''Sinatra'' is a 1992

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

biographical A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just the basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or c ...

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has b ...

miniseries about singer Frank Sinatra, developed and executive produced by Frank's youngest daughter

Tina Sinatra Christina Sinatra (born June 20, 1948) is an American businesswoman, film producer, Hollywood agent, and memoirist. Early life Christina Sinatra was born on June 20, 1948, in Los Angeles, California, the youngest child of American singer and ac ...

and approved by Frank himself. Directed by

James Steven Sadwith James Steven Sadwith (born October 20, 1952) is an American producer, screenwriter, and Emmy Award-winning film director. He is best known for directing the television movie '' In Broad Daylight'' (1991), the miniseries ''Sinatra Francis ...

, produced by Richard M. Rosenbloom, and written by

William Mastrosimone William Mastrosimone (born August 19, 1947) is an American playwright and screenwriter from Trenton, New Jersey. He attended high school at The Pennington School and received a graduate degree in playwriting from Mason Gross School of the Arts, ...

and Abby Mann. It stars

Philip Casnoff Philip Casnoff (born August 3, 1949) is an American actor, known for his roles in TV series and on Broadway. He has also been a director. Early life and education Philip L. Casnoff was born on August 3, 1949, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. H ...

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 ...

Joe Santos Joe Santos (born Joseph John Minieri Jr.; June 9, 1931 – March 18, 2016) was an American film and television actor, best known as Sgt. Dennis Becker (later Lieutenant), the friend of James Garner's character on the NBC crime drama ''The R ...

Gina Gershon Gina L. Gershon (born June 10, 1962) is an American actress. She has had roles in the films ''Cocktail'' (1988), ''Red Heat'' (1988), '' Showgirls'' (1995), '' Bound'' (1996), '' Face/Off'' (1997), '' The Insider'' (1999), '' Demonlover'' (2002 ...

Nina Siemaszko Antonina Jadwiga Siemaszko (born July 14, 1970) is an American actress. Best known for her film roles in '' Little Noises'' (1992), ''The Saint of Fort Washington'' (1993), and for her role as Eleanor Bartlet in ''The West Wing'' (2001–2006). ...

Bob Gunton Robert Patrick Gunton Jr. (born November 15, 1945) is an American character actor of stage and screen. He is known for playing strict authoritarian characters, including Warden Samuel Norton in the 1994 prison drama '' The Shawshank Redemption'' ...

, and

Marcia Gay Harden Marcia Gay Harden (born August 14, 1959) is an American actress. She is the recipient of accolades including an Academy Award and a Tony Award, in addition to nominations for a Critics' Choice Movie Award and three Primetime Emmy Awards. Born ...

, with some of Sinatra's vocals recreated by

Tom Burlinson Tom Burlinson (born 14 February 1956) is a Canadian actor and singer. Career Tom Burlinson was born in Toronto, Canada, the son of Antony T. Burlinson (born 1923, in Greenwich, Middlesex) and Angela Schofield (born 1926, in Bury St Edmunds, ...

. It won two and was nominated for seven Emmy Awards, along with a win and two nominations for a Golden Globe Award. Released on November 8, 1992, it was re-released on a two-disc DVD Warner Home Video on May 13, 2008.

Plot

Frank Sinatra (Casnoff) emerges from

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 son of local politician Natalie "Dolly" Sinatra (Dukakis) and fireman Anthony "Marty" Sinatra (Santos). Beginning his career as a singer for the

Harry James Harry Haag James (March 15, 1916 – July 5, 1983) was an American musician who is best known as a trumpet-playing band leader who led a big band from 1939 to 1946. He broke up his band for a short period in 1947 but shortly after he reorganized ...

(Posey) and

Tommy Dorsey Thomas Francis Dorsey Jr. (November 19, 1905 – November 26, 1956) was an American jazz trombonist, composer, conductor and bandleader of the big band era. He was known as the "Sentimental Gentleman of Swing" because of his smooth-toned trombo ...

(Gunton) big bands, Sinatra struggles to keep his marriage to his teenage sweetheart Nancy Barbato (Gershon). Before long, his talent catapults him to both music and movie fame, but his personal failings place his career and marriage in danger. He endures tumultuous marriages and divorces with starlets

Ava Gardner Ava Lavinia Gardner (December 24, 1922 – January 25, 1990) was an American actress. She first signed a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1941 and appeared mainly in small roles until she drew critics' attention in 1946 with her perform ...

(Harden) and

Mia Farrow Maria de Lourdes Villiers "Mia" Farrow ( ; born February 9, 1945) is an American actress. She first gained notice for her role as Allison MacKenzie in the television soap opera '' Peyton Place'' and gained further recognition for her subsequent ...

(Siemaszko) while juggling his movie and singing careers and forming significant friendships with an ambitious young senator named

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination ...

(Kelly) and powerful Chicago mob boss

Sam Giancana Salvatore Mooney Giancana (; born Gilormo Giangana; ; May 24, 1908 – June 19, 1975) was an American mobster who was boss of the Chicago Outfit from 1957 to 1966. Giancana was born in Chicago to Italian immigrant parents. He joined the 42 ...

(Steiger).

Cast

as Frank Sinatra *

as Natalie "Dolly" Sinatra *

as Marty Sinatra *

as Nancy Barbato Sinatra *

Joe Grifasi Joseph G. Grifasi (born June 14, 1944) is an American character actor of film, stage and television. Grifasi was born in Buffalo, New York, the son of Patricia (née Gaglione) and Joseph J. Grifasi, a skilled laborer. Grifasi graduated from Bi ...

as George Evans *

* David Raynr as

Sammy Davis Jr. Samuel George Davis Jr. (December 8, 1925 – May 16, 1990) was an American singer, dancer, actor, comedian, film producer and television director. At age three, Davis began his career in vaudeville with his father Sammy Davis Sr. and the ...

* Ralph Seymour as Budd * Jeff Corey as Quinlin *

Danny Gans Danny Davies Gans (October 25, 1956 – May 1, 2009) was an American singer, comedian and vocal impressionist. Career Gans was a performer on the Las Vegas Strip and the surrounding area, where he was billed as "The Man of Many Voices." He h ...

as Dean Martin * Vincent Guastaferro as

Hank Sanicola Henry William "Hank" Sanicola (14 June 1914 – 6 October 1974) was an American music manager, publisher, businessman and pianist, best known for his work and association with Frank Sinatra from the late 1930s to the early 1960s. Early life Sanico ...

* James F. Kelly as

* Matthew Posey as

* Rod Steiger as Salvatore Giancana *

Carol Barbee Carol Denise Barbee (born May 22, 1959, in Concord, North Carolina) is an Emmy winning American television writer, actress and producer.Marilyn Maxwell Marvel Marilyn Maxwell (August 3, 1921 – March 20, 1972) was an American actress and entertainer. In a career that spanned the 1940s and 1950s, she appeared in several films and radio programs, and entertained the troops during World War ...

* David Byrd as

Michael Romanoff Harry F. Gerguson (born Hershel Geguzin, February 20, 1890 – September 1, 1971), known as Michael Romanoff, was a Hollywood restaurateur, con man and actor born in Lithuania. He is perhaps best remembered as the owner of the now-defunct Romanof ...

* Paul Collins as

Westbrook Pegler Francis James Westbrook Pegler (August 2, 1894 – June 24, 1969) was an American journalist and writer. He was a popular columnist in the 1930s and 1940s famed for his opposition to the New Deal and labor unions. Pegler aimed his pen at president ...

* Maggie Egan as

Jo Stafford Jo Elizabeth Stafford (November 12, 1917July 16, 2008) was an American traditional pop music singer, whose career spanned five decades from the late 1930s to the early 1980s. Admired for the purity of her voice, she originally underwent classi ...

Brian Markinson Brian Markinson (born September 1, 1961) is an American-Canadian actor who has appeared in a wide variety of films and television shows. Some of Markinson's best known roles include a U.S. Attorney General in ''Shooter'', an unscrupulous industr ...

Sonny Werblin David Abraham "Sonny" Werblin (March 17, 1910 – November 21, 1991) was a prominent entertainment industry executive and sports impresario who was an owner of the New York Jets and chairman of Madison Square Garden, and who built and managed the ...

* Tony Simotes as

Buddy Rich Bernard "Buddy" Rich (September 30, 1917 – April 2, 1987) was an American jazz drummer, songwriter, conductor, and bandleader. He is considered one of the most influential drummers of all time. Rich was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, ...

* John Wesley as

Sy Oliver Melvin James "Sy" Oliver (December 17, 1910 – May 28, 1988) was an American jazz arranger, trumpeter, composer, singer and bandleader. Life Sy Oliver was born in Battle Creek, Michigan, United States. His mother was a piano teacher, and his ...

* Marc Grady Adams as

Lee Mortimer Lee Mortimer (1904–1963) was an American newspaper columnist, radio commentator, crime lecturer, night club show producer, and author. He was born Mortimer Lieberman in Chicago, but was best known by the pen name he adopted as a young newspa ...

* Tony Gaetano as Humphrey Bogart * Leata Galloway as

Billie Holiday Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan; April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz and swing music singer. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and music partner, Lester Young, Holiday had an innovative influence on jazz music and pop s ...

* David A. Kimball as Benny Goodman *

Bruce Gray Bruce Gray (September 7, 1936 – December 13, 2017) was a Canadian actor, known for multiple roles in films and television shows for over 5 decades. Early Years Gray was born in Puerto Rico and lived in Toronto after 1949. He graduated from ...

Fred Zinneman Alfred ''Fred'' Zinnemann (April 29, 1907 – March 14, 1997) was an Austrian Empire-born American film director. He won four Academy Awards for directing and producing films in various genres, including thrillers, westerns, film noir and play ...

* Shelly Lipkin as

Joey Bishop Joseph Abraham Gottlieb (February 3, 1918 – October 17, 2007), known professionally as Joey Bishop, was an American entertainer who appeared on television as early as 1948 and eventually starred in his own weekly comedy series playing a talk ...

Jack Betts Jack Fillmore Betts, also credited as Hunt Powers, is an American character actor and playwright. He has acted in film, on stage, and on television. Career Betts portrayed Chris Devlin in the CBS mystery series '' Checkmate'' (1960-1962). He ...

as Earl Wilson *

Rena Riffel Rena Riffel (born March 5, 1969) is an American actress, singer, dancer, model, writer, producer, and director. She is known for her supporting roles in films such as ''Showgirls'', ''Striptease'', and ''Mulholland Drive''. ''Showgirls'' Riffe ...

as May Britt * Brad Blaisdell as

Skitch Henderson Lyle Russel "Skitch" Henderson (January 27, 1918 – November 1, 2005) was a pianist, conductor, and composer. His nickname "Skitch" came from his ability to "re-sketch" a song in a different key. Bing Crosby suggested that he should use the ...

* Chris Weatherhead as

Mercedes McCambridge Carlotta Mercedes Agnes McCambridge (March 16, 1916 – March 2, 2004) was an American actress of radio, stage, film, and television. Orson Welles called her "the world's greatest living radio actress." She won an Academy Award for Best Support ...

* Patricia Supancic as Nancy at 14 *

Beverley Mitchell Beverley Ann Mitchell is an American actress and country music singer. She portrayed Lucy Camden on the television series '' 7th Heaven''. Early life After graduating from Chaminade College Preparatory School in 1999, Mitchell enrolled at Lo ...

as Nancy at 7-9 * Samantha Ward as Nancy at 3 * Cameron Phillip Williams as Frank Jr. at 10 * Jameson Rodgers as Frank Jr. at 4-6 * Jenny Regli as Tina at 6 *

Floyd Levine Floyd Levine (born February 23, 1932) is an American film and television actor. He played Dr. Ralph Harris in the 1978 film '' Bloodbrothers''. He also played Gen. Duncan in the 1988 film '' Braddock: Missing in Action III'' and Lt. Mellin in ...

as Director

Production

Filming

Filming was shot on location in

Hoboken 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 58,69 ...

, New Jersey and at the

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

Union Station A union station (also known as a union terminal, a joint station in Europe, and a joint-use station in Japan) is a railway station at which the tracks and facilities are shared by two or more separate railway companies, allowing passengers to ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

Awards

Reception

The series got a mostly positive reception but was accused of whitewashing the controversial aspects of Frank Sinatira's life.

References

External links

* {{Golden Globe Award for Best Miniseries or Television Film 1971–1999 1992 television films 1992 films 1990s biographical drama films American biographical drama films 1990s American drama television series American television films 1990s American television miniseries American biographical series Best Miniseries or Television Movie Golden Globe winners Emmy Award-winning programs Primetime Emmy Award-winning television series English-language television shows Films about Frank Sinatra Cultural depictions of John F. Kennedy Cultural depictions of Marilyn Monroe Cultural depictions of Humphrey Bogart Cultural depictions of Sammy Davis Jr. Cultural depictions of Billie Holiday Cultural depictions of Sam Giancana CBS original programming Films directed by James Steven Sadwith 1990s English-language films 1990s American films