Frank Sinatra, aka Ol' Blue Eyes aka The Chairman of The Board aka The Voice was one hell of a showman. Since the 1940s, he has captured the hearts of millions of people w/ his golden voice and stage charisma. Frankie is also credited to've been one of the original teen idols in music, gaining a notable following from "bobby soxers" (WWII-era teenyboppers) back in his 40s/50s heyday.
Success and acclaim aside, the legendary crooner was long alleged to've built his career upon close connections with the mafia. Being of Italian descent, it wouldn't be unusual for mobsters to have keen interests in Sinatra. Frank had personally been linked to several notorious men such as Willie Moretti, Charles Fischetti, Sam Giancana, and several others who've ensured several opportunities for him by any means necessary. In fact, it was long rumored that Moretti persuaded (or threatened) Frank's old boss Tommy Dorsey into letting him out of his contract by providing him a good payout. This instance was parodied in Mario Puzo's novel The Godfather w/ a similar account depicting Don Vito Corleone's crooner nephew Johnny Fontane (based on Sinatra) turning to him in order to remove unwanted career obstacles at all costs.
Said mafia involvements may've also played part for Sinatra to obtain his Academy-Award winning role in the 1953 movie From Here to Eternity. Possibly encouraged by The Godfather, the urban legend states that in an attempt to persuade studio execs into giving him the role of Private Angelo Maggio, the mob dealt with brutally disposing of priceless possessions (namely, decapitating a prized stallion & waking up seeing the severed head before them).
While visibly irritated @ the subject being brought up, Frank never confirmed nor denied any of these rumors.
Let this be a lesson to all: while several modern people in the biz (including some of our faves) tend to be accused of achieving success via payola or sleeping their way to the top, Ol' Blue Eyes did it like a real man and had La Cosa Nostra in charge of it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persona...ed_crime_links
http://www.crimelibrary.com/gangster...sinatra/1.html
