Frank Sinatra

St. James Encyclopedia of Pop Culture, Jan 29, 2002 by Ron Simon

Like many in his generation, Sinatra's politics drifted rightward as he got older. Becoming an ardent Republican during the Vietnam era (though still a registered Democrat), he campaigned aggressively for Ronald Reagan in 1980. Victorious again, as twenty years before, he produced the presidential inaugural gala. He was appointed to the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities as well as was awarded the Kennedy Center Honor for Lifetime Achievement (1983) and Presidential Medal of Freedom, America's highest civilian recognition (1985). He still received millions of dollars for concert performances around the world, including a controversial appearance in Sun City, South Africa.

Sinatra's personal life was always riddled with contradictions. His generosity to friends was legendary as was his vicious feuds with targeted members of the press. Back in 1947, he publicly attacked one of his critics, Lee Mortimer, and was ordered to pay a substantial fine. Although his friendship with Chicago mobster Sam Giancana cost him a gambling license in the 1960s, he still associated with the underworld throughout his career, including a 1975 infamous photograph backstage at the Westchester Premier Theater with Mafia boss Carlo Gambino and Jimmy "the Weasel" Frantianno. Many unauthorized biographies focussed on these unsavory aspects of Sinatra's volatile temperament, most significantly the bestselling His Way (1986), by Kitty Kelley. Even the 1992 authorized miniseries Sinatra, produced by youngest daughter Tina, did not shy away from controversies, portraying Sinatra's relationship with Giancana (played by Rod Steiger).

Sinatra remained a permanent fixture and influence on the American popular culture landscape even in his twilight years. Although his 1988 reunion tour with Sammy Davis Jr. and Dean Martin dissipated when Dino lost interest, the Rat Pack were embraced as the arbiters of hip by the twentysomething generation in the 1990s. At the age of 77, Sinatra made another recording comeback as his Duets album unexpectedly sold several million copies. Although his partners were not in the same studio and electronically overdubbed, Sinatra was heard singing with stars from other musical fields, including international personalities Julio Iglesias and Charles Aznavour; from the jazz and soul front, Aretha Franklin, Luther Vandross, and Anita Baker; and from his own genre, Barbra Streisand and Tony Bennett. Rocker Bono of U2, another "duetist," grandiloquently presented Sinatra with the 1994 Grammy Legend Award, enshrining him as "the Big Bang of Pop." Sinatra's 80th-birthday special also featured a wide array of celebrants, including rappers Salt-N-Pepa and rock superstars Bruce Springsteen and Bob Dylan. Sinatra himself toured rigorously well into his 70s, before giving his last concert in February 1995.

Sinatra's death on May 14, 1998 eclipsed one of television's most heavily promoted events, the final episode of Seinfeld. Every corner of news, from print to cyberspace, was awash in memorial tributes. As David Hadju of Entertainment Weekly pointed out: "No American since JFK (the Sinatra of Presidents) seemed to have received such a grand media memorial, effusive in its praise of his talent and celebratory in its recollection of his life."