:Draft for '''[[Frank Sinatra]]'''

[[File:Frank Sinatra '57.jpg|thumb|220px|Frank Sinatra in 1957]]

'''Francis Albert''' "'''Frank'''" '''Sinatra''' ({{IPAc-en|s|ɨ|ˈ|n|ɑː|t|r|ə}}; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer, actor, director, and producer. Beginning his musical career in the [[swing era]] as a boy singer with [[Harry James]] and [[Tommy Dorsey]], Sinatra found success as a solo artist from the early to mid-1940s after being signed by [[Columbia Records]] in 1943. Being the idol of the "[[bobby soxer]]s", he released his first album, ''[[The Voice of Frank Sinatra]]'', in 1946. His professional career had stalled by the early 1950s, but it was reborn in 1953 after he won the [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor]] for his performance in ''[[From Here to Eternity]]''. He signed with [[Capitol Records]] in 1953 and released several critically lauded albums, such as ''[[In the Wee Small Hours]]'' (1955), ''[[Songs for Swingin' Lovers!]]'' (1956), ''[[Come Fly with Me (Frank Sinatra album)|Come Fly with Me]]'' (1958), ''[[Frank Sinatra Sings for Only the Lonely|Only the Lonely]]'' (1958) and ''[[Nice 'n' Easy]]'' (1960). Sinatra left Capitol to found his own record label, [[Reprise Records]], in 1961, finding success with albums such as ''[[Ring-a-Ding-Ding!]]'' (1961), and the live album ''[[Sinatra at the Sands]]'' (1966), recorded at the [[Sands Hotel and Casino]] in Las Vegas, where Sinatra regularly performed between 1953 and 1967. He toured internationally, and was a founding member of the [[Rat Pack]] and fraternized with celebrities and statesmen, including [[John F. Kennedy]].

Sinatra turned 50 in 1965, recorded the retrospective ''[[September of My Years]]'', starred in the [[Emmy]]-winning television special ''[[Frank Sinatra: A Man and His Music]]'', and scored hits with "[[Strangers in the Night]]" and "[[My Way]]". In 1967, he recorded one of his most famous collaborations with [[Tom Jobim]], the album ''[[Francis Albert Sinatra & Antonio Carlos Jobim]]'', which was nominated for the [[Grammy Award for Album of the Year]]. It was followed by 1968's collaboration with [[Duke Ellington]]. With sales of his music dwindling and after appearing in several poorly received films, Sinatra retired for the first time in 1971. Two years later, however, he came out of retirement and from 1973 recorded several albums, scoring a Top 40 hit with "[[Theme from New York, New York|(Theme From) New York, New York]]" in 1980. Using his [[Las Vegas Valley|Las Vegas]] shows as a home base, he toured both within the United States and internationally, until a short time before his death in 1998. Sinatra also forged a highly successful career as a film actor. After winning Best Supporting Actor in 1953, he also garnered a nomination for [[Academy Award for Best Actor|Best Actor]] for ''[[The Man with the Golden Arm]]'' (1955), and critical acclaim for his performance in ''[[The Manchurian Candidate (1962 film)|The Manchurian Candidate]]'' (1962). He also starred in such musical films such as ''[[On the Town (film)|On the Town]]'' (1949), ''[[Guys and Dolls (film)|Guys and Dolls]]'' (1955), ''[[High Society (1956 film)|High Society]]'' (1956), and ''[[Pal Joey (film)|Pal Joey]]'' (1957).

Sinatra is one of the [[List of best-selling music artists|best-selling music artists of all time]], having sold more than 150 million records worldwide.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://lasvegassun.com/vegasdeluxe/2015/jun/08/steve-wynn-celebrate-100th-birthday-late-frank-sin/|title=Steve Wynn to celebrate 100th birthday of the late Frank Sinatra in Las Vegas|last=Leach|first=Robin|date=June 8, 2015|work=[[Las Vegas Sun]]|accessdate=August 31, 2015}}</ref> He was honored at the [[Kennedy Center Honors]] in 1983 and was awarded the [[Presidential Medal of Freedom]] by [[Ronald Reagan]] in 1985 and the [[Congressional Gold Medal]] in 1997. Sinatra was also the recipient of eleven [[Grammy Awards]], including the [[Grammy Trustees Award]], [[Grammy Legend Award]] and the [[Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award]]. One of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century, Sinatra's popularity was later matched only by [[Elvis Presley]], [[the Beatles]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/1212.html|title= Obituary: Frank Sinatra Dies at 82; Matchless Stylist of Pop|publisher=''The New York Times''|date=May 16, 1998|accessdate=August 31, 2015}}</ref> and [[Michael Jackson]]. American music critic [[Robert Christgau]] called him "the greatest singer of the 20th century".<ref>{{cite journal|last=Christgau|first=Robert|authorlink=Robert Christgau|year=1998|url=http://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/music/sinatra-det.php|title=Frank Sinatra 1915-1998|journal=[[Details (magazine)|Details]]|location=New York|accessdate=January 10, 2015}}</ref>

==Career==

===Film career===

Sinatra made his film debut in 1941, performing in an uncredited sequence in ''[[Las Vegas Nights]]'', singing "[[I'll Never Smile Again]]" with [[Tommy Dorsey]]'s [[The Pied Pipers]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Billboard|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=EwkEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA44|date=24 November 1973|publisher=Nielsen Business Media, Inc.|page=44|id={{ISSN|00062510}}}}</ref> He again went uncredited for singing "The Last Call for Love", "Poor You" and "[[Moonlight Bay]]" in [[Edward Buzzell]]'s ''[[Ship Ahoy]]'' the following year, which starred [[Red Skelton]] and [[Eleanor Powell]]. In 1943 he had a cameo role in [[Charles Barton (director)|Charles Barton]]'s ''[[Reveille with Beverly]]'', making a brief appearance along with the likes of [[Duke Ellington]], [[Count Basie]] and [[Bob Crosby]]. The following year he was given his first leading role opposite [[Michèle Morgan]] and [[Jack Haley]]in 1944 in [[Tim Whelan]]'s musical film ''[[Higher and Higher (film)|Higher and Higher]]'' for [[RKO Pictures]], playing himself.

In 1945, Sinatra co-starred with [[Gene Kelly]] in ''[[Anchors Aweigh (film)|Anchors Aweigh]]''. That same year, he was loaned out to RKO to star in a short film titled ''[[The House I Live In (1945 film)|The House I Live In]]''. Directed by [[Mervyn LeRoy]], this film on tolerance and [[racial equality]] earned a special [[Academy Award]] shared among Sinatra and those who brought the film to the screen, along with a special [[Golden Globe]] for "Promoting Good Will".

In 1949, Sinatra again co-starred with Gene Kelly in ''[[Take Me Out to the Ball Game (film)|Take Me Out to the Ball Game]]'', which was well received critically and became a commercial success. That same year, Sinatra teamed up with Kelly for a third time in ''[[On the Town (film)|On the Town]]'', playing a sailor on leave in New York City. Today the film is rated very highly by critics, and in 2006 it ranked No. 19 on the [[American Film Institute]]'s [[AFI's 100 Years of Musicals|list of best musicals]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.afi.com/100years/musicals.aspx|title=AFI's 25 Greatest Movie Musicals of All Time|publisher=American Film Institute|accessdate=August 31, 2015}}</ref> Starting in September 1949, the [[BBDO|BBD&O]] advertising agency produced a radio series starring

The rebirth of Sinatra's career began with the eve-of-[[Attack on Pearl Harbor|Pearl Harbor]] drama ''[[From Here to Eternity]]'' (1953), for which he won an [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor]]. This role and performance marked a turnaround in Sinatra's career: after several years of critical and commercial decline, becoming an Oscar-winning actor helped him regain his position as the top recording artist in the world.<ref>{{cite web|author=Schmidt, M.A.|url=http://www.nytimes.com/packages/html/movies/bestpictures/eternity-ar.html|title=Best Pictures: From Here to Eternity|publisher=''The New York Times''|date=May 9, 1954|accessdate=August 31, 2015}}</ref>

Later in 1954, Sinatra starred opposite [[Sterling Hayden]] in the [[film noir]] ''[[Suddenly (1954 film)|Suddenly]]'', playing a psychopathic killer posing as an [[FBI]] agent who takes over a familial residence during a stakeout. Sinatra's performance was lauded by critics, with [[Bosley Crowther]] of ''The New York Times'' declaring that "Mr. Sinatra deserves a special chunk of praise for playing the leading gunman with an easy, cold, vicious sort of gleam" and that the film demonstrated a turn in direction in a career in playing such a "repulsive role", in comparison to his earlier career.<ref>{{cite web|author=Crowther, Bosley|url=http://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9802E6D8103FE33BBC4053DFB667838F649EDE|title=Suddenly|publisher=''The New York Times''|date=October 8, 1954|accessdate=August 31, 2015}}</ref>

==References==

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