Dolly Sinatra
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Dolly Sinatra (; born Natalina Maria Vittoria Garaventa; ; December 26, 1896 – January 6, 1977) was the mother of American singer Frank Sinatra. She was born in
Lumarzo Lumarzo ( lij, Lumarso) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Genoa in the Italian region Liguria, located about east of Genoa. Lumarzo borders the following municipalities: Bargagli, Davagna, Neirone, Sori, Torriglia, ...
( Province of Genoa), in northern Italy; she immigrated to the United States as an infant. Dolly married Antonino Martino "Marty" Sinatra in 1914, and in 1915 the couple's only child, Frank Sinatra, was born. Dolly was influential in the Sinatras' neighborhood in
Hoboken, New Jersey Hoboken ( ; Unami: ') is a city in Hudson County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 60,417. The Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program calculated that the city's population was 58,690 i ...
, where they later operated a tavern during
Prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcohol ...
. She became involved in politics and worked as a
midwife A midwife is a health professional who cares for mothers and newborns around childbirth, a specialization known as midwifery. The education and training for a midwife concentrates extensively on the care of women throughout their lifespan; co ...
. It is believed that she also provided an illegal
abortion Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pre ...
service in the area. She died in a plane crash in 1977.


Early life

Natalina Maria Vittoria Garaventa was born on December 26, 1896, in Lumarzo, Genoa, in northern Italy. She was brought to the United States when she was two months old. When she was a child, her pretty face earned her the nickname "Dolly". As an adult, she stood less than five feet tall and weighed approximately 90 pounds. Biographer
James Kaplan James C. Kaplan, Jr. (born September 10, 1951) is an American novelist, journalist, and biographer. Biography He was born in New York City and grew up in rural Pennsylvania and suburban New Jersey. He matriculated at New York University and grad ...
describes her as having a "politician's temperament—restless, energetic, unreflective". Her father was a
lithographer Lithography () is a planographic method of printing originally based on the immiscibility of oil and water. The printing is from a stone (lithographic limestone) or a metal plate with a smooth surface. It was invented in 1796 by the German a ...
. He was also a peasant.


Marriage and labor difficulties

During her teen years, Dolly met Antonino Martino "Marty" Sinatra, born in
Lercara Friddi Lercara Friddi is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Palermo in the Italian region Sicily, located about southeast of Palermo. Founded in 1595 by local feudataries, it is on the slopes of Madore Hill, between the valleys o ...
, who immigrated from Catania,
Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...
. Though her family opposed it, the couple eloped on Valentine's Day, 1914, and were married at the city hall in Jersey City, New Jersey; they were later remarried in a church. Dolly gave birth to Francis Albert Sinatra on December 12, 1915, in an upstairs tenement at 415 Monroe Street in
Hoboken, New Jersey Hoboken ( ; Unami: ') is a city in Hudson County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 60,417. The Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program calculated that the city's population was 58,690 i ...
, the couple's only child. Sinatra weighed at birth and had to be
delivered ''Delivered'' is a 1998 thriller/crime film directed by Guy Ferland. A pizza boy finds a murdered man at his next delivery and becomes the murderer's next intended victim. External links * * 1998 films 1998 crime thriller films 1998 comed ...
with the aid of
forceps Forceps (plural forceps or considered a plural noun without a singular, often a pair of forceps; the Latin plural ''forcipes'' is no longer recorded in most dictionaries) are a handheld, hinged instrument used for grasping and holding objects. Fo ...
, which caused severe scarring to his left cheek, neck, and ear, and perforated his ear drum, damage that remained for life. A childhood operation on his
mastoid The mastoid part of the temporal bone is the posterior (back) part of the temporal bone, one of the bones of the skull. Its rough surface gives attachment to various muscles (via tendons) and it has openings for blood vessels. From its borders, ...
bone left major scarring on his neck, and during adolescence he suffered from
cystic acne Acne, also known as ''acne vulgaris'', is a long-term skin condition that occurs when dead skin cells and oil from the skin clog hair follicles. Typical features of the condition include blackheads or whiteheads, pimples, oily skin, and po ...
that scarred his face and neck. The family was
Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...
, but due to her son's injuries at birth, his baptism was delayed for several months.


Politics

Dolly was influential in Hoboken and in local
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...
circles. She used her knowledge of Italian dialects and fluent English to translate for immigrants during court proceedings, particularly those pertaining to requests for citizenship. This earned her the respect of local politicians, who made her a Democratic ward leader. She was the first immigrant woman to hold that position in her local third ward, where she reliably delivered as many as six hundred votes for Democratic candidates. In 1919, she chained herself to city hall in support of the
Women's suffrage Women's suffrage is the right of women to vote in elections. Beginning in the start of the 18th century, some people sought to change voting laws to allow women to vote. Liberal political parties would go on to grant women the right to vot ...
movement. She also worked as a
midwife A midwife is a health professional who cares for mothers and newborns around childbirth, a specialization known as midwifery. The education and training for a midwife concentrates extensively on the care of women throughout their lifespan; co ...
, earning $50 for each delivery, a fair amount of money at the time. These activities kept Dolly away from home during much of her son's childhood. According to Kaplan, Dolly also ran an illegal
abortion Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pre ...
service that earned her the nickname "Hatpin Dolly". Her reputation as an abortion care provider led one area church to ban her son from singing there.


Tavern

In 1920,
Prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcohol ...
of alcohol became law in the U.S. Dolly and Marty ran a tavern during those years, allowed to operate openly by local officials who refused to enforce the law. Kaplan notes the possibility that the Sinatras procured their liquor from members of the American Mafia. They purchased the bar, which they named Marty O'Brien's, with money they borrowed from Dolly's parents. Sinatra later recalled spending time at the bar, working on his homework and occasionally singing a song on top of the
player piano A player piano (also known as a pianola) is a self-playing piano containing a pneumatic or electro-mechanical mechanism, that operates the piano action via programmed music recorded on perforated paper or metallic rolls, with more modern im ...
for spare change. According to Kaplan, Dolly doted on her son, but she also abused him when he angered her, hitting him with a small bat she kept at Marty O'Brien's.


Personal life

Dolly enjoyed gambling while visiting her son in Las Vegas. As she didn't like to lose they would often rig one of the slot machines so that she kept winning.


Death

On January 6, 1977, Dolly Sinatra had invited friend Mrs. Anthony Carboni to join her in a private flight, provided by son Frank Sinatra, to come to Vegas for a show and gambling, but shortly after take-off from Palm Springs Municipal Airport, the Gates Learjet 24 crashed into a 10,000-foot (3,048-meter) snowy mountaintop ridge, in the eastern portion of the
San Gorgonio Wilderness The San Gorgonio Wilderness is located in the eastern San Bernardino Mountains, in San Bernardino County and into northern Riverside County, Southern California. It begins north of San Gorgonio Pass, approximately west of Morongo Valley and n ...
, killing all aboard. Dolly Sinatra was 80 years old. It was later concluded the crash was due to crew error that killed the four people aboard. Also killed were pilots Donald J. Weier, 36, and Jerold W. Foley, 33, both of Las Vegas, Nevada. Because of darkness, freezing temperatures, and rugged terrain at the crash site, it took days for authorities to recover all the bodies. Dolly Sinatra was later interred at
Desert Memorial Park Desert Memorial Park is a cemetery in Cathedral City, California, United States, near Palm Springs. Opening in 1956 and receiving its first interment in 1957,The Palm Springs Cemetery District itself was covers 504 square miles, including Palm Spr ...
in nearby
Cathedral City, California Cathedral City, colloquially known as "Cat City", is a desert resort city in Riverside County, California, United States, within the Colorado Desert's Coachella Valley. Situated between Palm Springs and Rancho Mirage, the city has the second larg ...
, where her husband, Marty Sinatra, was buried nearly a decade earlier.


In popular culture

Dolly Sinatra was portrayed by
Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
winning actress
Olympia Dukakis Olympia Dukakis (June 20, 1931 – May 1, 2021) was an American actress. She performed in more than 130 stage productions, more than 60 films and in 50 television series. Best known as a screen actress, she started her career in theater. Not lon ...
in the 1992 biographical miniseries ''
Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the "Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular entertainers of the 1940s, 1950s, and ...
''.


References

Bibliography * * * * * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sinatra, Dolly 1896 births 1977 deaths Accidental deaths in California American socialites American midwives American democracy activists Burials at Desert Memorial Park Italian emigrants to the United States 20th-century American women 20th-century American people Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1977 Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in the United States