Frank Sinatra's Biography

Sinatra became famous as a popular singer and film actor, but it wasn't always easy. He started off well, singing with bands like Harry James and Tommy Dorsey. Sinatra's popularity led to a film contract with MGM, and he made several films in the forties but without great success, and by the beginning of the fifties Sinatra had hit a low.

Frank Sinatra bounced back in 1953 winning an Oscar for his supporting actor for his role in 'From Here to Eternity', he then signed with Capitol and teamed up with arranger Nelson Riddle to great success.

Sinatra's popularity soared in the fifties and sixties, but he was a controversial figure and there are a large number of FBI files examining issues such as his alleged links to the world of the mafia and organised crime.

The above mugshot was taken from when Frank Sinatra was wrongly charged as a young man with 'seduction'. Sinatra's affairs were legendary. In Lauren Bacall's autobiography By Myself, the actress explains how her friends warned her against her association with Sinatra, and how after their engagement things got bad:

"I spent night after night in tears, hearing from time to time about Frank's activities - dinners, girls, work ... Actually Frank did me a great favor - he saved me from the disaster our marriage would have been ... But the truth also is that he behaved like a complete shit. He was too cowardly to tell the truth ..."

The FBI files also examined why Frank Sinatra was excluded from service in World War II by his medical.

Sinatra was married four times, including to Ava Gardner and Mia Farrow. His daughter, Nancy had a number of hits as a singer in the sixties, including a duet with Frank - 'Somethin' Stupid' in 1967.