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Biography
Infobox musical artist|name = Frank Sinatra, Jr.|image = FrankSinatraJrByPhilKonstantin.jpg|caption = Sinatra, Jr. in San Diego (2008)|birth_name = Franklin Wayne Sinatra|birth_date = birth date and age|1944|1|10|death_date =|birth_place = Jersey City, New Jersey United States|U.S. |occupation = Singer, conductor, songwriter|years_active = 1955–present|spouse = Cynthia McMurrey (18. Oct. 1998 7.Jan. 2000)|children = 1 son, Michael|background=solo_singer Franklin Wayne Sinatra Nancy Sinatra|Sinatra, Nancy . http://www.sinatrafamily.com/nancysbook/ Frank Sinatra: An American Legend , 1998.Sinatra, Nancy. http://www.sinatrafamily.com/forum/showthread.php? p=645664 Frank Jr. & Steve Tyrell (forum thread), The Sinatra Family Forum (sinatrafamily.com), 15 July 2007 (born January 10, 1944), professionally known as Frank Sinatra, Jr. , is an United States|American singing|singer , songwriter and conducting|conductor .
Frank Jr. is the son of legendary musician and actor Frank Sinatra (born "Francis") and Nancy Barbato Sinatra, his first wife. He is the younger brother of singer and actress Nancy Sinatra , and the older brother of television producer Tina Sinatra .
In 1963, at the age of 19, Sinatra was kidnapped and released two days later after payment of a ransom.
Early life
Born in Jersey City, New Jersey into the household of one of the most popular singers in the world, Frank Jr. hardly saw his father, who was constantly on the road either performing or working in films. However, Frank Jr. recalls wanting to become a piano player and songwriter from his earliest days. His Father named him after Franklin D. Roosevelt, who was President at the time of his birth.
Kidnapping
Sinatra was kidnapping|kidnapped , at the age of 19, on December 8, 1963 at Harrah's Lake Tahoe (room 417). The country's mood was tense, as this occurred just a couple weeks following the Assassination of John F. Kennedy|assassination of President John F. Kennedy . Sinatra was released two days later after his father paid the $240,000 (about $1,775,000 in 2011 dollars)www.usinflationcalculator.com ransom demanded by the kidnappers. Barry Keenan , Johnny Irwin, and Joe Amsler were soon captured, prosecuted, convicted, and sentenced to short prison terms for kidnapping.cite web|url= http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/gangsters_outlaws/outlaws/frank_sinatra_jr/1_index.html |title=The kidnapping of Frank Sinatra Jr. — The Snatch — Crime Library on |publisher=Trutv.com |date=1963-12-08 |accessdate=2011-06-07 Famed attorney Gladys Root represented one of the three men. A rumor at the time was that Frank Sr. arranged this in an attempt to gain publicity for his son's fledgling singing career, but was proven to be false. In order to communicate with the kidnappers via payphone as they demanded, his father carried a roll of Dime (United States coin)|dimes throughout this ordeal, which became a life-long habit of his.
This American Life interviewed kidnapper Barry Keenan on Episode 205 "Plan B". http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/205/plan-b Plan B
Personal life
Frank Sinatra Jr. married Cynthia McMurry on October 18, 1998 and divorced on January 7, 2000. He had a son named "Frank Sinatra III" (born c. 1978) and apparently also had another son, Michael (born March 1, 1987). In August 2010 Frank Sinatra, III was rushed to Downey Regional Medical Center from his Home in Long Beach after a mass consumption of pills in an apparent suicide attempt, however he was later released.
Career
By his early teens he was performing at local clubs and venues. At age 19 he became the vocalist for Sam Donahue 's band. The Other Frank Sinatra , Nat Hentoff , published in The Wall Street Journal , 1 September 2009, p. D5 He also spent considerable time with Duke Ellington , learning the music business. The Other Frank Sinatra - " . . Duke Ellington took me under his wing."
Frank Jr. spent most of his early career on the road. By 1968 he had performed in 47 states and 30 countries, had guested on several television shows, http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0801535 Internet Movie Database, entry for Frank Sinatra, Jr., accessed 2 September 2009 had hosted a summer replacement show for The Dean Martin Show , had sung with his own band in Las Vegas Strip|Las Vegas casinos and had been the opening act for bigger names at other casinos. During that time he gained a reputation for rigorous rehearsals and high musical standards for his musicians. Frank Jr., the Unsung Sinatra , Wil Haygood, published in The Washington Post , 9 July 2006. Guitarist Jim Fox said, "Frank Jr. has such high standards. He knows every third trombone part, every cello part."
Sinatra appeared in the Sammy Davis, Jr. television drama A Man Called Adam in 1966. The National Archives and Records Administration|National Archives now houses a fifteen-minute song and monologue composed by Sinatra in 1976, Over the Land . It evokes the memory of the nation's flag and the nation's experiences with the flag since the War of 1812 .
Starting in 1988, at his father's request, Frank Jr. placed his career on hold in order to act as his father's musical director and conductor. http://www.wma.com/frank_sinatra_jr/Bio/frank_sinatra_jr_bio.pdf Poet/vocalist Rod McKuen said this:
quote|As the senior Sinatra outlived one by one all of his conductors and nearly every arranger, and began to grow frail himself, his son knew he needed someone that he trusted near him. Frank Jr. was also savvy enough to know that performing was everything to his dad and the longer he kept that connection with his audience, the longer he would stay vital and alive.cite web|url= http://www.mckuen.com |title=Rod McKuen - A safe place to land |publisher=Mckuen.com |date=1998-04-29 |accessdate=2011-06-07 In 1989, Sinatra did a cameo vocal on the acclaimed Was (Not Was) album, What Up, Dog? , singing "Wedding Vows in Vegas" with the band. He also appeared with Was (Not Was) doing that song on Late Night With David Letterman on NBC the same year.
During the 1995–1996 television season, Sinatra was offered the role of List of minor recurring characters in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine#Fontaine, Vic|Vic Fontaine on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine . Despite being a fan of the show and finding the role interesting, he turned it down, declaring that he only wanted to play an alien.cite book |title= Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion |last= Erdmann |first= Terry J. |coauthors = Block, Paula M. |year= 2000 |publisher= Pocket Books |location= New York |isbn= 10671501062 Please check ISBN|reason=Invalid length. | pages= James Darren accepted the part after demurring at first because he found descriptions of the part too "on the nose", changing his mind when he read the script.
Sinatra guest-starred on an episode of Son of the Beach in the episode "You Only Come Once" playing the villain Stinkfinger, and he sang his own theme song for the character. He had a guest spot playing himself on The Sopranos , in a role where it was unclear if he was mocking or acknowledging all the stories about his father's involvement with the mob, and where he lets the character Paulie Walnuts refer to him as the "Chairboy of the Board" while another player erroneously calls him "Francis" instead of "Franklin" (Sinatra, Jr. had been named after Franklin D. Roosevelt|FDR ).
Sinatra appeared in a 2006 episode of Family Guy , " Brian Sings and Swings " (Season 4, Episode 19) where he was introduced as the "Member of The Board". He performed several tunes during the show, accompanied by Stewie Griffin|Stewie and Brian Griffin|Brian . During the ending credits, he sang the Family Guy theme song. He also recorded a commentary for its DVD release. He returned in a 2008 episode, " Tales of a Third Grade Nothing ", where he sang with Brian again, with Stewie returning as a sideline investor supporting the duo.
In 2006, Sinatra released an album entitled That Face! including the songs "You'll Never Know" and the self-penned song "Spice".
Sinatra made a brief cameo appearance in the series premiere episode of the 2010 CBS legal comedy-drama The Defenders (2010 TV series)|The Defenders , as well as the show's series finale. The Defenders (2010 TV series)|The Defenders , http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1685360/fullcredits#cast Full cast and crew for "Pilot" at the Internet Movie Database .
Critical reception
Frank Jr. has said that his famous name has opened some doors, but "a famous father means that in order to prove yourself you have to work three times harder than the guy off the street." The Other Frank Sinatra
Music critic Richard Ginell wrote of a 2003 concert by Sinatra:
Sinatra, Jr. might have had an easier time establishing himself had he gone into real estate. But his show made me awfully glad he decided music was his calling. There aren't too many singers around with Sinatra's depth of experience in big band music, or his knowledge of the classic American songbook. There are even fewer with such real feeling for the lyrics of a song, and such a knack for investing a song with style and personality.Richard Ginell, Variety (magazine)|Daily Variety , 16 January 2003 (quoted in The Other Frank Sinatra )
References
reflist|30em
External links
IMDb name|id=0801535|name=Frank Sinatra, Jr.
Persondata | NAME = Sinatra, Frank Jr. | ALTERNATIVE NAMES = | SHORT DESCRIPTION = | DATE OF BIRTH = 10 January 1944 | PLACE OF BIRTH = Jersey City, New Jersey|Jersey City , New Jersey United States|U.S. | DATE OF DEATH = | PLACE OF DEATH = DEFAULTSORT:Sinatra, Frank Jr. Category:University High School (Los Angeles, California) alumni Category:American male singers Category:American musicians of Italian descent Category:American people of Sicilian descent Category:Kidnapped American people Category:Las Vegas musicians Category:People from Jersey City, New Jersey Category:People from the Las Vegas Valley Category:1944 births Category:Living people
