Biography
The first, and possibly the greatest American musical superstar, Frank Sinatra was inarguably one of the most successful, multi-talented entertainers of the 20th-Century. Starting out as a crooner with bandleaders like Tommy Dorsey in the late-1930s, by 1942 "Sinatramania" had swept the country and his live performances were causing riots. Just as suddenly, a combination of damaged vocal cords, reputed ties to organized crime, and a torrid …
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Career Milestones
1997 | Suffered "an uncomplicated heart attack" (January 9) | |
1995 | ABC aired the tribute special "Sinatra: 80 Years My Way" | |
1995 | Empire State Building glowed blue in honor of Ole Blue Eyes' 80th birthday | |
| Recorded two multiplatinum "Duets" albums, singing with pop stars like Barbara Streisand, Jimmy Buffet and Bono | ||
1992 | Was the subject of the five-hour TV miniseries, "Sinatra" (CBS), produced by daughter Tina | |
1990 | Last screen appearance in the documentary "Listen Up", a biographical portrait of composer-producer Quincy Jones | |
1990 | Performed on the TV special, "Sinatra 75: The Best Is Yet to Come" (CBS) | |
| Toured the world with Sammy Davis Jr and Liza Minnelli | ||
1983 | Honored with a tribute at Kennedy Center | |
1980 | Returned to films as star of "The First Deadly Sin" | |
1977 | TV dramatic acting debut in the NBC movie "COntract on Cherry Street" | |
1974 | Was one of the hosts/narrators of the compilation film "That's Entertainment" | |
1971 | Announced his retirement from show business; was back working again within two years | |
1970 | Last feature acting role for a decade, "Dirty Dingus Magee" | |
1967 | Last Number 1 hit single, "Something Stupid", a duet with his daughter Nancy Sinatra (his first gold single) | |
1966 | Starred in the TV special, "Frank Sinatra: A Man and His Music", which received a Peabody Award; show also featured daughter Nancy | |
1965 | Only directing credit, "None but the Brave" (also starred in and produced) | |
1963 | Sold two-thirds of Reprise to Warner Bros. for more than $3 million capital gain | |
1962 | Starred in John Frankenheimer's political thriller "The Manchurian Candidate" | |
1961 | Left Capitol to form own record label, Reprise | |
1960 | Co-starred in what is considered the epitome of 'The Rat Pack' films "Oceans Eleven" | |
1959 | Released "Come Dance with Me" (Capital); remained on charts for 140 weeks | |
| Starred in the ABC variety series "The Frank Sinatra Show" | ||
1957 | Portrayed nightclub performer Joe E Lewis in the biopic "The Joker Is Wild" | |
1956 | Co-starred with Grace Kelly and Bing Crosby in "High Society", a musicalized version of "The Philadelphia Story" with songs by Cole Porter | |
1956 | First producing credit, "Johnny Concho" (also starred in title role) | |
1955 | Earned Best Actor Oscar nomination for Otto Preminger's "The Man With the Golden Arm" | |
1955 | Played the Stage Manager in TV adaptation of "Our Town" (NBC), intorduced the song "Love and Marriage" | |
1955 | Co-starred with Marlon Brando and Vivian Blaine in film version of "Guys and Dolls" | |
1953 | Signed to recording contract by Capitol Records (date approximate) | |
1953 | Begged executives at Columbia Pictures to play the key supporting role of Maggio in an all-star production of "From Here to Eternity"; agreed to play the part for only $8000; won Best Supporting Actor Oscar | |
| Dropped by Columbia Records in the early 1950s after his vocal chords hemorrhaged | ||
| Film career slumped after the relative boxoffice failure of "Double Dynamite" (1951) and "Meet Danny Wilson" (1952) | ||
| First foray into TV, "The Frank Sinatra Show" (CBS); telecast live from NYC (later from Hollywood), it failed primarily because of the competition (opposite Sid Caesar's "Your Show of Shows" for 1st season and Number 1 rated "The Texaco Star Theater" with Milton Berle for the 2nd) | ||
1949 | Acted opposite Kelly in what is considered Sinatra's best film of the decade, "On the Town", co-directed by Kelly and Stanley Donen | |
1945 | First of three films with Gene Kelly, "Anchors Aweigh" | |
1945 | Won a Special Academy Award for "The House I Live In", a progressive short about racial tolerance | |
1943 | Feature acting debut, "Higher and Higher" | |
1943 | First solo hit, a recording of the Cole Porter standard, "Night and Day" | |
1941 | Screen debut in "Las Vegas Nights" (as singer with Tommy Dorsey Band) | |
1940 | Hired away by Tommy Dorsey for $100 a week; recorded more than 80 songs with Dorsey's orchestra, including "Stardust", "This Love of Mine" and "I'll Never Smile Again" | |
| First gained acclaim as vocalist with the Harry James Orchestra; first hit, "All or Nothing at All" | ||
1935 | Attatched himself to the 'Three Flashes' trio; on September 8th, they appeared as the 'Hoboken Four' on radio's "Major Bowes' Amateur Hour", winning that night with 40,000 people calling in--the then-largest vote in the show's history; toured with the quartet for six months | |
| Godfather Frank Garrick, circulation manager of the Jersey Observer, arranged for his namesake to work on the paper's delivery truck | ||
1915 | Weighed close to 15 pounds at birth; appeared stillborn until his grandmother held him under a cold water faucet | |
Awards
1995 | Grammy Award for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Performance |
1993 | Palm Springs International Film Festival for Desert Palm Achievement Award |
1974 | Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy-Variety, Variety or Music Special in Magnavox Presents Frank Sinatra |
1972 | Screen Actors Guild Award for Life Achievement |
1970 | Golden Globe Award for Cecil B. DeMille Award |
1970 | Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Variety or Musical Program in Sinatra |
1966 | Grammy Award for Album Of The Year |
1966 | Grammy Award for Best Vocal Performance, Male |
1966 | Grammy Award for Record Of The Year |
1965 | Grammy Award for Album Of The Year |
1965 | Grammy Award for Best Vocal Performance, Male |
1963 | Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Comedy Or Musical in Come Blow Your Horn |
1959 | Grammy Award for Album Of The Year |
1959 | Grammy Award for Best Vocal Performance, Male |
1958 | Grammy Award for Best Album Cover |
1957 | Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Comedy Or Musical in Pal Joey |
1956 | Primetime Emmy Award for Best Male Singer |
1956 | BAFTA Award for Foreign Actor in The Man With the Golden Arm |
1955 | BAFTA Award for Foreign Actor in Not As a Stranger |
1955 | Academy Award for Actor in The Man With the Golden Arm |
1953 | Academy Award for Actor In a Supporting Role in From Here to Eternity |
1953 | Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture in From Here to Eternity |