Sinatra in retirement

Press, Volume CXI, Issue 32564, 25 March 1971, Page 11

Sinatra in retirement

(N.Z.P.A.-Reuter—Copyright) NEW YORK, Mar. 24. Frank Sinatra, who announced his retirement last, night at the age of 55, created a special chapter of Hollywood history as the crooning idol of the swoon cult and the leader of a devoted crowd of famous friends called “The Clan,” or “The Rat Pack.”

Among them were Sammy Davis, jun., Peter Lawford, and Tony Curtis; they and others formed a tight circle of friends round Sinatra, Who triumphed first as a singer and then as a straight actor. . ~ . His reported friendships with sulphurous blondes and gangsters, and tales of his gambling activities and brawls with press photographers kept the gossipwriters busy as they followed the career of “The Voice.” Mr Sinatra is also known for his generosity in helping struggling unknowns and

giving charity performances; one world tour with which he was associated raised $765,101 for children’s charities. The son of an immigrant Italian fireman, he decided to become a singer when, in his teens, he heard Bing Crosby, but his first break did not come until 1939, when he was engaged by the bandleader, Harry James. Later he joined another famous band, that of Tommy Dorsey. Fame really came in 1946, when the fans began screaming and swooning at his songs. They formed clubs called “Frankie’s United Swooners” and “Bobby Sox Swoonerettes,” and sent him letters at the rate of 3000 a week, but after a while his explosive personality spilled over into his public life, and his reputation and record sales fell off.

He suffered from throat haemorrhages, and in 1952 voice strain led him to beg for the straight part of Private Angelo Maggio in the film, “From Here to Eternity.” He triumphed as a serious actor and won an Oscar.

A string of good parts followed, in films like “The Man with the Golden Arm,” “The Tender Trap,” “High Society” and “Pal Joey.” In 1967, he was firmly on top, and his records won him six awards from the American recording industry’s annual Grammy presentations.

Mr Sinatra’s first marriage, in 1939 to his childhood sweetheart, Nancy Barbato, produced three children. Nancy, his eldest daughter, had a joint hit with her father in 1967 called “Something Stupid” and is now a star in her own right; his son, Frank, caught the headlines when he was kidnapped for an $182,160 ransom in 1963; but his youngest daughter. Christina, has so far stepped shy of publicity. The scream-and-swoon cult helped to wreck the marriage, which was dissolved in 1951. Mr Sinatra then married the actress, Ava Gardner, but they were divorced in 1957. His third marriage came in 1966 to a young actress, Mia Farrow, but there was a separation in the following year and divorce in 1968.