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M.A.

, ANGLO AMERICAN STUDIES 1ST YEAR PENU GABRIELA

Contemporary British and American Art

AN ESSAY ON AMERICAN ICONS:

FRANK SINATRA

CONSTANTA, 2009

Motto: I would like to be remembered as a man who had a wonderful time living life, a man who had good friends, fine family don't think I could ask for anything more than that, Frank Sinatra

- and I actually.

Francis Albert Sinatra, also known as Ol Blue Eyes, is one of the most important pop culture figures of the 20th century, whose career spanned many disciplines. He was an artist, an actor, producer, director, cabaret and concert star, radio, film and television personality, and the list could continue. We can say now that Sinatras contribution to our life and times extends far beyond his music, to embrace joy, a sense of style and a glorious self-confidence that define what it meant to be young at heart and have the world on a string. His vision and spirit continue to be shaped by the experience, wisdom and insight from the legacy of work he left behind. He was raw, straightforward and as lighthearted as possible, a sweet charmer, and ladies lover and had a reputation of living fast. He began the golden age in which American popular music became a universal language and this extraordinary creative genius is its most articulate spokesman worldwide. On 12th of December 1915 in New Jersey, Francis or Frank was born, as the only child of Italian immigrants. He never graduated school as per his rude behavior and he had to work hard since little. His mother, who was influential in the neighborhood and in the local Democratic Party succeed persuading a local singing group The Hoboken Four to accept Frank into their group. Later on, Frank left the band and collaborated with Harry James and then, Tommy Dorsey. With the help of George Evans, his image was shaped and in 1942 he started his solo career, finding fame as the king of bobbysoxers, that is the young women and girls who were his

fans. He became the most popular singer of the era among teenage music fans. About that time his film career started and sooner he won a special Oscar for his role in a short film against intolerance. His career on a high, Sinatra went from strength-to-strength on record, on stage and on screen, becoming a prolific singer, producer, and director worldwide. Though he had a lot of affairs during his marriage with his first wife, he got involved with the beautiful actress Ava Garder, who ended up his marriage with Nancy Barbato. It is known that due to a complicated delivery using forceps his face had permanent scars and also a damaged eardrum. But, despite this, his life has been one full of accomplishments, joys and sorrows. He was a bona fide sensation, selling records faster than they could be printed. In the autumn 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. 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. According to mass-media of those times, Frank was believed to be a part of the Mafia and he was first linked to this organization 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. In 1947, Sinatra punched Hearst gossip columnist Lee Mortimer at Ciro's (Hollywood's 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". The year 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 34 years old. Although the decline of his career was obvious, he succeeded signing a new recording contract with Capitol Records and his singing was better than ever. His three records were million copy sellers. The rebirth of Sinatra's career began with the short film From Here to Eternity (1953), for which he won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. This role and performance mark the turnaround in Sinatra's career, in which he went from being in a critical and commercial decline for several years to an Oscar-winning actor and, once again, one of the top recording artists in the world. Once again he demonstrated a remarkable ability to thrive in hard times, (as the Great Depression), moving from the swing era to the rock-and-roll era, from decline to success, from broken and down up to his feet. Regarding the political life, in 1944 after sending a letter to President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Sinatra was invited to meet Roosevelt at the White House, where he agreed to become part of the Democratic Partys voter registration drives. He donated five thousand dollars to the Democrats for the 1944 presidential election, and by the end of the campaign was appearing at two or three political events every day. It is also known Frank's support of the Senator JFK, which was well documented and filmed at that time. 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 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. Frank later discovered the Humphrey campaign had the same reservations that the Kennedy campaign had had, and he quietly left. Frank's key moment in shifting from left to right wing politics seem to have come during his retirement years. 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. Sinatra was called by the committee counsel, which later admitted (even to Frank himself) that the evidence was all hearsay. The F.B.I. kept records amounting to almost three thousand pages on Sinatra. With his Mafia ties, his ardent New Deal politics and his friendship with John F. Kennedy, he was a natural target for J. Edgar Hoover's FBI. The Bureau kept Sinatra under surveillance for almost five decades beginning in the 1940s with, for example, an erroneous report that the star paid a huge amount for his 4-F draft status, through the early 1980s when he was successful in efforts to get his Nevada Gaming license renewed. The documents include accounts of Sinatra as the target of death threats and extortion schemes. They also portray rampant paranoia and strange obsessions at the FBI and reveal nearly every celebrated

Sinatra foible and peccadillo. For a year Hoover investigated Sinatra's alleged communist affiliations, but came up empty-handed. Also, in 1948, Sinatra supported the candidacy of Henry A. Wallace. In 1970 Sinatra sang at the White House as part of a tribute to senator Everett Dirksen and supported another Republican candidate as he declared for Ronald Reagan in his race for a second term as the Governorship of California. Sinatra was also good friends with Vice President Spiro Agnew. 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 multiplatinum 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 took "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. Frank Sinatras achievements earned him three Oscars, two Golden Globes, ten personal Grammys (and a total of twenty one including those for his albums), an Emmy, a Cecile B. DeMille Award and a Peabody. One of the most prestigious awards Sinatra received was the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award by the Motion Picture Society of America. This award, presented only a few times in the Academys history, is given to an individual in the motion

picture industry whose humanitarian efforts have brought credit to the industry. Sinatras charitable legacy is legendary. His pioneering fight against prejudice is one of the important facets that shaped his life from childhood on the streets of Hoboken, New Jersey. His short film, The House I Live In received a special Oscar in 1945. He had a very long career, of sixty years, throughout which he demonstrated a remarkable ability to thrive in hard times, (as the Great Depression), moving from the swing era to the rock-and-roll era. He performed on more than 1,400 recordings, was awarded 31 gold, nine platinum, three-double platinum and one triple platinum album by the Recording Industry Association of America. He also appeared in 58 films, and produced eight motion pictures. Frank Sinatra was awarded Lifetime Achievement Awards from the Grammys, The Screen Actors Guild, The Kennedy Center and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), as well as the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Congressional Gold Medal, and remains a legend and inspiration to thousands for his contributions to culture and the arts. Passing through the different aspects of his life, it is a nice and interesting experience to see the many facets of a wonderful entertainer and an incredible and interesting man. Regarding the racial attitude he had, the fact that he has played in the short film titled The House I Live In, a film on tolerance and racial equality brought him a great sympathy of the non-white people and also earned him a special Academy Award. Sinatra led his band members of the Rat Pack and label-mates on Reprise in refusing to patronize hotels and casinos that wouldn't allow black singers to play live or wouldn't allow black patrons entry. He would often speak from the stage on desegregation. He also spoke at a number of New Jersey high schools in 1945, where students had gone on strike in opposition to racial integration. He would play more benefits for Martin Luther King, Jr. who, according to Frank Sinatra, Jr., at one point

during a show in 1963 sat weeping as Sinatra sang Ol' Man River, the song from the musical Show Boat that, in the show, is sung by an African-American stevedore. As an American icon he appealed to all minorities and races, no matter of the political status, the color of skin or the organization belonging to. He is considered the urban legend, behind which people kept dreaming listening to My Way or Strangers in The Night and hoping in equality of human rights. He also received a special Golden Globe for "Promoting Good Will and his humanitarian and charity actions were well-known and appreciated by all. He represented with success the entertainment industry, participating both to the political life, to the humanitarian organizations and balls he was invited and led an anti-racial movement. 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-hopcome and go, but somehow the Sinatra show that exploded half a century ago beats on into the 1990's.

In the end and as a conclusion, I shall present the opinion of many remarkable people; he has met or worked with. Frank Sinatra created one of the most enduring and influential bodies of work the world has ever experienced and we consider it a great privilege that his family has decided to significantly expand and enhance our relationship, said Edgar Bronfman, Jr., Chairman

and CEO of Warner Music Group. Over the past several years WMG has transformed itself from a traditional music company to an organization that can manage virtually every facet of an artists brand or career. So it is a particular honor that through this joint venture well be able to manage, with the Sinatra family, the legacy of not only one our greatest artists, but as founder of Reprise Records, one of the creative cornerstones of our company. Frank Sinatra is an icon known the world over. We are extremely honored to continue, preserve and expand his rich legacy, says Scott Pascucci, president of Warner Music Groups Rhino Entertainment. Regarded as the greatest entertainer of the 20th century, Sinatra deserves his status as American icon. As one of the 20th centurys most appreciated entertainers, Francis Albert Sinatra made an indelible mark on the world. A decade after his passing, his legacy not only endures but also continues to grow in stature.

And now, the end is near, And so I face the final curtain. My friends, I'll say it clear; I'll state my case of which I'm certain.

I've lived a life that's full I've travelled each and every highway. And more, much more than this, I did it my way.

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