Saturday, May 16, 1998

Frank Sinatra -- no regrets for 'his way'

Frank Sinatra's signature song had the refrain, "I did it my way."

And he did do it his way, sometimes dominating, always succeeding in separate and distinct eras of American entertainment, from winning a radio amateur hour in 1935 to winning a Grammy for "Duets II" in 1996.

A star who even on stage seemed to keep a certain distance -- those "Ol' Blue Eyes" could grow very cold -- his triumphs and flops were always very dramatic and very public. Some stars reinvent themselves, changing personalities, causes and images like costumes. Sinatra adapted, but he remained true to who he was, and his rough blue-collar upbringing, for better or worse. A loyal friend and generous benefactor, he could be crude and boorish. If some of his cronies from the old neighborhood happened to be mobsters, tough.

In the late 1930s, Sinatra sang for the biggest bands of his day. In the 1940s, as a solo crooner with his screaming bobbysox fans, he was a true superstar. By 1951, after a humiliating divorce from Ava Gardner, he was a has-been. In the mid-1950s he was back -- as a film actor, winning an Oscar in "From Here To Eternity." In the 1960s, he was the leader of the Rat Pack, whose boozy, boys-will-be-boys music and humor transformed a scruffy Las Vegas into the live entertainment capital of America.

In 1961, Sinatra suffered the indignity of one of politics' greatest snubs when, after he had worked mightily to elect his friend John Kennedy to the White House, the new president abruptly dropped him. His friend President Reagan made it up to him in the 1980s, awarding him the Medal of Freedom. In a nice bit of irony, Sinatra also won Kennedy Center honors.

Throughout his life, there was the music, more than 200 records done with discipline and craft. Such was his phrasing and diction, that even after his "pipes" had gone he was a pleasure to listen to.

He did it his way.