Heel, Hipster, Loner, Loser

Steyn Online ^ | 13 May 2018 | Mark Steyn

[Rummyfan]

Frank Sinatra died twenty years ago - May 14th 1998. We'll pick out a few musical moments later tonight, but first, as a curtain-raiser and as a Mark at the Movies Sunday bonus, here's a look at Sinatra's film career. He was a memorable actor - and, as Sammy Cahn liked to say, that isn't even what he does:

When he died in 1998, the Italians came out for Frank. Robert De Niro said not a day passed when he didn't listen to Sinatra, Martin Scorsese that Sinatra made it possible for all the rest of them - the guys with vowels. In the early years of the last century, when a scrappy cobbler's apprentice called Martin Sinatra was minded to try his hand at prize-fighting, he changed his name to "Marty O'Brien", a reinvention that tells you everything about which ethnic identities were commercially viable back then. As late as the late Forties, Dino Crocetti and Anthony Benedetto felt obliged to follow Marty's example and anglicize themselves to Dean Martin and Tony Bennett. Even the one arena of American life where being Italian was an asset - the mob - was reserved on screen for fellows with handles like Cagney and Bogart. The real fighter in the Sinatra family turned out to be Marty O'Brien's only child, and his first act of defiance was his determination to keep his name. It's because of Sinatra that Hollywood had stars called Pacino, Stallone and Travolta.

Beyond the vowel crowd, his prototypical non-pliant celebrity had a more pervasive influence on American screen acting than almost anyone else. He was the guy who disdained to fit in, no matter how much they wanted him to.

[LouAvul]

Yeah, something about him just didn't match the accolades. He won an oscar for his performance in "From Here To Eternity." I own that movie and his performance was the low light of the movie. Especially the scene where he's arrested by the MPs and the scene where he dies. Truly amateurish.

He must have gotten the award because it was owed him. Or maybe Willie Moretti (Frank's godfather) made someone an offer they couldn't refuse.

[zeugma]

He could never sing the male equivalent of bel canto, but his vocal control, which came to him naturally when he finally stopped trying to sound like a young version of Bing Crosby, puts all other vocalists to shame, and 40+ years later, I am still convinced of this.

Agreed. I have a bit of Sinatra in my musical rotation. While much of his work was bubble-gum, there were some rare steaks in there as well, that are pretty much unmatched.

[Chode]

my dad uses to spit every time he heard his name...