Spirit of the 1940s

Frank Sinatra

The word memorable means worthy of being remembered, remarkable or very important, Frank Sinatra was all of these. Frank Sinatra is known as one of the greatest singers of the 20th century. He was an average guy who became a great singer. To prove that he was just a normal guy, he even had his downfalls. He had ties to the mob; he was a womanizer, spoiled and often got into trouble with the police. There were also tales of his personal generosity to friends and strangers and the millions of dollars he donated and raised for charities (Hamill 4). Also, he helped battle against racism in the entertainment business. Tony Bennet a long-time friend of Sinatra, put it best after Sinatra died when he said, “The Master is gone but his voice will live on forever” (Seitz 9).

Frank Sinatra was supposedly connected to the mob in many ways. Hearst columnist Robert Ruart wrote that Sinatra had flown to Havana to join underworld bosses in a splashy tribute to Charles “Lucky” Luciano, the legendary Mafia leader who had been deported from the United States (Kleinknecht 1). It was one of the first times the public got a glimpse into the real Frank Sinatra. They then realized maybe he was just an average guy and he too had his downfalls like everyone else. Yes, it's not a great thing to be associated to the mob but with this you realized that Frank Sinatra wasn't perfect and he wasn't a saint. In 1983, there was even an incident where Frank and Dean Martin verbally abused an employee in a casino in Atlantic City. And there are many occasions when he threatened reporters and photographers. To those who had been touched by the magic of Frank Sinatra's music, his Mafia ties would never matter. For they had witnessed a peerless talent and that was enough (Kelley 556).

Frank Sinatra had been married many times. First to Nancy Barbato, then to Ava Gardner, followed by Mia Farrow who was only 20 when he was 50. Then he finally settled down with Barbara Marx. But it was when he cheated on his first wife Nancy with Ava Gardner. It was one thing to have discreet affairs, but flaunting Ava Gardner during a January 1950 gig at the Shamrock Hotel in Houston, while still married to Nancy-that was cruel (Hamill 152). With the way that he treated his wife a lot of women who were buying his records decided not to support him as a singer anymore. Now not only did he put his wife in the spotlight when it came to him cheating on her, but he also put his kids through that. They were teased and taunted in school when it came to their father. Although, his children went through a lot Frank Sinatra was a good father. One min he was a swinger…the next minute, he was a doting father. Accompanied by his band, he attended the high school graduation of ...