Frank Sinatra was one of the most well-known celebrities of the 20th century, who gained massive recognition as a singer and actor. He was also the inspiration for Johnny Fontane in The Godfather.
Frank Sinatra: Early Life
Born in Hoboken, New Jersey on December 12, 1915, Sinatra was an only child. In the 1930s, a young Sinatra watched Bing Crosby’s performance, which impressed him to such an extent that singing became his passion. His school’s glee club had him as a member and he went on to perform at local nightclubs. Once he started coming on radio, Harry James took notice of him, which led to Sinatra’s first recordings. Sinatra was 25 when Tommy Dorsey extended an invitation to join his band, where he gained fame for a couple of years. After that, Sinatra parted ways and went solo.
Solo Days
From early to mid-1940s, Frank Sinatra topped charts as his solo career took off with a flurry of hit singles. These were the days when fans gave him the monikers of “The Sultan of Swoon” and “The Voice.” Sinatra remembered how WWII filled that period with ‘great loneliness.’ Due to a punctured eardrum, Sinatra was deemed unfit for military service at the time.
In 1943, Frank Sinatra ventured into acting and debuted with Reveille With Beverley. Two years later, a special Academy Award was rightfully won when Sinatra created a short The House I Live In to promote religious and racial tolerance.
Once the war was over, Frank Sinatra’s career declined, causing him to lose film and recording contracts during the early 1950s. He staged a successful comeback in 1953, playing the role of Maggio in From Here to Eternity, an American soldier of Italian heritage – a performance that won him an Oscar. The same year he signed a new recording contract with Capitol Records. By that point, Sinatra’s voice incorporated jazzier inflections and a significantly mature sound was on display.
Regaining his lost fame, Frank Sinatra maintained his stardom by consistently playing roles in hit movies and made chart-topping music for several years. In 1955 The Mai with the Golden Arm bagged him another Oscar nomination and further critical praise was showered over him for his role in the The Manchurian Candidate. Simultaneously, he masterfully maintained his presence on the charts.
As the 1950s came to an end, so did Sinatra’s alliance with Capitol due to a dip in record sales. Next, supported by Warner Bros, he founded Reprise. Artanis, a film production company, was his next creation.