Frank Sinatra

When many of the baby-boomers generation think of suave and cool only one name pops into their head: Frank. Sinatra an American singer might be as well known for his music as well as his private lifestyle.

Born on December 12, 1915 in New Jersey, Sinatra fell in love with music after hearing Bing Crosby sing on the radio. He signed with Columbia records and had some moderate success, but nothing he would later achieve.

It was in 1953 that Sinatra’s career took off. He started in the World War II film From Here to Eternity and won an Oscar for best supporting actor. He also signed a recording deal with Capitol records. By the early 1960’s he was popular enough to have his own record company, Reprise Records. It is here he got his nickname “The Chairman of the Board.”

Sinatra took his act to Las Vegas where he was the town’s most popular person. He formed the Rat Pack with Sammy Davis Jr. and Dean Martin and the three would control show-business for years in the late 1950s and early 1960s.

Sinatra would continue to perform in Vegas and around the world through the rest of his career. In the 1990s he released his Debut album which was a collection of his most famous songs preformed with modern day musicians.

Sinatra’s career started to show signs of aging at the same time. He would often require teleprompters for his lyrics when he preformed. On May 14, 1998 Sinatra died at his Los Angeles area home, after battling coronary heart disease, kidney disease, bladder cancer, and dementia.

During his life Sinatra had many female callers. His first love was his high school sweetheart, whom he married and had three children with including, Nancy and Frank Jr. The couple separated when his affair with Ava Gardner became public. Sinatra was also romantically linked to Lauren Bacall, Mia Farrow, and Barbara Blakeley Marx.