Frank Sinatra

American singer and actor (1915–1998)

Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra Grande Ufficiale OMRI (December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. His singing career was 60 years long, and more than 250 million records of his have been sold worldwide. Sinatra is widely regarded as one of the best and most admired popular singers in the history of American standards.[1]

Frank Sinatra

Frank Sinatra in 1960
Born
Francis Albert Sinatra

(1915-12-12)December 12, 1915
DiedMay 14, 1998(1998-05-14) (aged 82)
Burial placeDesert Memorial Park, Cathedral City, California, U.S.
Occupations
  • Singer
  • actor
  • producer
Years active1935–1995
Spouses
Nancy Barbato
(m. 1939; div. 1951)
(m. 1951; div. 1957)
(m. 1966; div. 1968)
(m. 1976)
Children
Parents
Musical career
Genres
InstrumentsVocals
Labels
Websitesinatra.com

He is also well known by the nickname "Old Blue Eyes". The New York Times said he was "the first modern pop superstar".[2] At first, he was mostly known as a crooner, a singer of love songs. By the 1950s and 1960s, he was singing swing and jazz songs as well. Sinatra was also part of the Rat Pack,[3] a group of entertainers (musicians and actors), in the 1950s and 1960s. The name was informal, and the group was not an official organization of any sort, but a group of friends. Members of the Rat Pack included Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Jr., Peter Lawford, and Joey Bishop, as well as (more loosely) Humphrey Bogart, Judy Garland, Lauren Bacall, Sidney Luft, and Shirley MacLaine.

Early life

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He was born in Hoboken, New Jersey to Italian immigrants.

The only child of Sicilian immigrants, a teenaged Sinatra decided to become a singer after watching Bing Crosby perform in the mid-1930s. He'd already been a member of the glee club in his high school and began to sing at local nightclubs

Acting career

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Sinatra was also an actor. He was in movies such as The Manchurian Candidate, From Here to Eternity, and The Man With The Golden Arm. He won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in From Here To Eternity.[4]

Personal life

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Sinatra was married 4 times. He was married to Nancy Barbato from 1939 to 1951, to Ava Gardner from 1951 to 1957, to Mia Farrow from 1966 to 1968, and to Barbara Marx from 1976 until his death on May 14, 1998.

Sinatra died on May 14, 1998 at 10:50 pm at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California, after suffering a heart attack. His wife Barbara was at his side. The words "The best is yet to come" are written on his gravestone.[5]

References

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  1. "Frank Sinatra – Rolling Stone". Rolling Stone.
  2. Holden, Stephen (May 16, 1998). "Frank Sinatra Dies at 82; Matchless Stylist of Pop". New York Times. Retrieved March 25, 2011.
  3. Williams, Richard (October 7, 2010). "When the Rat Pack ruled supreme". The Guardian. Retrieved March 25, 2011.
  4. "26th Academy Awards Winners". Oscars.org. Archived from the original on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 10 October 2012.
  5. "Frank Sinatra (1915-1998)". Find a Grave. Retrieved March 25, 2011.

Bibliography

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Gildo De Stefano, The Voice - Vita e italianità di Frank Sinatra, Coniglio Press, Roma 2011 ISBN 8860632595

Other websites

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