October 23, 2014

A Stranger in the Night (Part I)




The Chairman of the Board


Commemorating the 20th Anniversary of Frank Sinatra's Last Concert at the United Center which I attended with my buddy Dutch and two English au pairs. Part II will be about the concert.


Esquire Magazine April 1966


Frank Sinatra Has A Cold is widely considered to be the greatest magazine profile ever written which Esquire published in April 1966.  The author was a fellow Italian-American from New Jersey, Gay Talese. The subject matter was gathered during the previous December just as Sinatra was turning 50. Sinatra had recently won Grammys for Best Album and Song (September of My Years/It Was A Very Good Year) and would do the same in 1966 with Strangers In The Night.  He was dating 20 year old Mia Farrow. Already in his rear view mirror was an impressive and underrated movie career (he was superb in The Man With The Golden Arm and The Manchurian Candidate).that included an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in  From Here to Eternity. Late November 1966 would see Frank take his now young bride Mia to Truman Capote's Party of The Century: the Black and White Ball at The Plaza Hotel. Everybody who was anybody was there...or wanted to be. As the magical night wore on, Capote sensed his great triumph was about to turn into a pumpkin as Frank motioned to Mia that it was time to head over to his favorite watering hole Jilly's Saloon. In a panic, Capote raced over and jumped in front of Frank with arms outstretched while pleading...begging Frank not to leave as he knew his departure would suck all the energy out of the room.  Sorry Tru, Frank Sinatra Has An Itch.


Frank & new bride Mia Farrow arriving at Truman Capote's Black & White Ball November 1966



Frank Sinatra was America's first Pop Idol. These days he is often thought of as a style icon from those boozy Vegas Rat Pack shenanigans that haven't aged well on youtube videos.  I can see how it was novel, spontaneous, and fun to see live (while also drunk) but I prefer to think of him primarily as an Artist who was the best interpreter of the Great American Songbook with his volatile temperament and eventful life giving him a very close acquaintance with heartbreak, loneliness, remorse, and triumph and our knowing of his ups and downs makes these songs far more than clever lyrics, rhythm, and melody.

Frank with The Love of His Life: Ava Gardner


For the many recent immigrants and their families, Frank was a kid from the neighborhood who made it big and never forgot where he came from.  Italians, Irish, Greeks, as well as other ethnic groups such as my friend King's Assyrians looked up to Frank because he was always good about acknowledging regular guys from the neighborhood such as the bellhops, waiters, cab drivers...or mail men such as my Greek friend Pete Poulos.  King told me that back in the '40s every time Sinatra's train arrived at Chicago's Union Station he'd summon all the black Pullman porters to meet him on the platform and peel off a crisp C-Note for each of them.  He helped numerous people get their start or make it big in show business including Sammy Davis Jr. and Quincy Jones.  When former heavyweight champion Joe Louis was down and out, Frank stepped in got him back on his feet and a job as greeter in a casino and later paid all expenses for his funeral and looked after his widow. He did the same for Sammy Davis Jr and others less famous.



My own personal connection with Frank Sinatra is primarily from sitting with my friend King in Ranalli's Pizzeria listening to the old standards; mostly just the two of us after the crowd had cleared out. There was no chatter; just King having Frank take him back to someplace or someone from long ago and me marveling at a perfect collaboration between a Cole Porter, Nelson Riddle, and the 20th Century's Greatest Singer and wondering about all the other tortured souls who listen to these same songs trying to make peace with their past.





**Editor's Note: GSL mistakenly thought Frank's last concert was October 24 (the knucklehead was looking at the date of the review) but in fact was October 22, 1994.  Since we missed the actual anniversary anyway, the post about the concert will be this Monday.

29 comments:

  1. He was so slight and boyish looking wasn't he? with cheekbones you could lay a teacup on. How old was he when he married 20 year old Mia - they seem so unlikely now.
    You write beautifully, I can feel Capote's panic and the black and white ball

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    1. Jody, Frank was 50 and it seems so odd as I'm now 50 and see women of even 30 as far too young. I'll find them very physically attractive but after about 3 syllables I find myself giving them avuncular advice about staying safe in the big city and how to find a nice young man.

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    2. Wow, that's a bit scary when you know that about him.

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  2. Like I said earlier...the Rat Pack put the swag in swagger with old blues leading the pack! I think he was more handsome with age and used to think his son, Frank Sinatra Jr., so handsome! He lives on a ranch somewhere near here,btw! Oh, he and Mia such an odd pair...but, look at Mia and Woody Allen, odder stil.
    Yes, your writing style is very beautiful. Given the lovely stories you are sharing here about people,perhaps a future as a biographer is in the making,G! Have a great weekend!

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    1. Oh yes Mia did have eclectic taste in men and I am very much in Mia's camp versus that perv Woody.
      Being named Frank Sinatra Jr had to be a heavy burden but he was bandleader for his father at that last concert I attended.
      You have a great weekend too my dear Trydye!.

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  3. I still want to be Ava and I still want to date Frank but Dean too - I've seen Frank a couple of times in concert, nothing washes down an Old Fashioned more than listening to 'my song' - That Lady Is A Tramp.
    I can never go to dinner at 8pm - not natural.

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    1. erm, 'The', thanks predictive text.

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    2. One thing's for sure Tabs; you would have never dated both without starting WWIII. Interesting dynamic between Frank and Dean. Dean very much his own man which Frank respected. Dean wasn't at all the boozer of this stage persona but when out with the guys often turned in early before finishing his 2nd drink much to Frank's disappointment. In the very late 80s there was a Rat Pack reunion tour with Frank, Dean, Sammy, & Liza and Dean just didn't want to do it anymore and pulled out causing a big rift between the two. The music and those songs didn't mean as much to Dean and I can tell that by listening.

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  4. I always loved Dean Martin...uber cool and sexy! Very sad to watch his decline after his son was killed in a plane crash...he just lost interest in it all!
    Thanks to Wikipedia, I just learned that Bogart was an original member of the Pack!
    Tabs...not sure I could have dated either as the cigarette smoke would have done me in within minutes;-)

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    1. Yes Trudye, Bogie (and Becall) was an original and leader 'til he took ill. I've never smoked except an occasional ceremonial cigar but it never bothered me in bars or restaurants. Smokers would always ask if I mind and I told them just don't blow it in my face. My clothes would always smell like ashtrays the following day so don't miss the dry cleaning bills.

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    2. I love to listen to Frank sing, but rumor has it, he was a bully. That incident with Dean, where Frank threw a drink in his face, tore it for Martin. The romanticized Rat Pack is charming, non the less!

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    3. J,
      Frank was certainly a hothead and with the drinking and all the people trying to get at him all the time I can see how if one were around just when his temper erupted it could be very scary. He certainly did give rough treatment to people on occasion but as I mention above he could be extremely warm, kind, and generous to many others.

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  5. I always thought Frank was a good actor. And Ive something of an affinity for 'boozy Vegas Rat Pack shenanigans'

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    1. Bebe,
      I've said more than once. Frank would have really liked you.

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  6. Look at those wonderful cheekbones!
    I love your writing.

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    1. Hi Ruth,
      Frank was good-looking without being pretty even well into his fifties. It was how he wore his talent that was so attractive.

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  7. I have loved Frank since I was 5 years old when I watched High Society for the first time. Well did you ever? I personally love that Mia cheated on Woody with Frank. That boy Ronan got it all in terms of looks. I wish Frank's voice had held up in the end; I saw Tony Bennett about 5 years ago and at 82 (then) was shocked at how his voice was still so good. But Frank is the man. The only one who ever broke his heart was JFK!

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    1. High Society is a little gem isn't it. Frank certainly did hit the roof when the White House had JFK's stay at Frank's lodgings canceled last minute in order to stay with Bing as the political handlers didn't want any of Frank's mafia connections (and JFK's Judith Campbell Exner connections) causing a potential problem.
      I really think Ava was the only one who ever broke Frank's heart although he always had a special place in his heart for his 1st wife Nancy Barbato who was teenage sweetheart and the mother of his acknowledged children.

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  8. That photo of Ava and Frank … they look a little alike. Could it be that thing that Tabitha wrote about where he picked a pretty version of himself as the love of his life?
    Enjoyed reading this so much. I hate to say I didn't really know a lot about his life - he was far more generous than I realised. I just knew about the party stuff (and the music, obviously).

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    1. They do look alike Heidi and I only just noticed it and I did mention on Tabs post that it seems the best couples are close genetically.

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  9. Ok...have looked at Ava and Frank and I do not see the resemblance!
    The only physical characteristic that Mac and I share is blond hair. Thank God, as I would find it a little boring to look across the dinner table and see the male version of myself!
    Spiritually, you betcha...we have a match!

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    1. Frank & Ava definitely resemble one another both physically and in temperament. Trudy glad you and 'Mac The Knife' are soulmates.

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    2. Ha...not a good nickname to tag a surgeon with,G;-)

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  10. I personally think Freddie Mercury resembles Ava; the overbite, the cheekbones. I always see glimpses of Ava whenever I watch footage of Freddie.

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    1. Freddie Mercury?!?!?! Now Duchess, would this be yet another sugarplum vision of running barefoot over the chest of an '80s hairband frontman???

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  11. What a voice! I love my duet albums, although I gather he did not do any of the cuts live with the other artist. I did not know that Dean was not a big boozer-- my opinion of him has risen a bit But he was no Frank.

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    1. Lane, I also love the duet albums even if they weren't really duets as you say. Yes Dean's boozer persona was largely for effect. He'd always piss Frank off by turning in early.

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  12. I would not have liked Frank the man but appreciate Frank the artist. Thankfully I'm at an age now where I can separate the person from the persona. He had wonderful style.

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    1. Jen, Frank had a volatile personality and I think his numerous acts of kindness and generousity far outweighed his occasional outbursts...it couldn't have been easy being wound so tight and having people tugging on you everyday for years and years and years....

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