Frank Sinatra labelled a ‘womaniser’ by Gianni Russo
Frank Sinatra, who died on May 14, 1998, was the biggest name in American music from the early 1940s.
An idol to the bobby-soxer teenage girls of the time, he was effectively the first pop star in music history.
The singer was publicised as a wholesome family man, with his wife Nancy and three young children, Nancy, Frank Jr and Tina.
But the reality was typically very different and the Rat Pack legend had mistresses from the earliest days. And it’s easy to see why.
Not only was he hugely famous and dazzlingly talented, the star also had a couple of advantages over most men.
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Frank Sinatra in profile (Image: GETTY)
Band pianist Joe Bushkin said: “Whenever he could take a shot at a woman, he would.”
As his film career also began to flourish, Sinatra began to bed a succession of starlets and major Silver Screen goddesses from Lana Turner and Angie Dickinson to Marilyn Monroe and Judy Garland.
Actress and close friend Ruta Lee described the extraordinary power his famous eyes had on women: “Those fabulous blue eyes of Frank Sinatra were so piercing. When he was with you, those blue eyes stayed with you, you felt like he was entering your soul. It was something incredible.”
However, another close pal also revealed a rather more personal detail.
Frank Sinatra with wife and daughter Nancy (Image: GETTY)
Friend and actor Gianni Russo said: “He was just a womaniser. How can I say this politely? He was well-endowed, so he didn’t leave these women wanting anything.”
His wife quickly cottoned on to the situation but stayed quiet, as long as he always returned home and was discrete. Unfortunately, the press began to show pictures of him out partying with a succession of women. Sinatra told his wife it was necessary for his career for him to appear to be a lady’s man.
He eventually divorced Nancy in 1951 and the same year married Ava Gardner – who made some famously indiscrete comments about his endowments.
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Frank Sinatra seduced som eof Hollywood’s most beautiful stars like Ava Gardner (Image: GETTY)
James Kaplan’s Sinatra biography Frank: The Voice describes an outrageous moment when Gardner was quizzed on their relationship by reporters.
“Some guy from a Chicago paper, greasy hair and thick glasses, tried to cut through the clutter. ‘Hey Ava – come on!’ he called. ‘What do you see in this guy? He’s just a 119-pound has-been!’
“Not even blinking, she said, ‘Well, I’ll tell you -19 pounds is…’ The reporter stood frozen, his mouth open, his pencil poised over his notebook amid heavy masculine laughter. Ava smiled serenely…”
Frank Sinatra and Ava Gardner had explosive chemistry in bed and out (Image: GETTY)
In another provocative quote, Gardner famously said of her husband: “He is only 110 pounds, but 10 pounds of it is c**k!”
Meanwhile, the idol’s valet George Jacobs revealed in his book Mr S that his boss actually had special underwear made to contain and conceal his size in public.
The marriage was as explosive out of the sheets as in and Gardner had a fiery temper and dominant nature to match his own.
Sinatra said; “If we didn’t kill each other during the day, we might have killed each other in bed.”
On their first late-night date, they went for a drive. Sinatra pulled out two guns and they shot at lampposts and shopfronts. They were arrested, although the story was kept out of the press.
Ruta Lee said: Their relationship was deeply, deeply passionate. She was smitten with Frank they way any woman would be…”
Frank Sinatra and Ava Gardner on their wedding day (Image: GETTY )
On their first late-night date, they went for a drive. Sinatra pulled out two guns and they shot at lampposts and shopfronts. They were arrested, although the story was kept out of the press.
Gardner’s biographer Anthony Uzarowski said of the marriage: “It was toxic and explosive. Frank’s Palm Springs mansions still bears the scars of those fights. A bottle of champagne was thrown at the sink and a dent is still visible today.”
The marriage was in trouble within two years. Russo said: “She drove him nuts, crazy. I spent many nights with him crying like a little kid because he loved her so much.”
They divorced in 1957 but the marriage was over long before that.
