Frank Sinatra: A Life in Pictures

Today is Frank Sinatra's 110th birthday. Regarded as one of the most popular entertainers of the 20th century, he forged a highly successful career both in music and in film. He recorded 59 studio albums and 297 singles, and has sold over 150 million records worldwide. He appeared in over 60 films, as well as several television shows, including his own variety series. He won an Academy Award, four Golden Globes, eleven Grammys, and many other honours throughout his career. He was a workaholic and a womanizer. He was temperamental, brash, and struggled with mental health. He had an immaculate sense of style and was obsessed with cleanliness. He was friends with mobsters, owned a casino, and was put under surveillance by the FBI. He was generous, outspoken against racism, and fought for desegregation and equal rights. He was a complex man, a musical genius, and the greatest singer who ever lived. To celebrate the «Chairman of the Board,» let us take a look at his life in pictures.

 In a portrait from circa 1922.

 

 

His mug shot after being arrested and charged with «carrying on with a married woman» in 1938, in Bergen County, New Jersey.

 

 In a promotional photo for his CBS radio show, in August 1943.

 

With Nat King Cole during a radio show in December 1945. 

 

With his wife, Nancy, and their children, Frank Jr. and Nancy Jr., circa 1946. 

 

 Recording at Columbia studios in 1947.

 

 

With his son, Frank Jr., on the set of It Happened in Brooklyn (1947).

 

On the Brooklyn Bridge in New York City during the filming of On the Town (1949).

 

With Joe DiMaggio at Yankee Stadium, in March 1949. 

 

With Ava Gardner after their wedding ceremony at the home of his close friend Lester Sacks, in Germantown, Pennsylvania, on November 7, 1951.

 

With Montgomery Clift and Burton Lancaster during the making of From Here to Eternity (1953). 

 

With his children, Frank Jr. and Nancy, at the 26th Academy Awards at the RKO Pantages Theatre in Hollywood, on March 25, 1954. 

 

With Donna Reed at the 26th Academy Awards, after they both won for their supporting roles in From Here to Eternity.

 

At the re-opening ceremony for the Dunes Hotel & Country Club, on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada, on September 9, 1955.

 

With Sophia Loren at the Hollywood premiere of The Pride and the Passion (1957), on June 26, 1957.

 

With Judy Garland at the opening night of her two-week residency at the Cocoanut Grove nightclub, part of the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, California, on July 23, 1958.

 

Meeting Queen Elizabeth II at the premiere of the Danny Kaye film Me and the Colonel (1958), at the Odeon Cinema in Leicester Square, London, on October 28, 1958. 

 

With Peter Lawford and Dean Martin in Las Vegas, during the making of Ocean's 11 (1960). 

 

With Elvis Presley during an episode of the second The Frank Sinatra Show that aired on May 12, 1960. 

 

With John F. Kennedy at a Democratic Committee Dinner at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, in Los Angeles, California, on July 10, 1960.

 

With Sammy Davis Jr. at the Cedars of Lebanon charity dinner, on July 8, 1961.

 

With Bing Crosby, Dean Martin and Bob Hope on the set of The Road to Hong Kong (1962).

 

Visiting a school in Nazareth, Israel, in May 1962, during his «World Tour for Children.» He used the visit to launch his Sinatra Centre for Children

 

With Dean Martin during the filming of 4 for Texas (1963). 

 

In Hawaii during the making of None But the Brave (1965), which he directed and starred in. 

 

With Mia Farrow on their wedding ceremony in Las Vegas, on July 19, 1966.

 

With Dean Martin on the set of The Dean Martin Show, while filming his Christmas special in 1967.

 

On the television special Francis Albert Sinatra Does His Thing, which aired on November 25, 1968.

 

Taking pictures during the Heavyweight Championship fight between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier, at Madison Square Garden in New York City, on March 8, 1971.

 

With his bodyguard, Jilly Rizzo (right), during the Select Committee on Crime Investigation Hearing in Washington, D.C., on July 19, 1972, to answer allegations that he had ties to organized crime. 

 

Playing golf circa 1975. 

 

With Barbara Marx on their wedding day at the estate of media magnate and former United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom, Walter Annenberg, on July 11, 1976.

 

With Jilly Rizzo at Dodgers Stadium, circa 1977.

 

With Gene Kelly performing on the CBS special Gene Kelly: An American in Pasadena, in February 1978.

 

 

Rehearsing at the base of the Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt for a gala benefit in aid of the Wafa Wal Amal Centre, a rehabilitation centre outside Cairo, on September 27, 1979.  

 

With Ronald and Nancy Reagan at a fundraising event held at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City, on September 30, 1980.

 

Performing at the Chicagofest in Chicago, Illinois, on August 10, 1982. 

 

With Tom Selleck during the filming of his guest appearance in an episode of Magnum, P.I. (1980-1988), which aired on February 25, 1987. 

 

With Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr. rehearsing at Davis' house for their 29-city tour, in March 1988.

 

With his wife, Barbara, in Los Angeles, in 1990. 

 

Performing at the Chastain Park Amphiteather in Atlanta, Georgia, on July 6, 1991.

 

 Performing with Shirley MacLaine at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, on October 9, 1992.

 

With his wife, Barbara, and Luciano Pavarotti after The Three Tenors concert at Dodger Stadium, on July 16, 1994 in Los Angeles.

 

 

During the Sinatra: 80 Years My Way birthday celebration at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California. The television special was filmed on November 19, 1995, and aired on December 14.

 

Whether you like the man or not, whether you like his music or not, whether you like his films or not, whether you agree with his views or not, there is no denying that Frank Sinatra is an icon. Happy birthday to him.