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Photographic Credits
Young Sinatra at microphone: Herbert Gehr/Time-Life Pictures/Getty Images
Lercara Friddi church and documents: photo courtesy Kathy Kirkpatrick
The S.S. Spartan Prince and documents: Ellis Island Foundation
Marty and Dolly Sinatra marriage portrait: Archive Photos
Child Sinatra in suit holding top hat: Hulton Archive/Getty Images
Sinatra family group: Hulton Archive/Getty Images
Dolly and Frank Sinatra next to car: Albert Lonstein Collection
Sinatra and friends in swimsuits: courtesy Edward Shirak
Sinatra in swimsuit, seated: courtesy Edward Shirak
The Hoboken Four: Culver Pictures
Sinatra in white tux with two other singers: Lucille Buccini
Mugshot: Bergen County., N.J. Sheriff’s Department, now in FBI files
Frank and Nancy Sinatra marriage portrait: published in Jersey Journal , 1939, credited to Edward Davis
Waxey Gordon: John J. Binder collection
Willie Moretti: John J. Binder collection
Willie Moretti dead: AP/Wide World Photos
Sinatra and John Quinlan: Barry Kramer
Sinatra with Tommy Dorsey: AP/Wide World Photos
Sinatra being kissed by fans: © Peter Martin
Bobbysoxers in the street: © Bettmann/CORBIS
Swooning girls: © Peter Martin
Sinatra at youth rally: Ric Ross collection
Sinatra with portrait of Roosevelt: AP/Wide World Photos
Sinatra with Jo Davidson: courtesy Jacques Davidson
Bugsy Siegel dead: John J. Binder collection
Sinatra and Mortimer in court: AP/Wide World Photos
Lucky Luciano: © Bettmann/CORBIS
Chico Scimone playing piano: courtesy Chico Scimone
Adriana Rizzo with Luciano and Scimone: courtesy Chico Scimone
Marilyn Maxwell: © Bettmann/CORBIS
Lana Turner: © Bettmann/CORBIS
Sinatra and Ava Gardner: © Bettmann/CORBIS
Sinatra and Gardner on beach: © Bettmann/CORBIS
Sinatra, Cahn and Styne at piano: courtesy of Margaret Styne
Sinatra and Nelson Riddle: Murray Garrett/Getty Images
Sinatra and Bill Miller: © William Read Woodfield
From Here to Eternity still: © John Springer Collection/CORBIS
The Man with the Golden Arm still: AP/Wide World Photos
The Manchurian Candidate still: © Bettmann/CORBIS
George Wood: AP/Wide World Photos
Vincent Alo: © The Miami Herald
Harry Cohn: Allan Grant/Time Life Pictures/Getty Images
Frank Costello: John J. Binder collection
Sinatra and Gloria Vanderbilt: © Bettmann/CORBIS
&n
bsp; Jill Corey: courtesy Jill Corey
Marlene Dietrich: © Motion Picture & Television Photo Archive
Sandra Giles: courtesy Sandra Giles
Jeanne Carmen: courtesy Brandon James
Peggy Connelly: courtesy Peggy Connelly
Connelly with Thunderbird: courtesy Peggy Connelly
Lauren Bacall, Sinatra, and Kim Novak: Sands Hotel collection, University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Eva Bartok: courtesy Deana Sinatra
Sinatra and Martin with signs: courtesy Jeanne Martin
Sands Hotel sign: Las Vegas News Bureau
Rat Pack in Sands steam room: © Bob Willougby/Motion Picture & Television Photo Archive
Joe Kennedy: Nevada State Archives
Skinny D’Amato and JFK: From the personal collection of Paulajane D’Amato
Sinatra singing at Kennedy rally: © Globe Photos, Inc. 2005
Sinatra and Marilyn Monroe: courtesy Jeanne Martin
Sinatra and JFK: Photofest
Judith Campbell: Photofest
Murray Humphreys: John J. Binder collection
Sinatra with Luella Humphreys: private collection, U.K.
Sam Giancana: FBI surveillance photo
Giancana dead: John J. Binder collection
Sinatra with chin in hand: © William Read Woodfield
Sinatra at meeting: © William Read Woodfield
Sinatra and Mia Farrow on set: © David Sutton/Motion Picture & Television Photo Archive
Sinatra and Farrow marry: © Bettmann/CORBIS
Susan Murphy: courtesy Susan Murphy
Sinatra drinking: courtesy of Jeanne Martin
Sinatra at baccarat table: Sands Hotel collection, University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Carl Cohen: Sands Hotel collection, University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Sinatra and Hubert Humphrey: Ric Ross collection
The Reagans, Agnew and Dolly, and Frank Sinatra: Palm Springs Historical Society
Sinatra and the Nixons: White House Photo Office Collection
Sinatra and Jilly Rizzo: Barry Talesnick/Retna Ltd.
Joe Colombo: Express/Getty Images
Lois Nettleton: courtesy Lois Nettleton
Frank and Barbara Sinatra: © Gunther/ Motion Picture & Television Photo
Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., and Sinatra: © Bettmann/CORBIS
Sinatra smoking: the family of Carlo Mastrodonato
Elderly Sinatra singing: Ann Barak
Gravestone: courtesy Tony and Carol Pisciotta
The author and publisher regret that, despite their best efforts, it was not possible to identify the owners of some photographs used. They are therefore not credited here.
Permissions Acknowledgments
Grateful acknowledgment is made to the following for permission to reprint previously published material:
Bantam Books: Excerpt from His Way, The Unauthorized Biography by Kitty Kelley. Copyright © 1986 by H. B. Productions, Inc. Excerpt from Ava, My Story by Ava Gardner with Alan Burgess. Copyright © 1990 by C & J Films, Inc. Reprinted by permission of Bantam Books, a division of Random House Inc.
Jill Corey: Excerpt from “Tonight I’ve a Date with Sinatra” by Jill Corey. Reprinted courtesy of the author.
FranAm Publishing Administration: Excerpt from “When You Awake” by Henry Nemo. Copyright © 1968 by Indano Music Co. Renewed 1992. All rights reserved. International copyright secured. Reprinted by permission of FranAm Publishing Administration.
Hal Leonard Corporation: Excerpt from “One for My Baby (And One More for the Road),” lyric by Johnny Mercer, music by Harold Arlen. Copyright ©1943 (Renewed) by Harwin Music Co. All rights reserved. Reprinted by permission of Hal Leonard Corporation.
HarperCollins Publishers Inc.: Excerpts from Mr. S.: My Life with Frank Sinatra by George Jacobs and William Stadiem. Copyright © 2003 by George Jacobs and William Stadiem. Reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers Inc.
Hobby Catto Properties LLC.: Excerpts from “Why Sinatra Hates the Press, part 1 & part 2,” Look Magazine (May 28, 1957 and June 11, 1957). Excerpts from “Sinatra and Family,” Look Magazine (December 26, 1967). Reprinted by permission of Hobby Catto Properties LLC.
Little, Brown and Co., Inc.: Excerpt from Why Sinatra Matters by Pete Hamill. Copyright © 1998 by Deidre Enterprises, Inc. Reprinted by permission of Little, Brown and Co., Inc.
Music Sales Corporation: Excerpt from “The House I Live In” by Earl Robinson and Lewis Allan. Copyright © 1942 (Renewed) by Music Sales Corporation (ASCAP). All rights reserved. International copyright secured. Reprinted by permission of Music Sales Corporation.
Peermusic: Excerpt from “I Get Along Without You Very Well” by Hoagy Carmichael. Copyright © 1938 by Songs of Peer, Ltd. Copyright renewed. All rights secured. Reprinted by permission of Peermusic.
Warner Brothers Publications U.S., Inc.: Excerpt from “Our Love” by Buddy Bernier, Larry Clinton, and Robert D. Emmerich. Copyright © 1939 (Renewed) by Chappell & Co., Bernier Publishing and Dulcet Music. Excerpt from “I’m a Fool To Want You” by Frank Sinatra, Jack Wolf, and Joel S. Herron. Copyright © 1951 (Renewed) by Sergeant Music Co., Integrity Music Corp. and Maraville Music Co. Administered by WB Music Corp. All rights reserved. Reprinted by permission of Warner Brothers Publications U.S., Inc., Miami, Florida 33014.
Records establish that Sinatra’s paternal grandfather, Francesco, and his grandmother Rosa Saglimbeni came from the same town and street in Sicily as Mafia boss Lucky Luciano. The church (background) where they were baptised and married; their baptism and marriage records (top and center); the information on Rosa’s U.S. death certificate (bottom) that confirms the discovery.
Francesco Sinatra arrived from Italy in 1900 aboard the S.S. Spartan Prince, as recorded (top) by U.S. Immigration at Ellis Island. His wife, Rosa, and three of their children, including Frank Sinatra’s father, Anthony Martin (“Marty”), arrived aboard the S.S. Citta di Milano three years later (bottom).
Sinatra’s parents, Marty and Dolly, married in Jersey City in 1913 (top left). Frank (in Little Lord Fauntleroy outfit, top right) was an only child, alternately spoiled and intimidated by his feisty mother (with guitar, Frank sitting in front of her, center). Frank and Dolly on a trip to the Catskills in 1923 (right).
Frank was better off than most of his pals (top left), and his youthful largesse included buying them movie tickets and sharing his pass to the swimming pool. He yearned to get out of Hoboken, as the photograph taken on the waterfront (top right) suggests.
The first break was a tour with a local singing group—they became the Hoboken Four when he joined. In his youth (right) he modeled himself on Bing Crosby, pipe and all.
A singing job at the Rustic Cabin, just across the bridge from Manhattan, was a first step on the ladder. Glenn Miller heard Frank and was unconvinced, but Harry James hired him as “boy singer” for his new band.
Prisoner no. 42799, charged with “seduction” of a woman he had met at the Cabin. The sequel was a hurried marriage, at age twenty-three, to his first wife, Nancy.
The mob and the Sinatras found each other early. Frank’s parents ran a bar during Prohibition, and Marty helped guard booze shipments. They rubbed elbows with bootlegger Waxey Gordon (top left), who did business with Lucky Luciano.
The mafioso Angelo “Gyp” De Carlo (top right) knew Dolly Sinatra well and was linked to Frank’s family by marriage. He answered to Willie Moretti (right), a Luciano henchman who got Frank work and remained in touch for years.
Moretti died bloodily (below), as did other mobsters Frank knew.
By age twenty-one, Frank was taking his music seriously, paying for singing lessons with former Metropolitan Opera singer John Quinlan.
“No one ever heard of him,” the trumpeter Harry James said with a laugh, “but he says he’s the greatest.” Frank’s months on the road with James and his band gave him his first real public exposure.
The breakthrough came in 1940, with Tommy Dorsey. “Tommy
taught me everything I know,” Frank said. Their parting was bitter—the Mafia told Dorsey his children would be kidnapped if he did not release Frank from his contract.
“F-R-A-N-K-I-E-E-E-E-E!” The bobbysoxer mania began at the Paramount. Girls by the thousands mobbed Sinatra and swooned, sometimes because they were paid to do it. At home, they gathered to worship in bedrooms plastered with their idol’s picture.
Frank wore a uniform in World War II only to make a movie and (top left, with his press agent George Evans at his side) to entertain troops, after the shooting was over. A draft board medical report included a reference to Frank’s “psycho-neurosis, severe.” Appearances at youth rallies (bottom) later fueled claims that he was involved with communists.
Frank was thrilled when, in 1944, he was invited to join guests at a reception in President
Roosevelt’s White House (left). Another dose of prestige came when he was thirty and the sculptor Jo Davidson immortalized him in bronze (bottom). Davidson thought Frank looked like “a younger Lincoln.”
Hard evidence of Frank’s Mafia involvement—a still frame, taken from 1947 newsreel footage, as he arrived in Cuba with two Chicago mobsters. The bag in Frank’s hand allegedly contained money for Lucky Luciano. The mobsters were Joe Fischetti (foreground, with hand up to face) and his brother Rocco (just visible between Sinatra and man in white shirt). Joe stayed close for years to come.
Months after the Cuba episode, Bugsy Siegel was executed by the Mafia, and Frank visited the scene to toast his memory.
On trial for an “unprovoked assault” (bottom right). With others on hand to help him Frank came up behind the columnist Lee Mortimer and beat him up. Years later, when Mortimer died, Sinatra urinated on his grave.
Lucky Luciano, multiple murderer and the first American godfather. Frank and the Mafia boss shared roots in the same town in Sicily and met in Florida, Cuba, and Italy.
Chico Scimone (partying with Luciano years later) accompanied Frank at his mob “audition.” The mafioso’s mistress Adriana Rizzo (on far right) said Luciano and Frank were “very close.”