Frank Sinatra in performance, 1982. Photograph by Bernard Gotfryd . Francis Albert Sinatra was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the "Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", he is regarded as one of the most popular entertainers of the mid-20th century. Sinatra is among the world's best-selling music artists with an estimated 150 million record sales. Born to Italian immigrants in Hoboken, New Jersey, Sinatra began his musical career in the swing era .


Francis Albert Sinatra[a] was born on December 12, 1915, in a tenement at 415 Monroe Street in Hoboken, New Jersey, the only child of Italian immigrants Natalina "Dolly" Garaventa and Antonino Martino "Marty" Sinatra, who boxed under the name Marty O' weighed pounds ( kg) at birth and had to be delivered with the aid of forceps, which caused severe scarring to his left cheek, neck, and ear, and perforated his eardrum—remaining damaged for the rest of his life. His grandmother resuscitated him by running her grandson under cold water until he gasped his first breath.[16] Due to his injuries, his baptism at St. Francis Church in Hoboken was delayed until April 2, 1916.[17] A childhood operation on his mastoid bone left major scarring on his neck, and during adolescence he was further scarred by cystic acne.[18] Sinatra was raised in the Catholic Church.[19] Sinatra's mother was energetic and driven;[20] biographers believe that she was the dominant factor in the development of her son's personality and self-confidence.[21] Sinatra's fourth wife Barbara would later claim that Dolly was abusive to him when he was a child, and "knocked him around a lot".[22] Dolly became influential in Hoboken and in local Democratic Party circles.[23] She worked as a midwife,[24] and according to Sinatra biographer Kitty Kelley, ran an illegal abortion service that catered to Italian Catholic girls, for which she was nicknamed "Hatpin Dolly".[25][d] She also had a gift for languages and served as a local interpreter.[28] Sinatra's illiterate father was a bantamweight boxer[29] who later worked at the Hoboken Fire Department, working his way up to captain.[30] Sinatra spent much time at his parents' tavern in Hoboken,[e] working on his homework and occasionally singing for spare change.[32] During the Great Depression, Dolly provided money to her son for outings with friends and to buy expensive clothes.


Size: 9548px × 6374px
Location: USA
Photo credit: © American Photo Archive / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No

Keywords: actor, blue, board, chairman, eyes, frank, heartthrob, mob, ol, performance, performer, performing, pop, popular, sinatra, sing, singer, stage, television, tux, tuxedo, tv