by Kenn Fong

Francis Albert Sinatra was born Saturday, December 12, 1915. Let’s look back at a few stories about Mr. Sinatra which we published earlier this year in anticipation of his centennial.

Frequent EDF contributor Pam Grady wrote about his long film career previewing a Sinatra Retrospective Film Festival at the Vogue.

Frank loved his Jack Daniels, and columnist Michael Cecconi provided some of Frank’s favorite cocktails. He loved to cook too, and if you were lucky, Mr. S would serve you some of his mama’s favorite pasta recipes. Eat Like the Stars columnist Jenny Hammerton shared these with us, and for dessert, you can watch a clip of Frank and Dinah Shore cutting up in the kitchen.

Studio publicist and life-long Sinatra fan Walt von Hauffe tells us how his homemade gift touched Frank’s heart and led to a private meeting after a concert at the Circle Star Theater in San Carlos.

Eat My Shorts featured The House I Live In, a 7 minute feature Frank made during World War II to fight bigotry. A very young Sinatra is seen taking a break from a recording session only to find a group of school children ganging up on a boy. When he stops the fight, he discovers that they were attacking him because he was a different religion. (The sentiments seem timely to us today, but before we give him too much credit, remember too that during that time of war, he insults the “Japs.”) Still, it’s a touching song, and a reminder that Frank deplored bigotry in his personal life.

Let’s hope that somewhere, Francis Albert Sinatra is warming up with Count Basie, Harry James, and Tommy Dorsey, (with Dean and Sammy waiting in the wings) for a heavenly swinging centennial concert!

EDF Associate Editor Kenn Fong wishes he were born in the era when the Great American Songbook ruled the airwaves. @KennFong1