Frank Sinatra, the premier American pop
stylist and Chairman of the Board to his
legions of fans, died Thursday night of a
heart attack. He was 82.
The singer, who had stayed out of public
view since a heart attack last year, was
pronounced dead at 10:50 p.m. in the
emergency room of Cedars-Sinai Medical
Center in Los Angeles.
The son of Italian immigrants, Francis Albert Sinatra released over 200
albums in his 40-year career; 32 of them reached the top 10 of the
Billboard pop albums chart, while nine of his singles achieved similar
success on the Hot 100. Among his most popular hits were "Somethin'
Stupid," "That's Life," "Strangers In The Night," "Witchcraft," "Hey! Jealous
Lover," "Love And Marriage," and his signature song, "My Way." He was
presented with the Grammy's Lifetime Achievement Award in 1965.
Sinatra was a multitalented artist and businessman who segued into film
early in his career. His résumé included dozens of movies,
ranging from
musicals like "High Society" to such gritty dramas as "The Manchurian
Candidate." He was awarded an Oscar for best supporting actor for his
career-revitalizing role in "From Here To Eternity," and garnered another
Oscar nomination for his part in "The Man With The Golden Arm."
Sinatra was one of the first artists to own his own record company; he
sold
his label -- Reprise -- to Warner Bros. in 1963. He announced his
retirement from the music business in 1970, only to return three years
later.
He continued to record for another 22 years, achieving success with sundry
best-of collections and the two well-received "Duets" albums.
A private funeral is planned.
Biography
Sinatra was a master craftsman and ranked as one of
the most
influential singers in this country's history. In more than 200 albums,
his music led the evolution of Big Band to vocal American music.
Whether it was in song, on the silver screen or in nightclubs, few
could escape the charm of Ol' Blue Eyes. His voice carried over
countless phonographs, as lovers huddled listening to tunes like
"Try a Little Tenderness," "My Way," "I've Got You Under My
Skin" and "Strangers in the Night."
As a matinee idol, he appeared in blockbuster films such as "From
Here to Eternity," "The Man With the Golden Arm" and "The
Manchurian Candidate."
With some 1,800 music recordings, 60 film credits, nine Grammys
and an Academy Award, Sinatra was the grandmaster of
entertainment, an American icon of seeming immortality. He
recorded more top-40 albums than any artist: 51, three more than
Elvis Presley. And he holds an unrivaled record of longevity on
Billboard charts, where a Sinatra song was a fixture every week
from 1955 to 1995.
Or in the sing-song words of broadcaster Howard Cosell: "Frank Sinatra,
who has the phrasing, who has the control, who understands the composers;
who knows what losing means, as so many have, who made the great comeback,
who stands still -- eternally -- on top of the entertainment world.
Ladies and
gentlemen, from here on in, it's Frank Sinatra!"
From Hoboken to Hollywood
The son of an Italian immigrant fireman, Francis Albert Sinatra
started as a copyboy at a hometown newspaper in Hoboken, New
Jersey. Not content with a career in journalism he organized a
singing group, "The Hoboken Four." His father objected. "Singing
is for sissies," he said.
In 1937, Sinatra received his first break when he won first prize on
the "Major Bowes Amateur Hour" radio show. He was soon busy
with radio appearances and nightclub engagements. From 1939 to
1942 he fronted as a vocalist with the Harry James and Tommy
Dorsey bands, making $65 and $100 a week respectively.
It was with Dorsey that Sinatra developed his patented singing
style, marked by a careful phrasing of lyrics and long melodic lines.
Dorsey would glide through music with relative ease, he and his
trombone intertwined in romantic harmony. Young Frank took
note.
"The thing that influenced me most was the way Tommy played his
trombone. He would take a musical phrase and play it all the way
through seemingly without breathing for 8, 10, maybe 16 bars,"
Sinatra wrote in a 1965 Life magazine article. "It was my idea to
make my voice work in the same way as a trombone or violin."
Sinatra opted to go solo in 1942, and soon he emerged as
America's darling. An eight-week engagement at New York's
Paramount Theater led to enormous popularity on stage, on radio,
in nightclubs and in musical films. Admiring fans dubbed him "The
Voice."
To many, Sinatra personified the swinging times of post-World
War II America.
"It was a time where you brought a flower to your girlfriend, who
you were engaged to, and you sat down and swooned to Frank
Sinatra. It was a beautiful era," singer Tony Bennett once said.
Barbara Rush, Sinatra's co-star in the film "Come Blow Your
Horn," put it more precisely: "There was something about the man
larger than the man himself."
But by the early 1950s, Sinatra endured a number of hardships.
His longtime marriage to high school sweetheart Nancy Barbato
failed after his affair with actress Ava Gardner surfaced. Sinatra
married Gardner in 1951. The following year, his vocal cords
hemorrhaged and his career appeared finished, especially after his
talent agency, MCA, dropped him.
But Sinatra fought back. He begged Columbia Pictures to cast him
in Fred Zinnemann's 1953 film "From Here to Eternity." The studio
obliged, hiring him for a mere $8,000. He won an Oscar as best
supporting actor for his work.
In 1955, he was nominated for a best actor award for his
performance in "The Man with the Golden Arm."
The kudos kept rolling in. He scored big again in "Guys and
Dolls," acting alongside Marlon Brando. Meanwhile, his voice
returned to top form and his singing style matured. Within a few
years, he was a superstar in movies, TV and music -- his
popularity, enormous.
"I saw Sinatra and the pope on TV when I was 2 and said, 'Who's
that guy with Frank Sinatra?'" comedian Roseanne once quipped.
'You gotta love livin' baby'
Much like his casual on-stage swagger, Sinatra lived life with a
confident indulgence. He built one of the most important record
companies in the world, Reprise Records, which later merged with
Warner Brothers. And he accumulated millions, investing in various
business ventures, from industry and real estate to casinos and
racetracks. He acquired the nickname "Chairman of the Board of
Show Business." Twice more he married, to Mia Farrow and then
Barbara Marx.
His motto: "You gotta love livin' baby, 'cause dyin's a pain in the
ass."
Sinatra was often criticized for his quixotic tendencies. One minute,
he ate lunch with mobsters; the next, he was dining with the
president. A man with a hot temper and sometimes brash
demeanor, Sinatra barefisted photographers prying into his private
escapades on several occasions. Critics also derided him for his
unrelenting association with the underworld.
But, so too, Sinatra was known for his benevolence.
He took stars under his wing during the 1950s after
Hollywood blacklisted them. He also donated millions
to charitable causes.
"We lost track of how much he raised for charities around
the world -- way up in the millions," daughter Nancy once said.
His generosity won him the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award at
the 1971 Academy Awards. Shortly afterward, he announced his
retirement from entertainment world. And in June 1971, he
performed at what was billed his last public performance, ending
the show with the line: "Excuse me while I disappear."
But Ol' Blue Eyes couldn't stay away. He toured the nation with
Sammy Davis and Lizi Minnelli in the late 1980s and he turned out
another album, "Duets," in the early 1990s. President Ronald
Reagan awarded him with the Medal of Freedom, the highest
civilian honor. In 1994, he was honored at the Grammys with the
prestigious Legend Award for his lifetime of musical accomplishments.
Singer Vic Damone once said, "There will never be another Frank
Sinatra. He is all by himself with what he's done with his life as a
performer and as a man. He's had his ups and downs, but he really
is a great, great man."
More than anything, Sinatra left behind a legacy few will ever forget.
LOS ANGELES - Frank Sinatra was stricken by
a heart attack at his
Beverly Hills estate two hours before he died in the emergency room,
his death certificate showed.
The certificate signed by Dr. Jeffrey Helfenstein, the entertainer's doctor
for five years, provided only stark detail about Sinatra's final hours.
It
was obtained Monday by The Associated Press.
Two hours prior to death, the entertainer was at home when he was
stricken with acute myocardial infarction, commonly known as a heart
attack, and paramedics called to the residence rushed him to
Cedars-Sinai.
His wife, Barbara, was dining with friends at a nearby restaurant when
she was notified and she went to the hospital and stayed at his side until
death.
Thirty minutes before his death at 10:50 p.m. on May 14, Sinatra
suffered cardiorespiratory arrest - his heart and lungs stopped
functioning - while in the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center emergency
room, the county Department of Health Services document showed.
Sinatra was 82.
By The Associated Press