than 50 years, enjoying popularity with each successive generation. The following is a condensed biography of one the most colorful and interesting men of the last 75 years.
December 12, 1915, Hoboken, New Jersey: Francis Albert Sinatra (some say he was born Sinestro) was thought to be stillborn until his grandmother doused him with cold water. His birth had been difficult. The doctor unable to extract the baby from his mother, pulled on the baby with forceps, injuring the baby's ear, cheek, and neck, producing scars he would bear the rest of his life. Baby Francis fought for his life that first day and won.
Francis was born the son of Anthony Martin Sinatra, a struggling boxer (known in the ring as Marty O'Brien) who had emigrated from Agregento on the island of Sicily, and Natalie Catherine Garavente (called Dolly), a saloonkeeper known as an aggressive, strong-willed woman from Genoa.
Hoboken at the time of Sinatra's birth was rich, not only with Italian immigrants, but also with Irish immigrants and Jews from Eastern Europe. It was a tough town in which to grow up, and fighting for survival was a way of life. Frank, as he was now called, grew up an only child, learning to defend himself on the streets while at the same time being pampered by his doting, but tough, mother. Frank's father, now earning a decent, livable salary as a firefighter, moved his family to Garden Street, a more modest, middle-class Hoboken neighborhood. Frank became known around town for his always new, always fashionable clothing, and was the envy of his friends for having a bedroom of his own, an almost unheard of luxury at that time.
Throughout the 1920's, Frank loved listening to the family radio and especially loved the songs sung by Russ Columbo (1908-1934). When he took an interest in singing himself, Frank's mother paid for voice lessons (against his father's wishes, for singing lessons were for sissies). After entering Demarest High School in 1931, Frank began singing in the school choir, at dances, and at parties. He attracted a great deal of local attention and the applause and praise gave him the confidence to perfect his craft. When he saw a 1933 Jersey City concert by superstar crooner Bing Crosby (1904-1977), Sinatra felt empowered to follow in his new idol's footsteps. At the time, Frank had been working for his godfather, Frank Garrick, as an assistant at the newspaper, The Jersey Observer, but became uninterested in mundane work and school. He decided to quit school at 16 in 1934 to pursue a singing career, but before he could 'make it big' he needed a paycheck, which was hard to come by during the Great Depression. His post-schooling odd jobs included working in several different shipbuilding yards, and unloading crates of books at a publishing company in nearby Manhattan.
During this time, Sinatra purchased, with the help of his parents, a small portable sound system and some band arrangements of popular songs. These gave him the opportunity to do some important "one night stands" with orchestras in small clubs and roadhouses. Also at this time Frank auditioned for the Major Bowes Amateur Hour, a local New York show (from the Capitol Theatre) that was heard nationally over the radio. First prize was a place on a national tour produced by Bowes, and great national coverage. Sinatra passed the audition. Also making it past the auditions was a trio of local Hoboken boys who hung out at Frank's mother's saloon. Jimmy Petrozelli, Patty Principe, and Fred Tamburro wanted to perform as much as Frank did, and after their Amateur Hour audition, Bowes decided to put the two acts together and call them The Hoboken Four. They all agreed and the following Sunday the quartet sang the Bing Crosby/Mills Brothers 1932 hit, "Shine." They won big, and became a unit in the Major Bowes touring unit.
Sinatra left the tour after making his motion picture debut in the short, Major Bowes Theater of the Air, and went back home to Hoboken. He was now dating Nancy Barbato of Jersey City, New Jersey, and he auditioned for a job at the Rustic Cabin, a restaurant in Englewood, New Jersey. He was hired to serve as maitre d' and sing with the band. The Rustic Cabin was connected by radio hookup to WNEW in New York, and the restaurant's orchestra could be heard on the air every night on "The WNEW Dance Parade." In between seating people, Sinatra would sing a number or two and made about $15 a week plus tips. He worked at The Rustic Cabin from 1937-1939.
The exposure was great for Sinatra's career. In 1939, he learned that trumpeter Harry James was leaving The Benny Goodman Orchestra and starting an orchestra of his own. Sinatra had publicity photos taken and managed to get them to James. James had heard Sinatra on WNEW and made a visit to The Rustic Cabin. He liked Sinatra's voice and immediately hired the young singer in 1939. Also in 1939, Sinatra married his sweetheart Nancy Barbato and set up housekeeping in Jersey City. Sinatra began his new job with Harry James & His Orchestra, but he wasn't with them for long. Popular bandleader Tommy Dorsey was losing his lead vocalist Jack Leonard, and Sinatra sang for Dorsey at a nightclub in Chicago. Dorsey liked what he heard and hired Sinatra. James, willing to let go of his singer for a bigger orchestra, ripped up Sinatra's contract and wished him well. Sinatra joined Dorsey in January 1940, and sang for him for the next two years.
In Swing Era, Gunther Schuller examines Sinatra's brief stint with Harry James: "The arrival of Frank Sinatra…may have tipped Harry James's (1916-1983) approach…in a populist direction. Though Sinatra's big success came [later] with Tommy Dorsey, there is no question that James had discovered a major singing and musical talent, and that his presence had a more than casual impact on his band's popularity. Of the early nine Sinatra sides (singles) "All or Nothing At All" is the most impressive, showing the then twenty-three year old singer as already the possessor of a rich, warm baritone voice with a relatively straight unembellished delivery. A moderate commercial success, the record became a big hit a few years later when re-released by Columbia and when Sinatra was already firmly established as one of the top popular signers of the land."
In June 1940, Nancy Sinatra gave birth to a baby girl, Nancy, Jr., while Frank was on the road with Dorsey's band. In November 1940, The Dorsey band was hired to appear in the film Las Vegas Nights starring Constance Moore and Bert Wheeler. The band, along with Frank, Jo Stafford and The Pied Pipers (all Dorsey singers) performed their major hit "I'll Never Smile Again" in the movie, which was Frank's first #1 single (for an extraordinary 12 weeks). The movie was a moderate success, but a critic said of Frank: "He sings prettily in an unphotogenic manner." The following year The Tommy Dorsey Orchestra also appeared in a second film, Ship Ahoy, starring Eleanor Powell and Red Skelton. Songs sung in the film were "The Last Call For Love" and "I'll Take Tallulah." Frank's other number one singles with Dorsey include "Dolores" (also from Las Vegas Nights), "There Are Such Things" and "In The Blue of the Evening."
Sinatra's star continued to rise as the singer became extremely popular. Billboard magazine, the nation's leading music and record periodical, named Sinatra the "Most Outstanding Male Band Vocalist." Along with his newfound fame, his voice became stronger and clearer as he developed a singing style all his own. Gunther Schuller on Sinatra's tenure with Tommy Dorsey: "Sinatra, after singing successfully with Harry James for about half a year, joined Tommy Dorsey (1905-1956). From the outset it was clear that here was an entirely new breed of singer. Already somewhat jazz-influenced, Sinatra brought a new type of free and natural phrasing to songs, which even Bing Crosby could not match in sensitivity and interpretive imagination. Subtle jazz inflections and a fine beat, even in slow ballads, characterized his singing. Like his boss, Tommy Dorsey, he had what musicians call 'natural time,' very little to do with metronomic time, but rather just a 'perfect feeling.' Unlike many singers of the time, Sinatra had remarkably good intonation (accuracy of pitch). And again it wasn't studied, learned intonation; he had a natural ear for it.
"But perhaps the newest feature of his singing was the sheer quality of the voice itself. After decades of colorless, lightweight, expressionless male voices - mostly…crooning tenors - Sinatra's virile earthy baritone, with a rich bottom voice, was a startling departure from the popular norm.
"Sinatra learned much from Dorsey's [trombone] playing, especially in regard to breath control and musical line. On the other hand, it is undoubtedly those very talents in Sinatra that Dorsey found attractive in the first place. Sinatra's 'horn'-like approach was the perfect complement to Dorsey's highly vocal approach to the trombone."
Because of his growing fame, Sinatra decided he wanted to strike out on his own and try to become the first successful soloist since Bing Crosby. In a messy contract battle with Dorsey, Sinatra bought out the remainder of his contract and hired a manager, Hank Sanicola. His great fame was just around the corner.
After breaking with Dorsey in September of 1940, Sinatra began rehearsals for his first solo venture, a booking at The Paramount in New York City. Benny Goodman, "The King of Swing" was the headliner and Sinatra was going to join the band later in the evening. Meanwhile, while rehearsing his new act, Frank paid the bills by starring in two radio shows: Reflections on CBS, and Frank Sinatra Sings on ABC.
On December 30, 1942, Sinatra, on his own, made his debut at The Paramount. After being introduced by Jack Benny, Sinatra walked onto the stage to something popular music had never heard before: screaming and yelling. Here is what Sinatra said of opening night: "The sound that greeted me was absolutely deafening. It was a tremendous roar. Five thousand kids, stamping, yelling, screaming, applauding. I was scared stiff. I couldn't move a muscle. Benny Goodman froze, too. He was so scared he turned around, looked at the audience and said, 'What the hell is that?' I burst out laughing."
Sinatra played the Paramount for almost four solid weeks, first with Goodman and then with an orchestra led by Johnny Long. The screaming girls were known as "bobby-soxers," from the popular youth style of wearing short (usually white) socks, rolled down, and saddle oxford shoes.
E. J. Khan wrote in The New Yorker magazine: "Girls have plucked hairs from his head and, at somewhat less trouble to him, have collected clippings of his hair from the floors of barbershops. One Sinatra fan carries around in a locket what she insists is a Sinatra hangnail…'I shiver all the way up and down my spine when you sing,' a girl wrote Sinatra, 'just like I did when I had scarlet fever.' 'After the fourth time I fell out of a chair and bumped my head,' said another, 'I decided to sit on the floor in the beginning when I listen to you.'"
While Sinatra was singing for the young girls in New York, the American soldiers fighting overseas in World War II became angry that their girlfriends and fiancées were focusing their attentions and emotions on the young, skinny entertainer who wore floppy bow ties. Sinatra's 4-F status (ear trouble from birth) didn't help the matter any and soldiers on leave took to throwing tomatoes at Sinatra's picture on the theater marquee. Some believed Sinatra was the most hated man of World War II, more than Hitler.
While millions joined Sinatra fan clubs around the country, Sinatra recorded records and made two films in Hollywood: Reveille With Beverly starring Ann Miller, Duke Ellington's Orchestra and Count Basie's Orchestra, in which he appeared singing only one song, "Night And Day," and Higher And Higher starring Michele Morgan and Jack Haley for which he received his first good acting review.
Throughout the 1940's, Sinatra kept a very busy schedule. He performed in concert around the world (including one crazed show at The Paramount that was called the "Columbus Day Riot"), created a nightclub act, signed with Columbia Records in 1943, and made several films, most notably Anchors Aweigh (1945) with Gene Kelly and Kathryn Grayson, in which he sang, danced and acted to great acclaim. The critic at the Motion Picture Herald wrote: "All the world knows Frank Sinatra can sing; now it turns out that he can act, too. His characterization of Kelly's shipmate is a delight."
Other films from the 1940's include Step Lively (1944) with George Murphy and Adolphe Menjou, Till The Clouds Roll By (1946), with Lena Horne and Van Johnson, It Happened In Brooklyn (1947) with Jimmy Durante and Peter Lawford, The Miracle of The Bells (1948) with Fred MacMurray and Lee J. Cobb, Take Me Out To The Ballgame (1948) with Gene Kelly and Esther Williams, and On The Town (1949) with Gene Kelly, Ann Miller, and Betty Garrett.
Frank also had two more children: Frank, Jr. in 1944, and Christina in 1948. Though the press painted Frank and Nancy as happily married, the love affair had ended. Frank and Nancy separated in 1950 and almost two years later, after the divorce was final, Sinatra wed superstar actress Ava Gardner (1922-1990). Their romance was torrid and tempestuous, and they were known for their passionate, public fights.
The early 1950's were a very low time for Sinatra, both privately and professionally. The ups and downs in his marriage to Gardner were big news in all the national magazines and newspapers, and his fans were no longer buying his records, going to his concerts, or watching his movies. Because of this downturn in popularity, both M-G-M Studios and Columbia Records dropped Sinatra.
But Sinatra's star began to shine again as he signed on to Capitol Records in 1953 and fought hard for the role of Maggio in the film From Here To Eternity. Sinatra had lost clout in Hollywood and the producer of From Here To Eternity didn't want Sinatra for the role of the skinny Italian soldier. With his wife's help, Sinatra did whatever he could to get the role, and when his final competition for the role, Eli Wallach (b. 1915) demanded too much money, the role went to Sinatra. The film, which takes place in Hawaii in the days just before the attacks on Pearl Harbor, became an enormous critical and audience favorite. Sinatra won praise for his role of the murdered Maggio and at the 1954 Academy Awards, he claimed an Oscar as Best Supporting Actor. His movie career was rekindled and his acting capabilities were no longer questioned.
His recording career was also on the upswing. At Capitol Records Sinatra began working with orchestrator and arranger Nelson Riddle (1921-1987), who gave Sinatra a lusher, more sophisticated sound. Riddle and Sinatra helped develop the popularity of the LP, or long playing record, which was new technology at the time (most recordings were 78 rpm, meaning a released "collection" of songs included about 8 or 10 records instead of 1 LP). Sinatra's first record at Capitol, 1953's Swing Easy, was a huge success, and more success followed with Songs For Young Lovers (1954), In The Wee Small Hours (1955), and Songs For Swingin' Lovers (1956).
It was during these successful years that Sinatra started singing in Las Vegas casinos. Las Vegas was a small, sleepy desert community when the Sands Hotel went up in 1952. The hotel was a huge success and more casinos followed. Entertainers were paid handsome sums to sing in the casino's showrooms and with thousands of tourists flocking to the desert, a built-in audience was assured. Other performers who flourished in Las Vegas included singer and actor Dean Martin (1917-1995), vaudeville star, dancer, singer and actor Sammy Davis, Jr. (1925-1990), film actor (and future brother-in-law to President Kennedy) Peter Lawford (1923-1984), and comedian/actor Joey Bishop (b. 1918). They would eventually get together to take Las Vegas and Hollywood by storm.
Following From Here To Eternity, other movie successes followed, including: Young At Heart (1955) with Doris Day and Gig Young, The Tender Trap (1955) with Debbie Reynolds and Celeste Holm, Guys And Dolls (1955) with Marlon Brando and Jean Simmons, and two critical successes, The Man With The Golden Arm (1955) about a man with a terrible heroine addiction, and High Society (1956), the Cole Porter musical gem. High Society, based on Phillip Barry's The Philadelphia Story, gave Sinatra an opportunity to work with his longtime idol Bing Crosby, and the beautiful Grace Kelly (1929-1982), who would become a life-long best friend.
In 1957 Sinatra's marriage to Ava Gardner ended in divorce after three years separation. Single, Sinatra decided to live the high life and in the late 1950's and early 1960's decided to make Las Vegas more or less his permanent home. Always dreaming of owning his own record company, Sinatra's dream was almost a reality. His place of prestige in show business was about to grow larger and even more illustrious.
In the early 1960's, Sinatra finally had enough clout and capital to form his own record label. In 1961 he formed Reprise Records, and he himself would prove to be the label's biggest star, though the first couple of albums (Ring-A-Ding-Ding in 1961, and Swing Along With Me in 1962) were not huge successes. That would all change in 1965 (when Sinatra was 50) and 1966 when Sinatra recorded two very popular albums: September Of My Years in 1965 and Strangers In The Night in 1966. Both albums were very successful with "September" winning three Grammy Awards, including Best Album, and "Strangers" giving him his first #1 single in years: the title song "Strangers In The Night."
It was in the early 60's that Sinatra's rumored ties to the mafia were solidified, though he had been linked to various Mafioso throughout his career. He was part owner of the gambling casino/hotel, the Cal-Neva Lodge in Lake Tahoe, when the state of Nevada forced him give up the lodge because mobster Sam Giancana (1908-1975) was permitted to spend a great deal of time there. Giancana had been banned from all Nevada casinos due to his vast criminal record.
Meanwhile, Sinatra was busy making movies. Cole Porter's Can-Can (1960) with good friend Shirley Maclaine, Oceans Eleven (1960) with his friends Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Jr., Peter Lawford, and Joey Bishop, known collectively then as "The Summit," Sergeants 3 (1962), also featuring "The Summit," The Manchurian Candidate (1962) with Laurence Harvey and Angela Lansbury, and Robin and The Seven Hoods (1964) with Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Jr., and Bing Crosby.
In 1966, after dating Lauren Bacall and Juliet Prowse, Sinatra remarried for a second time, this time to 21 year old actress Mia Farrow. Their wedding made waves due to their 30 year age difference, but it encapsulated an era when swingin' older men dated pretty, younger women. Their marriage did not last long; Sinatra and Farrow separated within 18 months.
"The Summit," Sinatra, Martin, Davis, Bishop, and Lawford, often performed together in Las Vegas and in Hollywood and became notorious for their all-night parties, girlfriends, happy-go-lucky attitude, and a new, swingin' cool language. They were renamed "The Rat Pack" and developed a legendary status. Other performers considered auxiliary "Rat Pack" members were Shirley MacLaine, Bing Crosby, Liza Minnelli, and Jerry Lewis.
In the late 1960's, Sinatra had several big successes. His duet with his daughter Nancy, "Something Stupid" was a #1 smash in 1967, as was his new-found 1969 anthem, "My Way," and his 1967 recording with Brazilian superstar Antonio Carlos Jobim, Francis Albert Sinatra & Antonio Carlos Jobim created a craze for bossa nova music. Some of his film highlights of the time include The Detective (1968) with Lee Remick and Jack Klugman, and Lady In Cement (1968) with Raquel Welch.
In 1971, he announced his retirement from entertainment, but his career was far from over. Sinatra did a television special in 1973 entitled "Ol' Blue Eyes Is Back" and eventually went back to the concert stage, did television, appeared in front of the camera (That's Entertainment in 1974, That's Entertainment II in 1977, and The First Deadly Sin in 1980) and ended up back in the recording studio. Some of Sinatra's later albums include Trilogy (1980), which included the Kander and Ebb classic "Theme From New York, New York," Sinatra and (Sylvia) Syms (1983), L.A. Is My Lady (1984), and Frank Sinatra Conducts Tone Poems of Color (1992).
In 1976 Sinatra married Barbara Marx (ex-wife of Zeppo Marx), who was to be his fourth and final wife. As a tribute to Sinatra's influence on many contemporary musicians, an album entitled Duets was released in 1993 with Sinatra singing duets of his popular songs with Bono (of U2), Barbra Streisand, Aretha Franklin, and Natalie Cole, among others. It became Sinatra's biggest selling album of all time, selling more than 3 million copies. Sinatra released a follow-up called Duets II the next year, on which he sang duets with Lena Horne, Willie Nelson, Gladys Night, and Neil Diamond, among others.
Sinatra retired a second time in 1995, and, after a period of declining health, passed away on May 14, 1998. His career as a popular performer spanned more than 50 years, creating fans out of generation after generation of music lovers and film buffs.
My Way: A Musical Tribute to Frank Sinatra has been underwritten by a generous contribution from:
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