Happy Birthday, Ol' Blue Eyes
Mr. S : my life with Frank Sinatra, George Jacobs and William Stadiem As the right hand of Frank Sinatra from 1953 to 1968, George Jacobs arguably had one of the coolest jobs in the world at the time when Sinatra was the undisputed master of the entertainment universe. Jacobs rose from his humble beginnings in New Orleans to join Sinatra in the mansions of Beverly Hills, the penthouses of Manhattan, the palaces of Europe, the pinnacles of world power. Through the ring-a-ding-ding and the stars, royals, politicians, moguls, and mobsters emerged a warm and intimate relationship that reveals a complex Sinatra: vulnerable and arrogant, charismatic and violent, loving and disdainful, confident and painfully self-conscious. Jacobs is no sycophant, but rather a sharp-eyed observer of the highs and lows of his boss's turbulent life. And Mr. S is perhaps the most complete, honest, and intimate portrait of Sinatra ever written. It is an unforgettable trip, and George Jacobs provides a front-and-center seat at the life of an American icon.
Sinatra : an intimate portrait of a very good year, John Dominis and Richard B. Stolley Frank Sinatra generally didn't grant photojournalists an opportunity to follow him around for an evening, let alone four months. But in 1965, at the height of Sinatra's career return, Life magazine's Dominis was given the chance to shadow Sinatra, and this series of portraits (many of which Life had never before released) offers a surprisingly candid, human look at the great entertainer. In his brief intro, Dominis explains how he eased his way into Sinatra's life: "For the first few days after we were introduced, I didn't even carry a camera. I wanted to play it real cool." He first began by asking permission to take pictures-never using a flash-until he became almost invisible. And, indeed, these photos are rare glimpses into Sinatra's personal life. One series shows a self-consciously balding Sinatra shaving, with his head wrapped in a turban (forceps scars clearly visible below his ears); another shows him thin in his briefs and white tube socks, lying on a massage table. Intense photos of Sinatra performing are interspersed with photos of him noshing on hot dogs with the likes of Tony Bennett, Jilly Rizzo and a cigarette girl. Though they are revealing, these photos further deepen Sinatra's mystique.
The cinematic legacy of Frank Sinatra, David Wills In a film career spanning more than five decades, Frank Sinatra proved to be a roulette wheel of constantly spinning talent, the likes of which Hollywood has rarely seen. The legacy of his work stands apart from many of his contemporaries, who essentially based their performances on an extension of a core character type. Sinatra, however, was able to take his signature persona and translate it successfully into many film genres
Sinatra : the chairman, James Kaplan The story of Frank Sinatra’s second act, Sinatra finds the Chairman on top of the world, riding high after an Oscar victory—and firmly reestablished as the top recording artist of his day. Following Sinatra from the mid-1950s to his death in 1998, Kaplan uncovers the man behind the myth, revealing by turns the peerless singer, the (sometimes) powerful actor, the business mogul, the tireless lover, and—of course—the close associate of the powerful and infamous. It was in these decades that the enduring legacy of Frank Sinatra was forged, and Kaplan vividly captures “Ol’ Blue Eyes” in his later years. The sequel to the New York Times best-selling Frank, here is the concluding volume of the definitive biography of "The Entertainer of the Century."
Frank & Ava : in love and war, John Brady It began in Hollywood's golden age when Ava was emerging as a movie star. After being courted by Howard Hughes and numerous others, along came Frank Sinatra. His passion for Ava destroyed his marriage and brought him close to ruin. Their wild affair broke all the rules of the prudish era as Frank left his wife and children and pursued Ava on an international stage. They became romantic renegades, with the press following them from location to location. They married, but then came the quarrels, separations, infidelities, and reconciliations. Eventually, there was a divorce, and they thought it was over. It wasn't. Through all of the tortured years of separation and splintered affairs with others, they maintained a secretive relationship known only to those who recognized that this was the love of a lifetime. Over the years, they attempted to reconcile, romanced and nurtured each other, right to the end.
Lady blue eyes : my life with Frank, Barbara Sinatra with Wendy Holden Thirty years after she first heard his voice singing to her from a jukebox at her local drive-in, Barbara began her love affair with Frank Sinatra. After a tempestuous courtship, she finally heard him say the wedding vows that began his fourth, final, and most enduring marriage; one that would last more than two decades until the end of his life. Generous and jealous, witty and wicked, Frank comes alive in this poignant inside story of the highs and lows of marriage to one of the world's most famous men. In this, her first public love letter to the husband she adored, his wife celebrates the sensational singer, sexy heartthrob, possessive mate, and loyal friend that was Frank Sinatra. This book will let his legions of fans see another side of "Ol' Blue Eyes." Though Frank Sinatra's children have written memoirs about their father, this is the first time his wife of twenty-two years is sharing intimate details of life with the man and the legend.
Sinatra's century : one hundred notes on the man and his world, David Lehman In celebration of his one-hundredth birthday, a charming, irresistibly readable, and handsomely packaged look back at the life and times of the greatest entertainer in American history, Frank Sinatra. Sinatra’s Century is an irresistible collection of one-hundred short reflections on the man, his music, and his larger-than-life story, by a lifetime fan who also happens to be one of the poetry world’s most prominent voices. David Lehman uses each of these short pieces to look back on a single facet of the entertainer’s story. Lehman offers new insights and revisits familiar stories—Sinatra’s dramatic love affairs with some of the most beautiful stars in Hollywood, including Lauren Bacall, Marilyn Monroe, and Ava Gardner; his fall from grace in the late 1940s and resurrection during the “Capitol Years” of the 1950s; his bonds with the rest of the Rat Pack; and his long tenure as the Chairman of the Board, viewed as the eminence grise of popular music inspiring generations of artists, from Bobby Darin to Bono to Bob Dylan. Brimming with Lehman’s own lifelong affection for Sinatra, the book includes lists of unforgettable performances; engaging insight on what made Sinatra the model of American machismo—and the epitome of romance; and clear-eyed assessments of the foibles that impacted his life and work.
Why Sinatra matters, Pete Hamill In this unique homage to an American icon, journalist and award-winning author Pete Hamill evokes the essence of Sinatra--examining his art and his legend from the inside, as only a friend of many years could do. Shaped by Prohibition, the Depression, and war, Francis Albert Sinatra became the troubadour of urban loneliness. With his songs, he enabled millions of others to tell their own stories, providing an entire generation with a sense of tradition and pride belonging distinctly to them.
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