Date of Birth

12 December 1915, Hoboken, New Jersey, USA

Date of Death

14 May 1998, Los Angeles, California, USA

Growing up on the streets of Hoboken, New Jersey, made Frank Sinatra determined to work hard to get ahead. Starting out as a saloon singer in musty little dives (he carried his own P.A. system), he eventually got work as a band singer, first with The Hoboken Four then with Harry James, then Tommy Dorsey. With the help of George Evans (Sinatra's genius press agent), his image was shaped into that of a street thug and punk who was saved by his first wife, Nancy. In 1942 he started his solo career, instantly finding fame as the king of the bobbysoxers - the young women and girls who were his fans - becoming the most popular singer of the era among teenage music fans. About that time his film career was also starting in earnest, striking box-office gold early on with a lead role in Anchors Aweigh (1945), a Best Picture nominee at the 1946 Academy Awards. Sinatra was awarded a special Oscar for his part in a short film against intolerance, The House I Live In (1946). His career on a high, Sinatra went from strength-to-strength on record, on stage and on screen, peaking in 1949, once again with Gene Kelly, in the MGM musical On the Town (1949) and Take Me Out to the Ball Game (1949). A controversial public affair with screen siren Ava Gardner broke up his marriage to Nancy Barbato. Record sales dwindled in the early 1950s and although Sinatra continued to act, now, appearing in more dramatic fare such as Meet Danny Wilson (1951), a vocal cord haemorrhage all but ended his career. He fought back, winning the coveted role of Maggio in From Here to Eternity (1953). He won an Oscar for best supporting actor and followed this with a scintillating performance as a deranged assassin in Suddenly (1954) and arguably a career best performance and Academy Award nomination for Best Actor in the powerful drama The Man With the Golden Arm (1955). Known as "One-Take Charlie" for his approach to acting that strove for spontaneity and energy, rather than perfection, he was an instinctive actor who was best at playing parts that mirrored his own personality. He continued to give strong and memorable performances in such films as Guys and Dolls (1955), The Joker is Wild (1957) and Some Came Running (1958). In the 1960s Sinatra became mildly prolific as a producer bringing such films as A Hole in the Head (1959), Sergeants 3 (1963) and Robin and the 7 Hoods (1964) to the big screen. Lighter roles along side Rat Pack buddies Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr were lucrative, especially the famed Ocean's 11 (1960), however, Sinatra alternated such projects with more stern offerings, namely The Manchurian Candidate, arguably Sinatra's finest picture, and his directorial debut, None But the Brave, which was the first Japanese/American co-production. That same year Von Ryan's Express (1965) was a box office sensation. In 1967 Sinatra returned to familiar territory in Sidney J. Furie's The Naked Runner (1967), one again playing as assassin in his only film to be shot in the U.K. and in Germany. That same year he starred as private investigator Tony Rome (1967), a role he reprised in the sequel, Lady in Cement (1968). He also starred with Lee Remick in The Detective (1968) a film daring for its time and a major box office success. After appearing in the comic western Dirty Dingus Magee (1970) Sinatra refrained from acting for a further seven years until producing the made-for-TV movie Contract on Cherry Street (1977). Based on the novel by William J. Rosenberg, this fable of vigilante cops turning vigilante against the mob boasted a stellar cast and was a ratings success. Sinatra returned to the big screen in The First Deadly Sin (1980) once again playing a New York detective with a moving, understated performance that was a fitting coda to his career as a leading man. He made one more appearance on the big screen with a cameo in Cannonball Run II (1984) and a final acting performance in Magnum P.I. in 1987 as a retired detective seeking vengeance on the killers of his granddaughter in an episode entitled Laura.

Growing up on the streets of Hoboken, New Jersey, made Frank Sinatra determined to work hard to get ahead. Starting out as a saloon singer in musty little dives (he carried his own P.A. system), he got his first major break in 1935 as part of The Hoboken Four on popular radio show Major Bowes Amateur Hour. In 1939 he signed with Harry James as lead singer of his big band before gaining the attention of Tommy Dorsey and his orchestra with whom he sang the first ever No. 1 song on Billboard, I'll Never Smile Again. That same year he married sweetheart Nancy Barbato with whom he had three children, Nancy, Tina and Frank, Jr. Sinatra's growing popularity led him to leave Dorsey in 1942 and starting in earnest a solo career, instantly finding fame as the number one singing star among teenage music fans of the era, especially the young women and girls known as The Bobbysoxers. Legendary appearances at the New York Paramount were sensational, namely the so-called Columbus Day Riot in 1944, when 35,000 blocked the streets outside the venue waiting to see their idol. About this time Sinatra's acting career was beginning in earnest and he struck box-office gold with a lead role in the acclaimed Anchors Aweigh (1945) alongside Gene Kelly. The following year Sinatra was awarded a special Oscar for his part in a short film against intolerance called The House I Live In (1946). His career on a high, Sinatra went from strength-to-strength, recording his first album, The Voice of Frank Sinatra, at Columbia and starring in several movies, peaking in 1949 with Take Me Out to the Ball Game (1949) and On the Town (1949, co-starring in both with Gene Kelly. A torrid public affair with screen siren Ava Gardner broke up Sinatra's marriage and although a second marriage - to Gardner - followed in 1951, record sales began to dwindle and live appearances were failing to sell out, Sinatra's vocal chords hemorrhaging at one point live on stage as years of playing several shows in a single night took their toll. Sinatra continued to act, however, garnering good notice if hardly strong box office in the musical drama Meet Danny Wilson (1951) before fighting for, and winning, the coveted role of Maggio in From Here to Eternity (1953). He won an Oscar for Best Supporting actor and followed this with a scintillating performance as the deranged assassin John Baron in Suddenly (1954) and arguably a career best performance, and Academy Award nomination for Best Actor, in the powerful drama The Man With the Golden Arm (1955). On record Sinatra was also back on a high having signed with Capitol records and riding high on the charts with the album In the Wee Small Hours (1953) and the single Young at Heart (1954), the latter becoming so popular that a recently made film with Doris Day had its name changed to Young at Heart. Known as "One-Take Charlie" for his approach to acting that strove for spontaneity and energy, rather than perfection, he was an instinctive actor who was best at playing parts that mirrored his own personality. Throughout the 1950s Sinatra not only recorded a slew of critically and commercially successful albums, his acting career remained on a high as he gave strong and memorable performances in such films as Guys and Dolls (1955), The Joker is Wild (1957), Kings Go Forth (1957) and Some Came Running (1958). He also dabbled with producing in the 1950s, first bringing the western Johnny Concho to the big screen and, along with Frank Capra, A Hole in the Head (1959), in which he co-starred with Edward G. Robinson. Continuing this trend into the 1960s Sinatra produced such lucrative offerings as Ocean's 11 (1960), Sergeants 3 (1963) and Robin and the 7 Hoods (1964) as well as starting his own record label, Reprise Records, in 1961. Many of Sinatra's movie projects of the era were lighter offerings alongside Rat Pack pals Dean Martin and Sammy Davis, Jr., but alternating such projects with more stern offerings resulted in the stellar The Manchurian Candidate (1962), arguably Sinatra's best film. Sinatra turned 50 in 1965 and, in many ways, his career once again peaked, recording the album September of My Years which won the Grammy for album of the year and making his directorial debut with the anti-war film None but the Brave (1965). Von Ryan's Express (1965) was released the same year and was a box office sensation helping secure vast earnings for the floundering 20th Century Fox. In 1967 Sinatra returned to familiar territory in Sidney J. Furie's The Naked Runner (1967), once again playing an assassin in his only film to be shot in the U.K. and one of the few films to be shot inside Centre Point and post-war Leipzig in Berlin. That same year he starred as private investigator Tony Rome (1967), a role he reprised in the sequel Lady in Cement (1968). He also starred with Lee Remick in The Detective (1968) a film daring for its time and a major box office success. After appearing in the comic western Dirty Dingus Magee (1970) Sinatra refrained from acting for a further seven years until producing the made-for-TV movie Contract on Cherry Street (1977), based on the novel by William J. Rosenberg. Sinatra returned to the big screen in The First Deadly Sin (1980) once again playing a New York detective with a moving, understated performance that was a fitting coda to his career as a leading man. He made only one more appearance on the big screen with a cameo in Cannonball Run II (1984). His final acting performance in 1987 was as a retired detective seeking vengeance on the killers of his granddaughter in an episode of Magnum P.I. entitled Laura. On stage, Sinatra was as prolific as ever, playing both nationally and internationally to sold out crowds in stadiums and arenas. In 1993 Sinatra stepped back into Capitol studios to record his final albums, Duets and Duets II, both of which were highly successful, finding Sinatra an entirely new audience almost 60 years after he first tasted fame. Frank Sinatra passed away on May 14th 1998

Some three decades late, the Hungarian-born actress Eva Bartok claimed that her daughter, Deana, born in 1957 during Bartok's marriage to the actor Curd Jürgens, was actually fathered by Sinatra, during a brief affair that he and Bartok had had following his breakup in 1956 with the sultry Ava Gardner. Sinatra never acknowledged paternity.

Thought by many to be the finest American popular singer of our time.

Father of Nancy Sinatra, Tina Sinatra, and Frank Sinatra Jr..

Inspired the Johnny Fontaine character in The Godfather (1972).

Member (leader) of the "Rat Pack" - Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., Peter Lawford and Joey Bishop. All appeared in Ocean's Eleven (1960) and Sergeants 3 (1962).

Interred at Desert Memorial Park, Cathedral City, California, USA. Specific Interment Location: B-8, #151.

According to Mia Farrow's biography, 'What Falls Away', he offered to have Woody Allen's legs broken when he was found to be having an affair with her adopted daughter, Soon-Yi Previn.

Reportedly kept a picture of Ava Gardner on his mirror long after their break up.

Former father-in-law of Tommy Sands. His daughter Nancy Sinatra and Sands were married on 11 September 1960 and divorced in 1965.

One-time son-in-law of John Farrow and Maureen O'Sullivan.

Brother-in-law of John Charles Farrow, Prudence Farrow, Stephanie Farrow and Tisa Farrow.

A provision in his will is that if anyone contests it, they are automatically disinherited.

The epitaph on his headstone reads "The best is yet to come."

At his funeral, friends and family members placed items in his coffin that had personal references. These are reported to include ten dimes, several Tootsie Roll candies, a pack of Black Jack chewing gum, a roll of wild cherry Life Savers candy, a ring engraved with the word "Dream", a mini bottle of Jack Daniels whiskey, a pack of Camel cigarettes and a Zippo cigarette lighter.

Godfather of singer Nikka Costa.

Permanently injured one of his fingers while shooting a fight scene in The Manchurian Candidate (1962). In the scene, Sinatra threw a Karate chop and his hand went through a solid wooden table, breaking several bones in his little finger. The footage was left in the final cut.

Was, at one time, part owner of the Sands Hotel/Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, and the Cal-Neva Lodge in Lake Tahoe. As the name implies, the latter was bisected by the California-Nevada borderline.

Named Humanitarian of the Year by the Variety Clubs of America in 1983.

A forcep delivery at his birth left permanent scars on his cheek and ruptured an eardrum. The latter is the reason most often given for his being exempted from service during World War II.

Became estranged with Dean Martin during the final years of their lives, ever since Dean quit 'The Together Again Tour'.

An accomplished amateur painter, he not only recorded the Grammy-winning album "Frank Sinatra Sings for Only the Lonely" (Capitol: 1958), but designed the cover art, as well.

Had numerous #1 albums, and seven #1 singles (or more, depending on whether you include the songs he sang fronting a big-band): "Five Minutes More", "Leanin' the Blues", "Mam'selle", "Oh! What It Seemed To Be" "Strangers in the Night", "All Or Nothing At All" with the Harry James Band, and "Somethin' Stupid", shared with his daughter Nancy Sinatra. He also has four #1 hits singing as the front singer of the Tommy Dorsey Band, although he was not directly credited as the artist. These include "I'll Never Smile Again", "Dolores", "There Are Such Things", "In The Blue Of Evening".

Received the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award at the 1971 Academy Awards for his many contributions to charity over the years. Bob Hope, who hosted the Oscars that year, remarked, "It's interesting how Sinatra announced his retirement, and they gave him a humanitarian award". Sinatra himself hosted or co-hosted the Academy Awards four different times, in 1963, 1969, 1975 and 1985.

While filming a kidnapping scene for the film Robin and the 7 Hoods (1964), he learned that his son, singer Frank Sinatra Jr., had been kidnapped from his hotel room in Lake Tahoe, Nevada. For obvious reasons, the scene was never used in the completed film.

His album "Frank Sinatra Conducts Tone Poems of Color" (Capitol: 1955) not only was rare in the sense that he conduced an orchestra as opposed to singing, but was also the first album to be recorded at the Capitol [Records] Tower, today a prominent landmark at Hollywood and Vine in Los Angeles.

In 1960, when he was in the process of forming his own label, Reprise Records, he pointed out the Capitol Tower to a friend, saying, "See that? I helped build that. Now, it's time to build one of my own." A few years later, referring to his label's success, he stated, "We may not be a Cadillac yet, but we ain't no Bug [Volkswagen], neither."

While filming a funeral scene in Robin and the 7 Hoods (1964), he learned that his close friend and benefactor, President John F. Kennedy, had been killed in Dallas earlier that day.

Named Entertainer of the Century in 2000.

Served as a mentor to performer Harry Connick Jr., whom he referred to as "The Kid".

Inducted into the Big Band and Jazz Hall of Fame in 1980.

Was originally signed on to play Billy Bigelow in Carousel (1956), but he walked off the set on the first day of filming after he found out that they were going to shoot each scene twice, using two different lens sizes, and was quoted as saying "I was paid to make one movie, not two".

Second cousin of composer/arranger/conductor Raymond Sinatra. Ray Sinatra's father was a cousin of his father.

Mentioned in the Marillion song "Sugar Mice" (from their 1987 album "Clutching at Straws").

His death is referred to in the Badly Drawn Boy song "You Were Right".

Was best friends with Dean Martin. Of all the members of the Rat Pack, he considered Dean his closest confidant and best friend.

On 14 May 1998, his last day of life, his family drove him to the hospital, frantically running stop signs and red lights. However, traffic was unusually light at that time, since many Americans were at home watching the final episode of the TV show "Seinfeld" (1990).

Writer of several songs including "This Love of Mine" and "I'm a Fool to Want You.".

Divorced his third wife Mia Farrow after she refused to quit filming the classic thriller Rosemary's Baby (1968) in order to co-star with him in Rat Pack crime drama The Detective (1968). He had the divorce papers delivered to her on set.

In On the Town (1949), he co-sang "New York, New York". Years later, he used the song "Theme From New York, New York" (first performed by friend Liza Minnelli, and commonly referred to as simply "New York, New York") as a showstopper in his live performances.In his "Concert For The Americas"(1982) he combined the 2 songs,using the first verse of the earlier song.

Played the Stage Manager in a musical version of "Our Town" on a TV special in 1955, with Paul Newman and Eva Marie Saint playing George and Emily. In that production, he introduced what would become another of his well-known signature songs: "Love and Marriage."

Turned down the lead role in The Pajama Game (1957), which would have paired him up with Janis Paige, who played the role on Broadway. As a result, Paige lost out on playing the part to Doris Day, who was considered a bigger box- office draw.

Godfather to Quinn Gonzalez

Was the first choice to play the title role in Dirty Harry (1971), but broke his finger before shooting started and had to bow out of the production.

When Bela Lugosi died virtually penniless, Sinatra quietly paid for his funeral.

Grandfather of singer A.J. Lambert.

He was voted the 59th Greatest Movie Star of all time by Entertainment Weekly.

He was known for his mercurial personality, as all those who were close to him knew, he could be as sweet as a person could be one minute and equally as nasty and violent in the next moment. Some theorized that he was bipolar.

Turned down the role of Paul Kersey in Death Wish (1974). It was eventually given to Charles Bronson, and was the role that made him an international superstar.

He was drafted into the Army during World War II but got a 4F because of a damaged eardrum, something that was apparent at birth after a complicated delivery using forceps.

The only member of the "Rat Pack" to win an Academy Award

He and the other members of the Rat Pack were banned from Marilyn Monroe's funeral by Joe DiMaggio

While on a tour in 1974 which included Australia, Sinatra became enraged by his treatment by members of the Australian press. After a brief scuffle at the airport, he appeared on stage and delivered a hateful tirade against the press, calling them "bums and parasites," and calling the female reporters "buck-and-a-half hookers." In retaliation, the aviation union refused to refuel or otherwise maintain his private jet until he apologized. He never did. He was spirited away in the night after intervention by a high-level union leader.

Though he had a lot of affairs during his marriage with his first wife Nancy, it was his relationship with Ava Gardner that finally led to a divorce.

Was broke by 1951. Ava Gardner had to pay his plane ticket, so he could accompany her to Africa, where she shot Mogambo (1953).

His heritage was entirely Italian.

Owned an extensive collection of electric toy trains. He had coveted electric trains as a boy and set up a track that wove through the path of his career. The train started at a replica of the Hoboken train station.

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