Frank Sinatra

Some three decades late, the Hungarian-born actress Eva Bartok claimed that her daughter, Deana, born in 1957 during Bartoks marriage to the actor Curd Jrgens , 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.

The Guinness Book of British Hit Singles and Albums stated he was "regarded by many as the greatest song stylist of the 20th century" as well as being the "first teen idol". He achieved 34 US gold albums. By 2005 he had achieved more US top ten LPs than any other soloist and was still the 12th most successful artist in the history of the UK singles and albums charts.

He inspired the Johnny Fontaine character in The Godfather .

He was the leader of the "Rat Pack" - Dean Martin , Frank Sinatra , Sammy Davis Jr. , Peter Lawford and Joey Bishop. All appeared in Oceans Eleven and Sergeants 3 .

He was 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 it was discovered that he was having an affair with Farrows adopted daughter, Soon-Yi Previn (whom Allen later married).

He reportedly kept a picture of Ava Gardner on his mirror long after their break-up.

He was the former father-in-law of Tommy Sands. His daughter Nancy Sinatra and Sands were married in 1960 and divorced in 1965.

He was the one-time son-in-law of John Farrow and Maureen OSullivan.

He was the brother-in-law of John Charles Farrow , Prudence Farrow , Stephanie Farrow and Tisa Farrow. He was also a son-in-law of Maureen OSullivan.

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.

He was the godfather of singer Nikka Costa.

He permanently injured one of his fingers while shooting a fight scene with Henry Silva in The Manchurian Candidate . 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.

He 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.

He was 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.

He became estranged from Dean Martin during the final years of their lives after Martin 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.

He 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", "Mamselle", "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 "Ill Never Smile Again", "Dolores", "There Are Such Things", "In The Blue Of Evening".

He 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, "Its 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 , 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 conducted 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, its time to build one of my own." A few years later, referring to his labels success, he stated, "We may not be a Cadillac yet, but we aint no Bug [Volkswagen], neither."

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

He was named Entertainer of the Century in 2000.

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

He was inducted into the Big Band and Jazz Hall of Fame in 1980.

He was originally signed on to play Billy Bigelow in Carousel , 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".

He was the second cousin of composer/arranger/conductor Raymond Sinatra. Ray Sinatras father was a cousin of his father.

He is mentioned in the lyrics of several songs, including "On and On" by Stephen Bishop , "Sugar Mice" by Marillion , "Hey Manhattan!" by Prefab Sprout , "She Goes On" by Crowded House and "Its My Life" by Bon Jovi. His death is referred to in the Badly Drawn Boy song "You Were Right". In 2016, The Avalanches released the song "Frankie Sinatra".

He 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" .

He was the writer of several songs including "This Love of Mine" and "Im a Fool to Want You.".

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

In On the Town , 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" he combined the two songs, using the first verse of the earlier song.

He 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.".

He turned down the lead role in The Pajama Game , 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.

He was the godfather to Quinn Gonzalez.

He was the first choice to play the title role in Dirty Harry , 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.

He was the 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.

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

He was classified 4F--rejected for military service--during World War II because of a damaged eardrum. When he was born, a complicated delivery required the use of forceps, which punctured his eardrum.

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 many affairs during his marriage to his first wife Nancy Barbato Sinatra , it was his relationship with Ava Gardner that finally led to their divorce.

He was broke by 1951. Ava Gardner had to pay for his plane ticket so he could accompany her to Africa, where she shot Mogambo .

His heritage was entirely Italian.

He 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.

He was offered the role of "Don Altobello" in The Godfather: Part III . Even though he had been a vocal critic of the first "Godfather" film, which featured a character based on him, he was intrigued by the offer, reportedly because the first two "Godfather" films had been so successful. Ultimately he declined the offer and the part was played by Eli Wallach , with whom Sinatra had competed for the role of Maggio in From Here to Eternity .

He was known to admire several rock artists. He called "Something", written by George Harrison and performed by The Beatles , one of his favorite songs. He was such a big fan of Chicago s song "Color My World" that he offered to write a second stanza to it. He also enthusiastically embraced the Irish rock band U2 when they visited the United States.

In 1963 his son Frank Sinatra Jr. was kidnapped. The kidnappers told Frank Sr. to call them from pay phones. During one call he ran out of coins, and briefly feared that it had cost him his son (the kidnappers gave him another chance). He paid the $250,000 ransom, Frank Jr. was returned, and the kidnappers were eventually caught. However, as a result of the payphone scare, Sinatra swore never to be caught without dimes again, and carried a roll of dimes with him constantly until his death.

He was in line to star in Dirty Harry as was noted in several trade papers at the time. Irvin Kershner was slated to direct, but Sinatra had to back out of the project because of some trouble with a broken bone in his hand, although it has been suggested that he wanted to act in something lighter after the recent death of his father.

Sinatra saw Steve McQueen in his western TV series "Wanted: Dead or Alive" and requested him to take Sammy Davis Jr. s role in Never So Few . Davis had said in an interview he thought he was bigger than Sinatra in the entertainment world at that time. Since Davis role in the film was originally written as a sidekick, it had to be re-written somewhat for McQueen. During filming they got along so well that Sinatra wanted McQueen to appear in Oceans Eleven as the cowboy Louis Jackson. McQueen was all for it but was convinced otherwise by critic Hedda Hopper , who told him it would not be a wise career move to be known as a Sinatra flunky. McQueen passed on the film, and although there were no hard feelings his brief friendship with Sinatra came to an end.

He was the godfather of Lorna Luft.

He was considered for the role of Nicky Arnstein in Funny Girl . This was vetoed by Barbra Streisand , as she didnt like him. The role was eventually played by Omar Sharif.

Lee J. Cobb credited Sinatra with saving his life after his career was nearly ruined by his defiance of the House Un-American Activities Committee investigating Communist "subversion" in the film industry. Cobb had defied HUAC for two years, after being named as a supposed Communist by Larry Parks in 1951. During those two years, Cobbs once flourishing career floundered and his wife had to be institutionalized after having a mental breakdown. Finally he agreed to testify as a "friendly" witness, appearing before HUAC in 1953. At the conclusion of his testimony, he praised the committee. Soon after his appearance there he had a massive heart attack. Sinatra--who barely knew Cobb--got him a part in his film The Miracle of the Bells when no other studio would hire Cobb. In addition, knowing that Cobb was broke, Sinatra paid his hospital bills, then had Cobb stay with him before renting him a luxurious apartment. Cobb believes that Sinatra identified with him as a troubled artist down on his luck, as Sinatras own career had been in a severe tailspin before he resurrected himself by winning an Oscar for From Here to Eternity . Cobb later said that if it wasnt for Sinatra, he didnt think he would have come through that period alive. Sinatra told Cobb he thought that Cobb was "robbed" when he failed to win the Oscar for his performance as Johnny Friendly in On the Waterfront (ironically, Sinatra originally had been scheduled to star in the picture, which was filmed in his hometown of Hoboken, NJ, but producer Sam Spiegel gave the role to Marlon Brando when he realized he could raise $1 million in financing for the picture by using Brando versus $500,000 if Sinatra was the star).

He is one of only five actors/actresses to have both a #1 single and an Oscar for acting. The others are Cher , Barbra Streisand , Jamie Foxx , and Bing Crosby.

He made no further public appearances after suffering a heart attack in January 1997.

He campaigned for Ronald Reagan in the 1980 and 1984 presidential elections.

He was active in Democratic Party politics from the 1944 presidential election until the late 1960s. In 1970 he supported Ronald Reagan s re-election campaign for Governor of California, and in 1972 he attended the Republican National Convention for the first time.

He underwent major surgery for intestinal cancer in 1986.

He was instrumental in reuniting Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin after their decades of estrangement. During an appearance on Lewis annual telethon for Muscular Dystrophy, Sinatra said that he had a friend who wanted to say hello; then, he escorted Martin onto the stage to a flabbergasted Lewis. The two remained reunited until Martins death.

On 20 May 1998, his funeral service was held at the Catholic Church of the Good Shepherd in Beverly Hills, California. Stars in attendance included Kirk Douglas , Gregory Peck , Robert Wagner , Jack Lemmon , Sidney Poitier , Jack Nicholson , Nancy Reagan , Jerry Lewis , Wayne Newton , Johnny Carson , Milton Berle , Bruce Springsteen , Debbie Reynolds , Liza Minnelli , Bob Dylan , Tom Selleck , Tony Bennett , Mickey Rooney , Shirley MacLaine , Robert Stack , Mia Farrow , Bob Newhart , Don Rickles , Sophia Loren , Diahann Carroll , Steve Lawrence , Eydie Gorm , Joey Bishop , Tony Danza , Quincy Jones , Dom DeLuise , Tim Conway , Cuba Gooding Jr. , Anthony Quinn , Tony Curtis , Jack Paar , Angie Dickinson , Paul Anka , Ben Vereen , Ed McMahon , Johnny Mathis , Red Buttons , Marlo Thomas , Phil Donahue , Suzanne Pleshette , Lorna Luft , Ann Miller , Dionne Warwick , Mamie Van Doren , Suzanne Somers , James Darren and of course, his children, Frank Sinatra Jr. , Tina Sinatra and Nancy Sinatra. Over 1000 Sinatra fans lined the streets outside the church during the funeral and gave him one final round of applause as his flower-draped coffin was carried out of the church. Overhead, a skywriting plane created a giant heart in the sky. Ironically, Sinatra had attended Gary Cooper s funeral at the same church, almost 37 years to the day before his own.

He suffered from dementia in his final years.

He asked to sing at Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey s 1978 funeral in St. Paul, MN. The officiating minister refused. The job went to Metropolitan Opera baritone Robert Merrill.

He has sold over 250 million records worldwide.

He was in talks to appear in The Verdict .

He was the godfather of Linda Thorson s son Trevor.

Although Sinatra is most associated with the song "My Way", he didnt originally want to record it because he thought it was "self-serving and indulgent". Although he disliked the song, his persona became so associated with it that he ended every concert with it. It was famously parodied for a 1978 single by the British punk rock band The Sex Pistols.

He got the role of Pvt. Maggio in From Here to Eternity after Eli Wallach passed on it to do a Tennessee Williams play on stage, according to Wallach on a June 20th broadcast of "Morning Sedition" on "Air America Radio.".

He weighed over 13 pounds at birth, and he had to be delivered by forceps. As a result, one of his ears was nearly severed. Showing no signs of life, he was held by his grandmother under cold, running water. He began to breathe, and cry. His mother - a practical nurse - and his father - a tavern operator - had been hoping for a girl, and had already chosen the name Frances. So they gave him the masculine form of the name: Francis.

He was a great admirer of John F. Kennedy , campaigning for him in the 1960 presidential election and organizing his inauguration ball on January 20, 1961. In August 1962 Kennedy decided not to stay with Sinatra in Palm Springs, CA, due to recent revelations of Sinatras longtime ties to various Mafia crime bosses, instead stayed with Bing Crosby --Sinatras original rival and an active Republican.

He briefly lost the ability to sing after his vocal cords hemorrhaged in 1953. When his voice returned it had an extra dimension which many fans believed made his singing better than before.

He was elected to the New Jersey Hall of Fame in 2007 for his services to the entertainment industry (inaugural election). Official induction ceremonies held in May 2008.

He is pictured on a 42 USA commemorative postage stamp issued 13 May 2008, one day before the 10th anniversary of his death.

In 1981 he was heavily criticized for performing a ten-day gig in South Africa. Jesse Jackson and the United Nations Special Committee on Apartheid publicly condemned him for "collaborating with the apartheid regime". Ironically, he had been a staunch supporter of civil rights and racial equality in the United States throughout his career. During his time with the Rat Pack, Sinatra and the other members refused to play anywhere that wouldnt allow Sammy Davis Jr. to perform with them, stating the group was a package deal, and would often boycott or otherwise refuse to do business with venues or promoters who wouldnt book black or other minority performers.

He had a longstanding dislike of Marlon Brando from the time they starred in Guys and Dolls . Sinatra always felt he should have played Brandos part, with Gene Kelly in the other role. Sinatra nicknamed Brando "Mr. Mumbles" while Brando called him "Mr. Baldy".

He was a big influence on artists ranging from Jim Morrison , the lead singer of The Doors , to Tony Hadley , the lead singer of Spandau Ballet.

He once appeared as a head-and-shoulders shot on MasterCard credit card.

When Sinatra first met Mia Farrow in 1964, he was 48 and she was 19, a fact that prompted Dean Martin to quip that he owned a bottle of Scotch older than Farrow.

Von Ryans Express , was his most successful film of the 1960s, grossing over $17 million (US) in 1965.

All the films he produced made a profit.

His sole film as director was the anti-war drama None But the Brave , which was the first Japanese (Toho Studios) and American (Warner Bros. Pictures) co-production.

He has a 62-year span of top-ten albums on Billboard, from "The Voice of Frank Sinatra" which reached #1 in 1946 to "Nothing But the Best", which reached #2 in 2008.

His fathers name was Martin Anthony Sinatra. His mothers name was Natalie Dolly Garavente, a midwife.

He is credited as co-writer of seven songs, including "This Love Of Mine" and "Mr. Success".

All of his single recordings in 1943 which included "Oh What A Beautiful Morning"/ "People Will Say Were In Love" were recorded a cappella with The Bobby Tucker Singers because of a musicians strike.

He was awarded 3 Stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Motion Pictures at 1600 Vine Street, for Recording at 1737 Vine Street, and for Television at 6538 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California.

Frank Capra claimed that Sinatra had the potential to be the best actor there ever was. He once told Frank to quit his musical career and concentrate solely on acting and that if he did he would go down as the greatest actor who ever lived.

He and Paul Newman are the only people to win an Honorary Oscar, a Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award and a competitive Oscar.

He died the same month as Phil Hartman , who often impersonated him on "Saturday Night Live" .

While recording the gold "Sinatra Christmas Album" at Cherokee Recording Studios in 1975, he met and shared studio space with glam rocker David Bowie. Sinatras recording of "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered" appears on "David Bowies Heroes", a Mojo magazine compilation of 15 tracks by performers who influenced the young David Bowie.

On May 10, 1964, Brad Dexter ( The Magnificent Seven , among others) saved both Sinatras life and that of Ruth Koch (wife of producer Howard W. Koch ) during production of the World War II film None But the Brave in Kaui, Hawaii. They were swimming at a beach when they were swept out to sea by the outgoing tide and nearly drowned in high, billowing waves. Dexter swam out and rescued them together, but they were not able to reach shore for nearly 45 minutes. In the waves, Sinatra reportedly became separated and murmured, "Its all over... please take care of my kids... Im going to die... " Both Sinatra and Koch then fell unconscious for several minutes before two surfers arrived to help Dexter take them to shore. Dexter was later awarded a Red Cross medal for his bravery. Sinatra never forgot it and the two stayed close friends for the rest of their lives.

Like most members of The Rat Pack, Sinatra was known to much prefer the labels "The Clan" and "The Summit".

His version of "New York, New York" is played at Yankee Stadium after every Yankee home win. Liza Minnelli s version is played after every Yankee home loss.

Throughout his life Sinatra was a strong supporter of Jewish causes. He stepped forward in the early 1940s, when big names were needed to rouse America into saving Europes remaining Jews, and he sang at an "Action for Palestine" rally. He sat on the board of trustees of the Simon Wiesenthal Center; and he donated over $1 million to Jerusalem s Hebrew University, which honored him by dedicating the Frank Sinatra International Student Center. As a result of his support for the Jewish State, his movies and records were banned in some Arab countries.

While visiting Capitol Records in 1960, he refused to pay the 50-cent entry fee at the parking garage. The attendant had his car towed.

He hated giving autographs.

Sinatras valet George Jacobs said that his employer had derogatory nicknames for many of his friends, including "Sheeny" for Cary Grant , "Shanty" for Gene Kelly , "Jew" for Jerry Lewis , "The African Queen" for Johnny Mathis and "Wop" for Dean Martin. His private plane was called "El Dago".

He became a friend of Laurence Harvey , with whom he co-starred in The Manchurian Candidate . According to Sinatras valet, George Jacobs , Sinatra called him "Ladyboy" in recognition of Harveys bisexuality. In an interview about the film that was included in the video recording, Sinatra expressed his sorrow that "Larry" was no longer alive.

He was friends with fellow singer Rosemary Clooney. Two members of her family went on to appear in remakes of Sinatra films. Her nephew George Clooney appeared in Oceans Eleven and its sequels, in Sinatras role, while her son Miguel Ferrer appeared in a supporting role in The Manchurian Candidate . Ferrer also voiced Danny Ocean in a "Robot Chicken" parody.

In his 1947 film It Happened in Brooklyn , Frank introduced the now-standard, "Time After Time", which charted at #17 in 1947. It was later re-recorded, by Frank, in 1959 as the B-side to "French Foreign Legion". In 1960, Frankie Ford s rendition of the song charted at #75 US. Interestingly, that version fared much better than all, in Brooklyn, reaching NYCs Top 10. In 1966. Chris Montez s version peaked at #36 US.

Long before Bobby Troup (the future husband of Sinatras best friend Julie London ) would have a successful solo singing career, he had been a member of Sinatras Tommy Dorsey & His Orchestra.

In 1966 he was given a song to record, and after reading it over once, he despised it. The song was "Strangers in the Night", which turned out to be one of his biggest hits. Even after its success, he still hated the song and took every opportunity to deride it.

He was a fan of the TV show "Magnum, P.I." and wanted to appear as a guest star. Through Larry Manetti a message was delivered to producer/star Tom Selleck for Tom to give Frank a call. When Tom called, Frank told him that he wanted to appear on Magnum, but that Tom should not worry, because he did not want to be paid, he just wanted his expenses paid. Tom agreed, and asked Frank what kind of story line he wanted for his character. Frank said that he did not care, as long as his character was a tough guy, and that there be a fight scene where Frank knocks someone out. Tom agreed to Franks terms and concept for the character Frank would play, and Frank did appear on Magnum in 1986, in what would be Franks last, full acting, non-cameo role. Franks "expenses" turned out to be a problem for the producers of Magnum and CBS (the network which aired Magnum during its original broadcast run), because Franks expenses included the costs for his personal jet and his full entourage. The final expenses tally? $300,000 (in 1986 dollars!) This story has been related by Tom Selleck on several talk shows through the years, including on the October 4, 2013 airing of "Late Show with David Letterman" .

He became a father for the third time at age 32 when his first ex-wife Nancy Barbato Sinatra gave birth to their daughter Christina Sinatra (aka Tina Sinatra ) on June 20, 1948.

He became a father for the second time at age 28 when his first ex-wife Nancy Barbato Sinatra gave birth to their son Francis Wayne Sinatra (aka Frank Sinatra Jr. ) on January 10, 1944.

He became a father for the first time at age 24 when his first ex-wife Nancy Barbato Sinatra gave birth to their daughter Nancy Sandra Sinatra (aka Nancy Sinatra ) on June 8, 1940.

He was known to be very popular with studio musicians. Accounts by people who worked with him agree that he was an absolutely focused professional who knew exactly what he wanted and was quick to express his satisfaction when he got it. There are also stories of him being generous with money to musicians who were in trouble.

Paparazzi were very aware of his legendary temper. One memorable account by Tina Sinatra has a paparazzi snooping around her dads house, then suddenly finding himself nose-to-nose with Frank himself. Terrified, the photographer leaped into a pool (despite being unable to swim), requiring Frank to fish him out.

Due to complications and the fact that he had a high birth weight (13-1/2 pounds), at his birth he was thought to have been stillborn until his grandmother revived him with cold tap water.

He was known to be very generous with drivers and often tipped in excess of $100, usually much more than they were making for driving him.

Sinatra was classified 4-F during World War II due to a perforated eardrum.

He appeared in two Best Picture Academy Award winners: From Here to Eternity and Around the World in 80 Days .

Sinatra has three stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame: One for music (1637 Vine Street), one for film (1600 Vine Street), and one for television (6538 Hollywood Blvd).

He had a park named after him in New Jersey; he was the towns most famous resident.

In the 1950s, when Sinatra visited the UK, an exclusive interview for the BBC with the respected broadcaster David Jacobs ( was arranged. At the time the press was full of stories about Sinatras relationship with Ava Gardner. Shortly before the interview began, Sinatra told Jacobs that he could ask any questions he liked, but if he asked anything about Gardner he would "shove the microphone down his throat!" The gentlemanly Jacobs knew he meant it but said he never had any intention of asking about his private life and just wanted to talk about his music and career.

He was a major supporter of the state of Israel. He funded terrorist paramilitary groups in Palestine before the creation of Israel in 1948. He publicly supported Israel in the Six Day War in 1967. His music and films were banned in Lebanon as a result of his Zionism.

Sinatra appeared as a guest on the very first episode of "The Dean Martin Show" .

He would never agree to appear on the BBCs top talk show of the 1970s, "Parkinson" . Host Michael Parkinson was a huge fan of his music and said never securing an interview with Sinatra was his biggest regret about the series. He said he would have "broken any rule" to get him.

His very vocal support for the state of Israel was a major reason for Sinatra becoming a Republican in the early 1970s.

Played by T.J. Tyler (who performs as Frank Sinatra at the Mandalay Bay Hotel in Las Vegas) in Hollywood Mouth 3 .

According to the actor Roger Moore , Sinatra was a big fan of his television series "The Saint" .

He refused to stay or perform at any hotel that wouldnt allow Sammy Davis Jr or any other African-American to enter.

He was a big supporter of racial equality and the Civil Rights movement, at a time period where segregation was still a very real and dominant presence in the US. Sinatra performed numerous concerts to support activists like Martin Luther King Jr.

When John F Kennedy was president, he planned a trip to Los Angeles and was going to stay at Franks house as a "thank you" for campaigning in support of him. Frank immediately began construction of a helicopter pad outside his house to accommodate the president. But the presidents brother, Bobby Kennedy, talked JFK out of it, feeling that it would be a bad political move for the president to stay at the home of a man with known mafia connections. JFK canceled and instead chose to stay at the home of Sinatras biggest rival, Bing Crosby. When Sinatra found out he was furious, and immediately grabbed a sledgehammer and began demolishing the newly-constructed helipad. It was theorized by some that this was one of the reasons why he switched to the Republican party later in life.

Ex-wife Mia Farrow introduced a theory that her son, lawyer and journalist Ronan Farrow who bears his spitting image, could possibly be Franks biological son. But his daughters dismissed the possibility, as he had a vasectomy.

A friend is never an imposition.

In Hoboken, when I was a kid, I lived in a plenty tough neighborhood.

. . maybe with a few exceptions.

A well balanced girl is the one who has an empty head and a full,sweater.

The cigarettes you light one after another won’t help you forget her.

Cock your hat - angles are attitudes.

Throughout my career, if I have done anything, I have paid attention to every note and every word I sing - if I respect the song. If I cannot project this to a listener, I fail.

The martial music of every sideburned delinquent on the face of the earth.

Our civilization, such as it is, was shaped by religion, and the men who aspire to public office anyplace in the free world must make obeisance to God or risk immediate opprobrium.

The best revenge is massive success.

I am a thing of beauty.