Section A: Personal Facts

1. Is there a capsule history of Sinatra available through the Internet?
2. What are the stages to Sinatra's career?
3. Is there any truth to many of these allegations that are published in the tabloids?
4. What is Frankspeak?
5. What is Sinatra's recipe for a quick Italian tomato sauce?
6. What entré did Sinatra prepare with Dinah Shore?
7. Are there any of Sinatra's favorites recipes available?
8. What is The Frank Sinatra Foundation?
9. Did Sinatra write any songs?
10. Did Sinatra have a theme song?
11. What was Sinatra's first recording?
12. Where can I get a hat like Sinatra wore?

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Is there a capsule history of Sinatra available through the Internet?

Robert Colonna produced the following "capsule" biography of Frank Sinatra.

FS History -- by Robert Colonna

At various points in time, I read several posts from "new" ListServ members that are also new Sinatra fans that are trying to learn more about Frank. There are definitely other "experts" on this List out there who could do this with more interesting specifics better than myself, but I figured, what the heck, let me give it a shot anyway. It was fun gathering some of the info. For the new ListServ members / Sinatra fans, welcome and enjoy!! For the pros out there (and there are a lot of you!), please correct any of this and pass it along. I'll do this in a few parts.

1. Born December 12, 1915 an only child whose parents dreamed of his studying to be a Civil Engineer.
2. Attended Demarest High School (Hoboken, NJ) and participated in all sports.
3. Sinatra's favorite passion is prizefighting. Was a "close friend" of Tami Mauriello, a heavyweight contender in 1943.
4. Hated Mathematics!
5. Worked for the circulation manager of the Jersey Observer newspaper. He first started out riding news trucks and later was promoted to copy boy.
6. He wanted to be a reporter. When told by the editor that copy boys "don't know enough to be reporters," Frank went to a secretarial school and enrolled in a Journalism class, studying English, typing, and shorthand. Finally, the editor relented and made Frank a cub sports reporter. Frank covered various school games he actually played himself. He was 18 years old at the time.
7. When it came to learning how to sing, Frank did it by singing. He never read a note, and never (SELDOM) took a lesson. He did however enjoy spending summers playing a ukulele on the beaches of the Jersey Shore.
8. One of Frank's idols was Bing Crosby. After hearing Bing sing one night in 1935, he told his date Nancy Barbato (who one day would be his wife) that he just had to be a singer. Bing's voice would be his role model for tone and phrasing styles in his own singing later on.
9. To get people interested in hearing him sing, he performed in neighborhood theater amateur shows, where you could win $10 or a set of dishes! He went from one movie house to the next. In attendance was Demarest alumni, who once watched him play basketball!
10. Won a prize on Major Bowes Amateur Hour, which landed him his first professional contract: $25 per week for being a singer, headwaiter, master of ceremonies, and a comedian at a country roadhouse called The Rustic Cabin in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey. The time period was 1938. At the same time, he began taking a dozen quarter-hour sustaining programs every week over four local, New Jersey radio stations. Frank's cash take for these events amounted to 70 cents a week for carfare. Anyway it was around 1938 and people were beginning to hear Sinatra.
11. Harry James heard Frank sing at The Rustic Cabin in 1939 and signed him to a two-year contract as lead vocalist in James' new band. This was June of 1939. Sinatra would be associated with Harry James for only six months.
12. At a musician's benefit in Chicago (December 1939), Tommy Dorsey approached Frank and told him he was looking for a vocalist. Frank was delighted and told Dorsey: "I've been trying for years to sing the way you play trombone." That was the beginning of a three-year relationship between Sinatra and Dorsey. It was at this time that Frank acquired the rabid following of young fans, which enabled him later to branch out as a solo artist. It was also at this time that Frank's career soared.
13. Frank always wanted to serve his country. However, on December 9, 1941, three days shy of his 26th birthday, he was classified as "4-F" at the Newark Induction Center because of a "punctured eardrum." Frank earned this from a playmate on a deserted street in Hoboken (the boy swung a bicycle chain at Frank during a fight) . Amazingly, it kept him out of the Armed Forces in 1941 when it was time for him to report. It said in the article in Life magazine that Frank's punctured eardrum, as well as a small scar on his neck, came from a slip-up by the doctor during his birth.
14. He married his childhood sweetheart, Nancy Barbato in February of 1939. The bowties you see from a lot of old photos were compliments of Nancy herself. She knitted them to hide Frank's huge Adam's Apple!!
15. In the Fall of 1942, eager to go out on his own and to get out of his contract with Dorsey, he pledged one third of his future gross earnings to Dorsey, and another 10% of his future gross to Dorsey's manager, Leonard Vannerson.
16. Mannie Sachs and William Paley of the Columbia Recording Corporation took a chance on recording Frank as a soloist. Both Columbia and MCA (Frank's new talent agency) freed Sinatra from Dorsey and Vannerson by paying them $60,000. The year was 1948.
17. Around November of 1946, Columbia Records estimated that Frank was recording an average of 24 songs per year, enabling them to issue one new Sinatra record a month. At that time, his records were selling at an annual rate of 10 million per year!! In 1947, Sinatra he participated in twenty five sessions, recording 72 songs!
18. A talent agency marketing his voice advertised it as:"The Voice That Thrilled Millions." This sweeping phrase was condensed by a weary journalist to simply, "The Voice." The name, as you know, stuck to him ever since.
19. Always hated cops. With some of his first wages from the Jersey Observer, Frank bought new clothes. While parading them around in Hoboken, the cops saw them and wanted to know were he got them from. "Ya copper, what's it to you?" he said to them. When they got through with him he was torn, tattered, and a bloody mess; ribs cracked, his nose smashed, and his face and body horribly swollen. From that day on, all authority has sent him a little berserk!
20. "The House I Live In," made at the peak of Sinatra's popularity earned him a special Academy Award in 1945.
21. Frank was first linked to the Mafia in February 1947 in a gossip column report that stated he was seen in Havana with mobster Lucky Luciano. Later, in 1949, he was tied to both the Mafia "and" the Communists. The Committee on Un-American Activities said he followed or appeased some of the Communist Party line program. Sinatra has flat out denied any involvement with the Communist Party. Apparently, these accusations continued. On April 8, 1947, Sinatra punched Hearst gossip columnist Lee Mortimer at Ciro's (a Hollywood hot night spot). The Hearst papers went wild, running whole pages on this incident, and repeated stories on the Mafia/Communist charges. Sinatra said he punched Mortimer because the columnist called him a "dago"!
22. 1949 was Sinatra's "rock bottom" year. He was fired from his radio show; 6 months after that his New York concerts flopped. Soon, his personal life was falling apart as fast as his career. He and Nancy were splitting. His affair with Ava Gardner had become an open scandal. Columbia Records wanted him out. In 1950, he was released from his MGM film contract, and his own agent, MCA, dropped him. He was a has-been at 34.
23. (Circa 1949 - 1951). Frank was sick, broke, and reduced to borrowing from Ava Gardner. His career and personality were near shambles. Friends Toots Shor, Hank Sanicola, and Jimmy Van Heusen, etc. tried to get him into getting hold of himself. As it turned out, Frank Sinatra saved Frank Sinatra! He read James Jones' "From Here To Eternity," and knew that the part of Maggio, the tough little Italian who refused to be broken, could have been written for him. He went to see Buddy Adler (Columbia Pictures Producer) and asked to be tested for the part. Adler had 5 other actors ahead of Sinatra to test. Frank, then went to Henry Cohn (head of Columbia pictures) to sell himself for the role. Frank sold Cohn, got the part, and the rest is as they say, history!!
24. Sinatra, who plays Montgomery Clift's soldier-buddy in "From Here To Eternity," underwent several hours of military training every day to prepare for his role as Maggio.
25. Frank accepted $8,000 for his role as Maggio in "From Here To Eternity." He had been getting $150,000 per picture prior to this.
26. As you know, Frank won an Academy Award for his portrayal as Maggio in "From Here To Eternity." His comeback had started!! Within a few months he was back on his feet, making Guys and Dolls, The Tender Trap, and The Man With The Golden Arm. He signed a new recording contract with Capitol Records and his singing was better than ever on actual records and in personal appearances. Three records: Young At Heart, Learnin' The Blues, and (Love Is) The Tender Trap were million copy sellers. Capitol later released "Songs For Swinging Lovers," and NBC offered him a multimillion dollar, write-his-own-ticket TV contract.
27. Frank's support of then Senator JFK was well documented and filmed. However, Kennedy's campaign advisors worried about Sinatra's Mafia aura and expressed the hope that the singer would keep his distance from the Senator, while still recognizing Frank's valuable contributions to event organization. After JFK had won the Presidential Election (1960), and in a gesture of classic macho deference, Sinatra offered to share a prize girlfriend, Judith Campbell Exner, with the President. Kennedy liked the idea and began an affair with Exner. (Sinatra's musical hit that year, appropriately enough, was "All The Way"). Then Sinatra went too far; he introduced Exner to Chicago Mob leader Sam Giancana. Bobby Kennedy, in the middle of a campaign to crush the Mafia, put a stop to his brother's involvement with Exner, and ultimately, strongly reiterated the need for Jack to stay free and clear of Sinatra. The Kennedy's had been planning to stay with Sinatra in Frank's Palm Springs compound. Sinatra had remodeled his house in anticipation of the presidential visit. At the last minute, JFK announced they stay instead with Bing Crosby-who wasn't even a Democrat!! To the public, and to Frank, it was an inexplicable snub. He got even with Bobby later in the 1968 California primary by supporting Humphrey. Frank later discovered the Humphrey campaign had the same reservations that the Kennedy campaign had had, and he quietly left.
28. Of all the success Frank endured, his private life remained disturbed. Shortly after (or during?) his split with Ava, Frank had been reported serious about only two women: Lauren Bacall (widow of Humphrey Bogart), and Juliet Prowse (a talented dancer from South Africa). Never quite knowing if he wanted serious relations or total freedom, he seemed at this time to develop an allergy to the word "marriage." Whenever it was mentioned, he would get an itch to run!! And ran he did, with his buddies-The Rat Pack (Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Peter Lawford, Joey Bishop). They would make movies together, sing together, and tour together. They even had their own lingo!! However, during these times, Frank continued to be a good father to his children. He was hard to figure out, in terms of what lifestyle he preferred.
29. Sinatra married Mia Farrow in 1966. He just finished an album he called "September of My Years." At this time, Frank was 51, Mia was 21. A sixties rebel and opposed to the Vietnam War, Sinatra's friends claimed he "digged her brains." They were separated 16 months later in November of 1967 acknowledging that they spent little time together.
30. Frank's key moment in shifting from left to right wing politics seem to have come during his retirement years (circa 1971-1972). The key moment came when the House Crime Committee held a new investigation of Sinatra's mob ties in 1972. The main evidence against him was the testimony of a confessed hit man who said that a New England Mafia boss had boasted that Sinatra was "fronting" for him as part owner to two resort hotels. The committee called Sinatra. The committee counsel later admitted (even to Frank himself) that the evidence was all hearsay.
31. Sinatra explained his actual shift in political thinking in a NY Times Op-Ed piece he wrote right after his appearance before the committee. His old politics of "standing up for the little guy" had been altered. He saw his subpoena as a prime example of big government oppressing a little guy. He now embraced the right-wing populism that defined the principal oppressor of the little guy.
32. Sinatra's Vital Stats in 1964: Height=5'11"; Weight=155 lbs; Hair=Dark Brown.
33. In the Mid 1960's, Frank's favorite NY Bar was Jilly's Saloon (256 West 52nd Street-currently closed). Sinatra met Jilly in Miami Beach when performing at the Fontainebleau. They hit it off immediately.
34. Sinatra announced his retirement on March 23, 1971. At the time, he wanted to spend more time with his family and perhaps write. However, he was back in the studio on April 30, 1973 to record tracks for his "Ol' Blue Eyes Is Back" LP. Obviously, he didn't last long in retirement!!
35. Sinatra dislikes women who smoke or drink too much or who wear heavy perfume. He dislikes roast lamb, fair-weather friends, green salads, phonies, complainers, and welshers. He is, of course, the perfect host. A great Italian cook!! He lets people believe he is out swinging every night of the week, when actually he is often home reading. He is a best-seller addict, and has an insatiable interest in history. He has an excellent eye for quality French Impressionist paintings. He is what Rosalind Russell called: "a fake drinker"...more often than not, he talks more about drinking than he actually imbibes. He believes the Lennon/McCartney song Yesterday is one of the best songs ever written, and strongly feels that prizefighter Sugar Ray Robinson was the greatest he ever saw.
36. Sinatra was an only child of Italian parents, and they spoiled him. From the beginning, this only child had money. His father was a fireman, but his mother was a popular Democratic ward leader. Frank had a charge account at a local department store and a wardrobe so fancy that his friends called him "Slacksey." He had a secondhand car at 15!! And in the depths of the Depression, after dropping out of high school, he had the ultimate luxury, a job unloading trucks at the Jersey Observer.
37. During filming of his movies, Sinatra insisted on one or two takes. This had led to careless, even shoddy productions. A clear example of this can be seen in 1970's "Dirty Dingus Magee." And who could remember The Kissing Bandit?
38. In 1974, Frank told Daily News columnist Kay Gardella that it was Billie Holiday, who he first heard in 52nd Street clubs in the 1930's, who was-and still remains-the greatest single musical influence on him.
39. Back in 1963, the Nevada Gaming Control Board charged that the Chicago mobster Sam Giancana had been a week-long guest at Sinatra's Cal-Neva Lodge in Lake Tahoe. The Gaming Control Board sought to revoke Sinatra's casino gambling license. After debating the issue, Sinatra chose not to fight the revocation order. Apparently, his friendship with Giancana was more important than his investment in Nevada, and he sold his interests for $3.5 million.
40. Frank's father, Anthony Martin Sinatra, ran a saloon when he wasn't working for the fire department. His father was a blue-eyed Sicilian, close-mouthed, passive, and in his own way, tough. He once boxed as "Marty O'Brien" in the years when the Irish ran northern New Jersey.
41. Dolly Sinatra, Frank's mother, was born Natalie Garaventi. When Frank was born, she was disappointed. Why? She wanted a girl!! In fact, prior to his birth, she had already bought lots of pink clothes. She dressed Frank in those pink outfits, rather than discard them.
42. When Frank released "Trilogy" in 1980, it was heralded as his best work in 15 years. Rolling Stone stated that he was "deeper and rawer in his bass register, lighter and more inflective in the baritone range. In concert, the voice sounded impossibly big, animative, cunning, and formidable. It was as if the presence of an audience somehow impelled him to renewed levels of ingenuity and intensity."
43. Don Costa stuff: Costa was one of the few certifiable legends in pop music history; over 280 chart records in more than 30 years; producer; arranger and friend to a galaxy of musical luminaries including Frank Sinatra. Produced/Arranged a number of Sinatra LPs: She Shot Me Down, Some Nice Things I Missed, Ol' Blue Eyes Is Back, The Main Event, Cycles, Sinatra and Strings, etc. Actually wrote the melody on one track for She Shot Me Down, entitled Monday Morning Quarterback.
44. Frank Sinatra married Barbara Marx on July 11, 1976. She was formerly married to one of the 4 famed "Marx Brothers," Zeppo Marx. Barbara Sinatra was born in Missouri. She moved to Wichita, Kansas during the Second World War, and upon the War's conclusion, moved to California, where she remains with Frank to this day. When she first arrived in California, she settled in Long Beach and ran a modeling school and consulted to the Miss Universe Beauty Pageants. She had an 8-month stint as a Las Vegas showgirl and did some modeling for a fashion designer in Los Angeles.
45. Frank's Real Estate (as of 1983): The Rancho Mirage Compound (Palm Springs California); Waldorf Towers Apartment (NYC); large house (Los Angeles). Frank loves LA and NY the most. On the other hand, Barbara loves New York City the most. She enjoys attending social events, art museums, plays, and Broadway shows.
46. At Rancho Mirage during the early 1980's, Frank and Barbara Sinatra feel most at ease out of all of the homes they own together. There are "his" and "hers" cactus gardens; door mats monogrammed BAS (for her) and FAS (for him)!! There's a swimming pool and tennis court, guest houses and green spaces and a projection room in old railroad caboose, where he also keeps his collection of model trains. Barbara loves animals, particularly dogs. At one point, at the Compound, there were as many as eight dogs!
47. In the early 1980's, Sinatra performed in Rio de Janeiro before the largest audience (175,000 people) ever to attend a concert by a soloist-the event, at the time, was recorded in the Guinness Book Of World Records. As an aside note, Frank has also set box office records performing at Carnegie Hall in New York City.
48. Various Awards: Frank received special awards from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, and the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. In 1983, he was one of 5 recipients to receive a Kennedy Center Honor. That same year he received two honors of distinction. Variety Clubs International, the show business charity, saluted him for his achievements as an entertainer and a humanitarian. As a tribute to him, the Sinatra Family Children's Unit for the Chronically Ill, was established at the Seattle Children's Orthopedic Hospital and Medical Center. In 1979, Frank wins the Trustees Award in acknowledgment of his lifetime of devotion to the high standards of recording artistry. In early 1994, the Recording Industry Association of America awarded Frank Sinatra with his first multi-platinum record in his 55-year career, for 2 million units sold of the all-star vocal collection, "Duets." This was Sinatra's first "multi" platinum record. He scored "platinum" with "Strangers In The Night" in 1966, and "Greatest Hits" in 1968. In addition, Frank has racked up 21 gold albums in his career.
49. Grammy Awards: Only The Lonely wins for Best Cover Art (1958); Come Dance With Me wins Album of the Year and Best Male Vocal (1959); September of My Years wins Album of The Year; It Was A Very Good Year wins Best Male Performance (1965); Sinatra: A Man And His Music is named Album of The Year. Strangers In The Night wins Record Of The Year and Best Male Vocal Performance (1966); Grammy Legend Award (1994).
50. Harry Connick Jr. on Frank Sinatra: "Sinatra is the total master of vocal technique. He was the first at holding phrases for such a long time, sliding from note to note. The way he can get vibrato on the high notes-it's amazing. Then there is his breath control, the way he can hold phrases for 20 or 25 seconds. The best example is on "Old Man River" from The Concert Sinatra album. He must have an extra set of lungs; I wish he kept them in my chest."
51. Frank's 3 children (all conceived with first wife Nancy): Nancy Sandra-born in 1940; Franklin Wayne Emmanuel (Frank Jr.)-born in 1944; and Christina (Tina)-born in 1948. Nancy and Frank Jr. were born in Jersey City; Tina was born in LA.
52. Out of all the songs Frank's recorded, the one he "hates" the most is Strangers In The Night.
53. Frank Sinatra has faced triumph, failure and triumph again throughout his long career as an entertainer. New musical fads and trends-bebop, soft rock, hard rock, punk, rap, hip-hop-come and go, but somehow the Sinatra show that exploded half a century ago beats on into the 1990's.
54. (Rolling Stone Magazine-1980) What Sinatra did was important: he took the songs of Porter, Gershwin, Arlen, Cahn, Fain, and others and made them seem personal and imperative. It was an eloquent display of his paradoxical brand of artistry; touch, yet sensitive, vain yet compassionate, grasping yet generous. And when Sinatra left the stage, we realized we might never witness artistry that big and that provocative, again.
55. Frank Sinatra developed a unique white-blues style, supple enough to express the wide range of his own turbulent emotions. He transformed the tunes of the great writers into something personal by the sincerity of his performance; Sinatra actually seemed to "believe" the words he was singing.

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What are the stages to Sinatra's career?

Sinatra I	The Big Band Sinatra
Sinatra II	The Romantic Ballad Sinatra (The Early Columbia)
Sinatra III	The Big Bust Sinatra (Late 40's/early 50's)
Sinatra IV	The Phoenix Rises (Sinatra's Rebirth/Capitol Years)
Sinatra V	Sinatra at the Peak (September of My Years)
Sinatra VI	The Retirement
Sinatra VII	The Second Comeback (The Seventies)
Sinatra VIII	The Touring Sinatra

Will Friedwald also broke down Sinatra's career in "stages" in his book, Sinatra: The Song Is You:

The Skinny Years	Harry James, Tommy Dorsey & Columbia
The Hat Years	Capitol Days
The Tux Years	Reprise & Late Concerts

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Is there any truth to many of these allegations that are published in the tabloids?

An Editorial:

September 30, 1997

The Fourth Estate has incredible power and should be certain what they report is the truth and in the best interest of the people so that there is no abuse of that power. To paraphrase Oliver Wendell Holmes regarding free speech, you can't yell fire in a crowded theatre.

gossip (definition) noun
1. Rumor or talk of a personal, sensational, or intimate nature.
2. A person who habitually indulges in gossip.

On Friday, September 26 [1997], The Wall Street Journal ran a story about my father on the front page of their newspaper. Tabloid publications were mentioned as sources of the "facts" about Frank Sinatra and his family. Let's take a closer look at some of these "facts."

The Journal reminds us that Frank Sinatra punched columnist Lee Mortimer in 1947 and had to pay a fine and apologize publicly.

This becomes inaccurate because the writer failed to provide the reader with an accurate history of my father's relationship with Lee Mortimer, and explain why the incident occurred. By ignoring the vital facts, the Journal has again, as they did in 1968's broadsiding article [which tried to connect Frank to every known hoodlum of the twentieth century], put forward inaccuracies about him.

Here is the well-documented other side of the story, which will help the reader to consider my father's "act of violence" in the proper context.

1. In 1944 Frank was denounced by editorial writers for The Stars and Stripes as a coward for not serving in the military. The fact that he had tried to enlist at least twice, and his torn ear drum (from forceps used at his birth) made him 4-F, was not mentioned. Columnist for the Hearst Syndicate's New York Daily Mirror Lee Mortimer followed suit. This was the beginning of an ongoing campaign by Mortimer to discredit Frank. Years later, Dad told me that he thought Mortimer "was angry with me for rejecting a song he had submitted to me."
2. Frank was branded "subversive" because he lectured about bigotry and intolerance at schools, and because he worked hard to get housing for homecoming veterans of WWII. The FBI would not let him travel with the USO until the war was almost over. Add to this the fact that Dad was a staunch Roosevelt liberal and the Hearst papers were on the extreme right and you have a volatile situation - all documented.
3. Mortimer continued to publicly insult Frank, and this carried over and touched people Frank worked with, such as Dean Martin, whom Mortimer accused of using the "same arrangements of the same songs..." as Dad's.
4. In 1947 Mortimer accused Frank of mobster connections based solely on the alleged existence of two photographs - which nobody has ever seen. The first, of Frank on a trip to Cuba with his boyhood friends from Hoboken, Joe and Rocco Fishetti, and the second, supposedly of Frank and Charles "Lucky" Luciano. This gave the FBI more fodder for their investigation of Dad, but there are no such pictures in the file.
   All of this carelessness marked the beginning of what writer David McLintick [sic] calls the "fifty year smear" which continues today in spite of our tireless efforts to present the truth. There are people who feel Frank does not deserve the Congressional Gold Medal because he "never served in the military" and he is "part of the mafia." How can we keep correcting these lies? It is exhausting.
5. Lee Mortimer and Scripps-Howard writer Robert Ruark accused Frank of sinister reasons for visiting Cuba, including a totally absurd story that Frank carried $2,000,000 in small bills to be delivered to Luciano.
6. Westbrook Pegler, a noted writer whom my dad told me really hurt his reputation because he was a "man with clout," revived the Communist accusations.
7. In internal memos to and from FBI Associate Director Clyde Tolson during this period, it became clear that unofficial "cooperation" had been offered privately to Mortimer by the FBI, and that much of its own file on Sinatra, in turn, was based on unsupported accusations and innuendo passed to the Agency by Mortimer - without any corroboration.
8. Most of the allegations came from "leaks" by Harry Anslinger of the National Narcotics Bureau, who labeled my father a dangerous "pinko" because of his vocal support for civil rights, his roots in the Sicilian community and his friendships with "dope smoking" musicians.
9. This bad publicity upset Dad's boss at MGM, Louis B. Mayer, as well as Dad's parents, his wife (my mother), his friends and his fans.
10. In September of the same year, Pegler, Mortimer and the FBI resumed attacks on Dad, raking up a 1938 morals charge which had been dismissed. The woman who brought charges had been discredited and the charges dropped. This was not mentioned in any of the stories. Already, the rumors were being written as "facts."
11. Pegler tried to link Frank to a rogues gallery of gangsters that included not only Lucky Luciano, but Frank Costello, Joe Adonis, Longie Zwillman, Bugsy Seigel, Myer Lansky and Willie Moretti, reputed mob chief of Bergen County, New Jersey. Frank, who was used to speaking out about other people's civil rights, said he was experiencing the phenomenon of "guilt by association" because his name "ends in a vowel."
    In April of 1947, the incident at Ciro's occurred because Lee Mortimer (seated at a table near Dad's) had called him a "dago son of a bitch." This was the last in a long line of insults which infuriated Frank. They had an angry exchange of words and Dad punched him. Considering all the damage Mortimer was and is responsible for, it is a wonder to me that Dad didn't bludgeon him with a typewriter.

Nancy Sinatra Lambert
Beverly Hills, California

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What is Frankspeak?

• BAG-as in 'my bag', a person's particular interest.
• BARN BURNER-a very stylish, classy woman.
• BEARD - a male friend who acts as a 'cover', usually for extramarital affairs.
• BEETLE-a girl who dresses in flashy clothes.
• BIG-LEAGUER-a resourceful man who can handle any situation.
• BIRD-a 'suitcase' word sometimes used in reference to the pelvic section.
• BOMBSVLLLE-any kind of failure in life.
• BROAD-affectionate term for a girl or woman with sex appeal.
• BUM-a person who is despised, most frequently linked to people in the media.
• BUNTER-a man who fails in almost everything he does, the opposite of GASSER.
• CHARLEY-a general term for anyone whose name has been forgotten. See also SAM.
• CHARLIES-admiring word for a woman's breasts.
• CHICK-a young and invariably pretty girl.
• CLYDE-a word used to cover a multitude of personal observations: viz 'I don't like her clyde' means 'I don't like her voice', etc.
• COOL-a term of admiration for a person or place. An alternative word meaning the same thing is CRAZY
• CREEP-a man who is disliked for any reason whatsoever.
• CRUMB-someone for whom it is impossible to show respect.
• DAME-a generally derogatory term for a probably unattractive woman. The word DOG is also sometimes substituted.
• DIG-a term of appreciation for a person or thing, as in 'I dig her'.
• DYING-as in 'I'm dying' which means 'I'm slightly upset'.
• END-a word to signify that someone or something is the very best.
• ENDSVILLE-a term to express total failure, and similar to BOMBSVILLE. See VILLE.
• FINK-a man who cannot be relied upon, whose loyalties are suspect.
• FIRST BASE-the start of something, usually applied in terms of failure when someone has failed to reach it.
• FRACTURE-as in 'That fractures me', meaning 'That's an amusing joke'.
• GAS-a great situation as in 'The day was a gas'.
• GASOLINE-a term for alcohol, more specifically, Frank's favourite drink, Jack Daniel's Bourbon Whisky.
• GASSER-a man or woman highly admired, considered to be the best or 'The End!'
• GOFER-someone who does menial jobs or runs errands, as in 'go for drinks', etc.
• GO0D NIGHT ALL-a term of invective to change the subject of conversation.
• GRO0VE-as in 'in the groove', a term of admiration or approval.
• HARVEY-a man or woman who acts in a stupid or naive fashion; sometimes shortened to a 'Harve'.
• HACKED-a word used to describe someone who is angry, as in 'He's hacked off'.
• HELLO!-a cry of surprise to no one in particular when a beautiful woman is seen.
• HUNKER-a jack-of-all-trades rather like the GOFER.
• JOKES-a term used to describe an actor's lines in a film script.
• LET'S LOSE CHARLEY-a term used among intimates who want to get rid of a bore in their company.
• LOCKED-UP-as in 'All locked-up', a term for a forthcoming date or engagement, private or public.
• LOSER-anyone who has made a mess of their life, drinks too much, makes enemies, etc.
• MlSH-MASH-similar to LOSER but refers specifically to a woman who is mixed up.
• MOUSE-usually a small, very feminine girl who invites being cuddled.
• NOWHERE-a term of failure, usually applied to a person, viz 'He's nowhere'.
• ODDS-used in connection with important decisions, as in 'The odds aren't right', meaning not to go somewhere, accept anything or buy something.
• ORIGINAL LOSER-a man or woman without talent; sometimes more fully expressed as 'He (she) is the original Major Bowes Amateur Hour loser'.
• PLAYER-term for a man who is a gambler by nature, who makes friends easily, and never gives up trying.
• PUNKS-any undesirable, in particular mobsters, gangsters or criminals.
• QUIN-derisive term for any girl or woman who is an easy pick-up.
• RAIN-as in 'I think it's going to rain' indicating that it is time to leave a dull gathering or party.
• RING-A-DING-a term of approval for a beautiful girl, viz 'What a ring-a-ding broad !'
• SAM-used in the same way as CHARLEY for a person whose name has been forgotten, most often applied to females.
• SCAM-to cheat at gambling, as in 'Hey, what's the scam?'.
• SCRAMSVILLE-to run off.
• SHARP-a person who dresses well and with style.
• SMASHED-a word used to describe someone who is drunk. On occasions it has been replaced with 'pissed'.
• SQUARE-a person of limited character, not unlike a HARVEY.
• TOMATO-as in 'a ripe tomato' a woman ready for seduction or even marriage.
• TWIRL-a girl who loves dancing. An alternative word with the same meaning is a 'Twist'.
• VILLE-a suffix used to indicate changes in any given situation. See ENDSVILLE, etc.

When Bogart was leader of the original Rat Pack, the members spoke the same English, more or less, that the rest of us ordinarily do. All were fairly well-educated and literate. Most of the present members, with the exception of John F. Kennedy and one or two others, came from lower-class backgrounds and, although most of them are self-educated and have excellent taste in cultural matters, they now mainly speak Sinatra's language.

Sinatra once tried to explain his argot to Art Buchwald, the columnist in Paris for the New York Herald Tribune, who subsequently wrote a funny piece about it. Some of the definitions ran as follows:

• GAS - "A gas is a good situation. An evening can be a wonderful gas. Or you can have a gas of a weekend," Sinatra told Buchwald.
• GASSER - "Applies to a person. He's a big-leaguer, the best. He can hit the ball right out of the park."
• BUNTER - "The opposite of a gasser...a nowhere. He can never get to first base."
• HARVEY - "A square. Harvey, or Harv, is the typical tourist who goes into a French restaurant and says, 'What's ready?'"
• BROAD - An affectionate word for "woman." Calling a girl a "broad," said Sinatra to Buchwald, is far less coarse than calling her a "dame."
• GOOD NIGHT, ALL - "If a guy comes into a room with a broad and someone asks about his wife, the guy will say, 'Good night, all,' which means, 'Drop it, Charley.'"
• FINK - "A fink is a loser. Fink comes from a strikebreaker named Fink who killed his friend during a strike. So to me a fink is a guy who would kill his own friends."
• CLYDE - Once the most frequently-used word in Sinatra's vocabulary. "If I want someone to pass the salt," he said to Buchwald, "I would say, 'Pass the clyde.' 'I don't like her clyde' might mean 'I don't like her voice.' 'I have to go to the clyde' could mean 'I have to go to the party.'
• ALL LOCKED UP - Used when Sinatra has an engagement for the evening, usually with a broad.

There are other expressions. "Mother," which is one-half of an unprintable word, is used often. Sinatra sometimes expresses disapproval by saying, "I think it's going to rain." He uses "cool," and "crazy" in admiration, as teen-agers do. He calls women and men alike "Sam" or "Charley." The latter name is almost as all-purpose a word as "clyde" is; if Sinatra and his friends are bored with someone and want to lose him, they will say, "Let's lose Charley." The word "ring-a-ding," sometimes "ring-a-ding-ding," also is used to express approval, as in "What a ring-a-ding broad!" This was stolen from Jack E. Leonard, the comedian. Other members of the Sinatra Group have words of heir own. Tony Curtis is never angry. He is "hacked." The group seldom says that one or another is drunk. They use "smashed" or, as they do in England for marked drunkenness, "pissed."

What Bogart would have thought of this language is difficult to say. It probably would have amused him. Sinatra always amused him.

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What is Sinatra's recipe for a quick Italian tomato sauce?

First you start with some olive oil and some garlic, four whole cloves. You heat the oil and add the garlic. Puncture the garlic with an ordinary fork so it exudes the flavor. When the garlic turns tan, turn off the oil and throw it out. Save the oil.

Next you take two whole cans of the Italian plum tomatoes. Place the can in the blender and count to a slow four. Put the tomatoes into a large sauce pan. Add some basil, salt, pepper, oregano, and the oil. Bring the sauce to a boil. Skim the oil that rises to the top. Dip a piece of bread in the sauce testing to see when the sauce is finished. At the end you might want to add from fresh parsley. And there you have it-a good pasta sauce.

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What entre did Sinatra prepare with Dinah Shore?

Frank Sinatra's Sausage and Peppers
From Dinah Shore's "Someone's in the Kitchen with Dinah" television show (9/9/70)

• 1 lb. Hot Italian sausage
• 3 Tbsp. Olive oil
• 3 green peppers
• 3/4 cup red wine
• Salt and pepper (optional / to taste)
• Remove the stems and seeds from peppers can cut into large chucks. In ovenproof baking dish, that can be used on the top of the stove, saute green peppers in oil until they begin to soften. Sprinkle with a little salt. Lift the green peppers out of the dish and set aside. Brown the sausages in the same baking dish. When browned, add 3 / 4 cup red wine. Cover the pan with foil and bake the sausages in wine in a 350 degree oven for 40 minutes. (Ovens vary, so cook until the sausage is no longer pink.)
• Uncover and add the sauteed green peppers. Bake for an additional 30 minutes and serve in the same baking dish. Serves 4.

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Are there any of Sinatra's favorites recipes available?

Blue Eyes' Italian Chicken, Potato, and Onion Dish * A family favorite!

• 2 (2- 2 1/2 pounds) chickens, cut up
• salt to taste / olive oil (the measure is an inch less from the bottle)
• 2 white onions, thinly sliced
• 8 large potatoes, quartered
• black pepper to taste
• 2 tablespoons oregano
• 1 cup finely chopped parsley
• Cook chicken in boiling salted water for about 30 minutes. While chicken is cooking, pour 1 inch oil (look at the side of a standard bottle of oil, the 1 inch measurement is the dept of oil used) into 24x18x2 inch baking pan. Remove chicken from water, blot dry with paper towels; place in pan with the oil. Separate onion slices and place on chicken. Add potatoes and season with salt and pepper. Stir in oregano and parsley and mix thoroughly. Bake at 350 degrees, stirring every 10 to 15 minutes, for 1 hour or until potatoes and chicken are done. Serves 4.

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What is The Frank Sinatra Foundation?

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Did Sinatra write any songs?

• I'm A Fool To Want You (m-Joel Herron, w-Jack Wolf & Frank Sinatra) 1952
• Mistletoe And Holly (m/w-Dok Stanford, Hank Sanicola & Frank Sinatra) 1957
• Mr. Success (m-Edwin Greines, w-Hank Sanicola & Frank Sinatra) 1958
• Peachtree Street (m/w-Jimmy Saunders & Frank Sinatra) 1950
• Shelia (m/w-Christopher Hayward, Frank Sinatra & Robert Staver) 1950
• Take My Love (m-Joel Herron, w-Jack Wolf & Frank Sinatra) 1950
• This Love Of Mine (m/w-Sol Parker, Hank Sanicola & Frank Sinatra) 1941

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Did Sinatra have a theme song?

In the late 60s, Sinatra used My Kind Of Town as a concert closer.

During the concert years (1985-1994), My Way and (Theme From) New York, New York were used as an orchestral buildup to the performance.

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What was Sinatra's first recording?

Other firsts:
The first recording with the Harry James Orchestra was made on July 13, 1939: From The Bottom Of My Heart
The first recording with the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra was made on February 1, 1940: The Sky Fell Down
The first recording for Columbia was made on June 7, 1943: Close To You
The first recording for Capitol was made on April 2, 1953: Lean Baby
The first recording for Reprise was made on December 19, 1960: Ring-A-Ding Ding

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Where can I get a hat like Sinatra wore?

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Information © 1999, 2000, Tom Rednour & Wordcrafters Graphic Design
Unauthorized duplication prohibited
Updated Jan 1, 2000