Facts about Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra Biography
Frank Sinatra was the 20th century’s greatest icon of American musical cool.
Frank Sinatra’s official career was singing: he began as a rail-thin crooner during World War II, and matured into the most respected pop singer of his generation. He remains beloved as a stylish, heartfelt singer of old-school standards like Come Fly With Me, New York, New York, All the Way, Strangers in the Night and One For My Baby (And One More For the Road).
He also took up acting, winning an Academy Award for his performance in From Here To Eternity (1953, with Burt Lancaster) and then appearing in jokey action comedies like Ocean’s Eleven (1960), tough-guy dramas like Tony Rome (1967), and musicals like High Society (1956, with fellow crooner Bing Crosby and Grace Kelly). Along the way Sinatra developed a reputation as a well-dressed, fast-living, gambling, drinking, fist-fighting swinger, with a top-dog swagger that earned him the nickname “The Chairman of the Board.”
He was the acknowledged leader of the Hollywood ‘Rat Pack’ of the early 1960s, which included Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr. and others. Sinatra ranks with Crosby, Elvis Presley and The Beatles among the most influential pop musicians of the 20th century.
Extra credit
Frank Sinatra is also known as “Ol’ Blue Eyes”… Frank Sinatra was married four times: to childhood sweetheart Nancy Barbato (1939-1951), actress Ava Gardner (1951-57), actress Mia Farrow (1966-68), and Barbara Blakeley Marx (1976 until his death in 1998). Gardner previously had been married to jazzman Artie Shaw, Marx had previously been married to Zeppo Marx (brother of Groucho Marx), and Farrow later had a 12-year relationship with film director Woody Allen… Frank Sinatra had three children, all from his first marriage: Nancy (b. 1940), Frank, Jr. (b. 1944), and Christina (commonly known as Tina, b. 1948)… Nancy Sinatra had her own pop music career and sang the hit 1966 single “These Boots Are Made For Walkin’.” Frank and Nancy sang a duet on the 1967 single “Somethin’ Stupid.”