These ladies of of the 1946 Delta Chi Delta all agreed upon one thing: crooner Frank Sinatra was dreamy, even worthy of a swoon.
Swoon:
a : to faint
b : to become enraptured <swooning with joy>
But they weren’t the only ones. Ol’ Blue Eyes appealed to Bobby Soxers across the board.
Before Elvis and the Beatles, there was Frank Swoonatra, The Voice, Chairman of the Board.
The war was over, and the girls were eager to mob the Italian kid from Hoboken, New Jersey.
Most of us know about the Rat Pack, his ill-fated marriage to Ava Gardner, his suspect connections to the Mafia, his support of JFK, his daughter Nancy Sinatra, and his acting and singing careers. You may even know he’s one of only five people to have both a #1 single and an Oscar for acting, along with Cher, Barbra Streisand, Bing Crosby, and Jamie Foxx. Yeah, Jamie Foxx. But did you know:
- His version of “New York, New York” is played at Yankee Stadium after every Yankee home win? Liza Minelli’s version is played after every Yankee home loss.
- He was the original choice to play Dirty Harry?
- When Bela Lugosi died virtually penniless, Sinatra paid for his funeral?
According to www.imdb.com, “Sinatra weighed over 13 pounds at birth, and he had to be delivered by forceps. As a result, one of his ears was nearly severed. Showing no signs of life, he was held by his grandmother under cold, running water. He began to breathe, and cry. His mother – a practical nurse – and his father – a tavern operator – had been hoping for a girl, and had already chosen the name Frances. So they gave him the masculine form of the name: Francis.”
Here he is performing vocal warm-ups with Jackie Gleason.
And just clowning around on the set of Guys and Dolls.
And finally laid to rest.
I Don't Get It 
I saw him perform live twice Kerbey, once before he was too old and once after. I didn’t swoon, but I sure did think he was full of cool, daring and swagger both times, Francis Albert. I also saw his son, Frank Sinatra Jr., sing twice, and I interviewed him on the phone. He sounded just like his dad.
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Shut up! How neat!
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It was. Mouth shut.
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Wow! That’s so cool, Mark!
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Loved his singing.
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Eastwood was a better choice for Dirty Harry.
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He felt lucky, punk, to get the role.
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You are a Sinatra fan? Crazy story on how he almost didn’t make it at birth. Can you imagine a world without? An entire cultural icon and his posse would never have been.
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I’m still trying to get past those 13 lbs…
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“Swoon River”
Great title for a post, but you should have paid just a little homage to ‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s’ and Andy Williams.
Just Kidding!
I love Frank.
“Fly me to the moon!”
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Yes, Andy Williams did a “Moon River” as well. But he’s not nearly as iconic.
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He was to his brother.
Just Kidding!
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Tennessee and Hank?
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Laughing.
I cannot speak cause Spieth (my Texan) lost to Bubba.
But…I do like Bubba.
He is a good guy and he deserves the win. He earned it…won it!
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Well done Kerbey! Thanks for the great pics and bits of trivia. Interesting!
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🙂
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