orig. Francis Albert Sinatra
born Dec. 12, 1915, Hoboken, N.J., U.S.
died May 14, 1998, Los Angeles, Calif.
U.S. singer and actor.
Sinatra began his singing career in the mid-1930s and was "discovered" by trumpeter Harry James , who immediately recruited him. Sinatra achieved sweeping national popularity in 194042 while singing with the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra. He sang on the radio program Your Hit Parade (194345), while becoming a favourite performer in theatres and nightclubs. In the 1940s he co-starred in a number of musical films with dancer Gene Kelly. His popularity suddenly declined about 1948, but his performance in From Here to Eternity (1953, Academy Award) revived his flagging career, and he later starred in many acclaimed films, including musicals such as Guys and Dolls (1955) and dramas such as The Manchurian Candidate (1962). After 1953 he performed and recorded using arrangements by Nelson Riddle, Billy May, and Gordon Jenkins, reaching his peak in albums such as Only the Lonely (1958). In 1961 he founded Reprise Records. His masterly performances, alternately swinging and affectingly melancholic, brought him a success unparalleled in the history of American popular music.