17 Fascinating Frank Sinatra Facts
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1. He Nearly Didn't Make it
Francis Albert was initially thought to be stillborn. As a doctor attended to his ailing mother, his grandmother Rose held the baby under running water until he finally started to breathe.
2. He Couldn’t Read Music
And yet even managed to conduct an orchestra from time to time.
3. He Refused to Change His Name
Bandleader Harry James wanted his new young crooner to go by the cooler-sounding "Frankie Satin," but Sinatra would have none of it.
4. He Loved Orange
It's "the happiest color," Sinatra said.
5. He was an adulterer at 23
This infamous mugshot stemmed from his being arrested for adultery, a crime in 1938. Sinatra stood accused of seducing "a single female of good repute." He was released on $1,500 bond, and the charges were later dropped after authorities learned that the woman in question was married.
6. He Loved Grilled Cheese
Recently linked to an active sex life, a grilled cheese sandwich was reportedly the last thing he ate before dying.
7. He Painted
In 1992 Sinatra learned that his best friend Jilly Rizzo had died in a car crash. "After Jilly's death," said pal Tony Oppedisano, "I never saw him pick up a paintbrush again."
8. There’s an Asteroid Named After Him
For real. Its actual designation: "7934 Sinatra."
9. He Was an Early Champion of Civil Rights
He performed and became friends with black artists like Ella Fitzgerald, Duke Ellington and Count Basie (seen here) and refused to play whites-only clubs. In 1945, Sinatra made short film in which he spoke against racial intolerance. He later gave financial support to Martin Luther King.
10. He Liked Joe Piscopo’s Impersonation of Him
But not Phil Hartman's.
11. He’s on a Stamp
It's a 42-cent U.S. Postal Service commemorative stamp, issued posthumously in 2008.
12. He Hated Brando
Referred to him as "Mumbles," as well as "the world's most overrated actor."
13. He Attempted Suicide
It happened during his stormy love affair with Ava Gardner, his wife from 1951–1957. One night, after she refused to sleep with him, Gardner was just dozing off when she heard a gunshot in the next room—Sinatra had fired into a pillow. "At least his overdoses were quieter," she recalled in the Daily Mail. Had he actually tried to kill himself on other occasions? "All the fucking time,' the Golden Age actress said.
"It was a cry for help. I always fell for it."
14. He Loved Dogs
His mother wouldn't let him have one as a child. As an adult, he had plenty of them.
15. He Could Have Starred in 'Die Hard'
Because Bruce Willis's character was based on one that Sinatra had played in the 1960s, 20th Century Fox was contractually obligated to offer him the role. He passed.
16. He Hated "Strangers in the Night"
It didn't matter that the 1966 single was one of his few No. 1 hits. He wasn't crazy about "My Way" either. But he loved the Beatles' "Something," which he called "the greatest love song of the past 50 years."
17. He and 'Seinfeld' Went Out on the Same Day
Sinatra died on May 14, 1998, the same day the 'Seinfeld' finale aired on NBC. He was 82 years old.
If you're a fan of Frank Sinatra, you can listen to a special RUSC radio station dedicated to the shows he starred in, including programs such as Suspense, the Lux Radio Theater, A Date With Judy, The Spike Jones Show, and Sinatra's own Rocky Fortune adventure series to showcase his dramatic and comedic talents, with other programs such as Command Performance and Your Hit Parade to celebrate his music.
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