SINATRA, FRANK

born Dec. 12, 1915, Hoboken, N.J., U.S. died May 14, 1998, Los Angeles, Calif. Sinatra byname of Francis Albert Sinatra popular American singer who also achieved wide success as a motion-picture actor. Sinatra began his singing career in about 1936, and in 1937 he and his group, the Hoboken Four, won an amateur talent contest. In 1939 he was discovered working in a roadside caf by the bandleader Harry James, who immediately recruited him. Sinatra achieved sweeping national popularity in 194042 while singing with the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra, and on Dec. 31, 1942, he made his solo debut in New York City. He sang on the weekly radio program Your Hit Parade from 1943 to 1945 and became a favourite performer in theatres and nightclubs. Sinatra excelled as a singer of popular love ballads; his distinctive phrasing and pauses enhanced the subtle emotional overtones that his voice expressed. His singing featured legato lines and a behind-the-beat attack. After 1953 he performed swinging vocals in arrangements by Billy May, Gordon Jenkins, and Nelson Riddle. Sinatra's mastery of expressive subtleties grew as his baritone voice deepened with age. He reached the peak of his musical success with a series of albums that included In the Wee Small Hours (1955), Come Fly with Me (1958), and Nice 'N' Easy (1960). Sinatra started his own record company, Reprise Records, in 1962 and made it an important force in the music industry. Sinatra's first starring movie was Higher and Higher (1943), and he appeared in several other light film musicals during the 1940s. In 1953, when his career was in apparent decline, he played the nonsinging role of Angelo Maggio in From Here to Eternity and won an Academy Award for the serious acting abilities he displayed. This triumph revived his career, and he subsequently became a versatile dramatic actor. He typically played a moody ladies' man in such musical comedies as Young at Heart (1954), Guys and Dolls (1955), High Society (1956), and Pal Joey (1957). Sinatra took on more challenging roles in such dramas as Suddenly (1954), The Man with the Golden Arm (1955), Some Came Running (1958), and The Manchurian Candidate (1962). His later films include Von Ryan's Express (1965), Tony Rome (1967), The Detective (1968), and The First Deadly Sin (1981). Except for a brief retirement in 197173, Sinatra remained a popular singing and recording star. He continued to perform in concerts and nightclubs and made frequent appearances on television. Additional reading Biographies include John Rockwell, Sinatra: An American Classic (1984); and Nancy Sinatra, Frank Sinatra: An American Legend (1995), written by his daughter. Will Friedwald, Sinatra! The Song Is You: A Singer's Art (1995), is a critical study of Sinatra's vocal recordings. Steven Petkov and Leonard Mustazza (eds.), The Frank Sinatra Reader (1995), collects essays and articles by music critics and journalists that span his career.