Let Me Be Frank
Let Me Be Frank
The Extraordinary Life and Music of Frank Sinatra, Jr.
Bruce H. Klauber is biographer of jazz legends Gene Krupa and Buddy Rich in books and Warner Brothers films. As a music journalist, he has contributed to dozens of national and regional periodicals. He was honored by Combs College of Music and Drexel University for his contributions to music journalism and jazz performance. Andrea Kauffman is an entertainment industry manager, concert producer, and agent, responsible for bringing dozens of jazz legends—including Mel Tormé, Bobby Scott, Frank D’Rone, George Shearing, and Morgana King—to Atlantic City hotels and casinos. She was the personal manager of Frank Sinatra, Jr. from 1985 until his death in 2016.
Contents
Preface
Introduction by Bruce H. Klauber
Introduction by Andrea Kauffman
My Father by Michael Francis Sinatra
The Early Years
His Place in the Sun
The Start at Disneyland
Teen Idol in the Making
Getting Sentimental: The Dorsey Years
The Kidnapping
The Aftermath
The Swinging 1960s
Meet Me in Las Vegas
Wild about Harry
Film and Television Miscellany
On the Road Again
I’ll Never Smile Again
The Start of Something Big
The Call to Conduct
Opening Night
Father and Son Meet Mary Hart
The Children’s Hour
They’re Lookin’ for Me, but They’re Gonna Get You
Still Spreading the News
As I Remember It
Gershwin’s America
The Final Curtain
At the Nineteenth Hole with Barbara Sinatra
The Vampire
The Sopranos
This Is a Musician Singing
Radiance
That Face
High Hopes: The Kennedys Revisited
On Broadway
The Worst Nightmare
The Last Dance
The Victim
All Things Must Change: A Question of Repertoire
Sinatra Sings Sinatra
Cen Cel: The One Hundredth Birthday
Because I’m Not Done Yet
Put Your Dreams Away
Missed
The Funeral That Wasn’t
Acknowledgments
Selected Bibliography
Index
