18/12/2006 - Today's quote - Frank Sinatra

'Whatever has been said about me is unimportant. When I sing, I believe.'

Yesterday the ABC showed the BBC-documentary Sinatra: Dark Star, about Frank Sinatra's connections with the maffia and as such his role in John F. Kennedy's very close victory over Richard Nixon in the 1960 presidential election. Great and very fascinating documentary that made clear how much Sinatra was a Dr.Jekyll and a Mr.Hyde. He could be tender and very considerate, making the woman he loved feel like she was the only woman in the world. His liberal attitudes clashed with conservative morals and he strongly opposed the racism that was abundant in American society at the end of the fifties. Black musicians were not allowed to stay in the Las Vegas hotels where they performed. Instead they had to go back to their trailers after the show. Sinatra's friend Sammy Davis Jr. was one of the victims of this rule.

At the same time Sinatra was fascinated by the power of the mob, and the documentary showed how much the maffia helped him, especially at the beginning of his career.

The program ended with the above quote. I definitely do not agree with the first part, but I can agree wholeheartedly with the second.

For more information about Frank Sinatra's tumultuous marriage with 'screen goddess' Ava Gardner, click on Archive and go to the entries for October, where you can find a review of Lee Server's Ava Gardner-biography that was published earlier this year.