A singer, actor, producer, and one-time director who scaled the heights of show business as few before or since. Known as the Voice, the Chairman of the Board, and Old Blue Eyes, Frank Sinatra became one of the wealthiest and most powerful people in the entertainment industry. Music was the main focus of his career, but he nonetheless appeared in more than 50 films, mostly in starring roles.
Frank Sinatra was twice nominated for Academy Awards, winning once in the Best Supporting Actor category for his portrayal of Maggio in From Here to Eternity (1953). He was effective in musicals, particularly those in which he costarred with GENE KELLY, and showed considerable skill as a dramatic actor and charm in light romantic comedy. Though his physique filled out during the years, he came to fame as a skinny young man with a winning combination of streetwise toughness and beguiling innocence.
Born Francis Albert Sinatra in Hoboken, New Jersey, he had visions of a sportswriting career when he was a youngster and worked briefly as a copy boy for a local newspaper. Hearing the music styles of Billie Holiday and BING CROSBY, however, decided him to pursue a singing career. He started with a local group called the Hoboken Four, and when the quarter broke up, the young singer took the solo route and toured the vaudeville circuit. Eventually, Frank Sinatra landed a job as a singing MC at the Rustic Cabin, a roadhouse in Englewood, New Jersey. It was there that Harry James heard him sing in 1939 and immediately hired him as a band vocalist. A year later, he joined Tommy Dorsey and began to record with the band's vocal group, the Pied Pipers.
While still a band singer, Frank Sinatra appeared in several films featuring Tommy Dorsey's group, making his movie debut as part of the band in Las Vegas Nights (1941). He had his first starring role in the breezy, if inconsequential, musical Higher and Higher (1943). He went on to star in or make cameo appearances in at least one film per year throughout the rest of the decade, winning a special Oscar for The House I Live In (1945), a documentary condemning bigotry.
His best vehicles were those in which he was teamed with GENE KELLY: Anchors Aweigh (1945), Take Me Out to the Ball Game (1949), and the groundbreaking On the Town (1949). In all of these films, he showed a surprising dancing talent, but Kelly was clearly the main attraction.
Frank Sinatra pleaded for the role of the scrappy Angelo Maggio in the film version of James Jones's From Here to Eternity (1953). The movie was a COLUMBIA production and the studio's boss, HARRY COHN, was always on the look-out for down-and-out talent he could hire cheap. He got Frank Sinatra for a mere $8,000, but when the movie became a hit and earned Sinatra an Oscar, the singer was back on top.
Frank Sinatra gained notoriety in Hollywood for his leadership of the cliquish RAT PACK, a group that previously had been led by HUMPHREY BOGART. During the early 1960s, he was particularly active in Hollywood, often starring with rat-pack cronies DEAN MARTIN, Sammy Davis Jr., Peter Lawford, and others in lightweight entertainments of the ilk of Ocean's Eleven (1960), Sergeants Three (1962), Four for Texas (1963), and Robin and the Seven Hoods (1964) and producing a number of these films, as well. He also made a few serious movies during the first half of the decade, most notably The Manchurian Candidate (1962) and the only film he directed, produced, and starred in, None But the Brave (1965).
Frank Sinatra's personal life was a roller-coaster ride. He was romantically involved with LAUREN BACALL as well as having been married four times, twice to famous actresses. His first wife, Nancy, is the mother of his three children, Nancy, Tina, and Frank Jr. AVA GARDNER was spouse number two, followed by Mia Farrow, and finally Barbara Marx, the ex-wife of the fourth Marx brother, Zeppo.
Our website is not responsible for the information contained by this article. Webworldarticles.com is a free articles resource thus practically any visitor can submit an article. However if you notice any copyrighted material, please contact us and we will remove the article(s) in discussion right away.
This article was sent to us by:
Theresa Milton at
10222010
1. Robert Aldrich produced many social and political movies
All articles in this directory are property of their respective authors. Additionally, read our Privacy Policy
© 2010 WebWorldarticles.com - All Rights Reserved. Partners: Gunblade Saga