Nancy Sinatra, daughter of legendary singer Frank Sinatra, and Frank’s hometown of Hoboken are gearing up for a city-wide celebration on what would have been his 100th birthday, December 12th.
Nancy Sinatra does a radio show in Hoboken and will be joining in the festivities, but the focus will be on the life and times of Old Blue Eyes himself.
All year long, Frank and Nancy Sinatra’s hometown has been awash in special events to commemorate Sinatra’s centennial birthday.
For example, screenings of his movies in the outdoors and a sort of “Sinatra Idol” singing competition have helped the town remember Sinatra. There have also been special concerts that will end on a grand note with a centennial birthday party on December 12th.
That party will take place at the Stevens Institute of Technology, which gave Sinatra an honorary degree in 1985. Sinatra was a high school dropout.
The Hoboken Historical Museum opened a Sinatra exhibit in August and has seen a 300 percent jump in visitors.
Museum Director Robert Foster said, “Whenever we do something on Sinatra, people come out of the woodwork. We enjoy the fans because they are so loyal and he means so much to them.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJimkJIPqhQ
Frank Sinatra died in 1998 at the age of 82.
Back in October, one of his closest friends, Tony Oppedisano, told in an interview about the day Sinatra died.
“He wasn’t panicked,” Tony recalled, “He was just resigned to the fact that he had given it his best but he wasn’t going to come through.”
He added, “I told him I loved him but those were the last words I ever heard him say before he passed away.”
Oppedisano also told of Frank’s great love for his first wife, Nancy Barbato, and the love he had for their children, despite being somewhat of an estranged father after the divorce.
Oppedisano said, “He used to beat himself up about Nancy Senior (Sinatra’s first wife).”
He added, “He remained dedicated to her throughout the years and had a great ongoing affection for her, despite being very much in love with Barbara (his fourth wife).”
Frank and Nancy Sinatra divorced after 12 years of marriage due to his ongoing affair with actress Ava Gardner. He married Gardner shortly after, but that marriage only lasted two years. He then wed actress Mia Farrow and then Barbara Marx, who was still married to him at his death.
Nancy Sinatra (Barbato) never remarried.
What do you think of the upcoming festivities put on by his and his daughter, Nancy Sinatra’s, hometown of Hoboken, New Jersey? Will you be attending?