• History

Tony Bennett on Frank Sinatra: ‘The Man Was Full of Love’

4 minute read

Loyalty: That one word overrides anything else you need to know about Sinatra. And of course it worked both ways with him. If he loved someone, he loved them for life. It didn’t matter if you were the queen of England or a waiter. If you just said a nice thing about Jilly [Rizzo, Sinatra’s aide], for instance, that would get a smile from him. He’d get a kick out of that. He really loved Jilly. The man was full of love. One night my mother and I were watching Sinatra on TV doing The Main Event. He knew my mother was dying, and he turned to the audience and said that Tony Bennett was his favorite guy in the whole world. My mother’s face lit up like a Christmas tree—this image will stay with me as long as I live. That was the kind of small thing he would do that would make such a big difference.

And then there was this other night, years ago. It’s just moments before I’m about to walk out onstage for opening night at the Empire Room at the Waldorf, here in New York. All of a sudden I get a call. It’s Judy Garland. She’s on the phone, telling me that she’s at the St. Regis Hotel and she’s being beaten up—a domestic thing or something. And I don’t know what to do. My ex-wife says to me, “Call Frank.” He was at the Fontainebleau in Miami. I call him up. He had just finished making the movie The Detective, so he knew all the detectives and all the police who had helped with the movie. I tell him, “Frank, Judy Garland’s getting beat up at the St. Regis. I don’t know what to do.” He says, “I’ll call you back in a few.” I go and do my show, and after it’s over, Judy calls me up. “I asked for help,” she says, “but this is ridiculous. There’s five lawyers in my suite and 900 policemen outside in the street!” And then Frank calls me up and says, “Was that all right, kid?”

He loved doing things like that. Absolutely loved it. It’s what he lived for.

Sinatra was like Barrymore. He poured a lot of champagne for a lot of people—and he loved to do the pouring.

When I think of Sinatra, I think of the way that Laurence Olivier depicted Hamlet. He was Everyman. He ran the gamut of emotions. Sinatra conquered every aspect of his world, the entertainment world. He was the two masks of the theater—the comedy, the tragedy. Underneath it all, he was a very, very sensitive, nice person.

Once, I read The Autobiography of Benvenuto Cellini. Benvenuto was a sculptor in Renaissance Italy whose works were pure magic. Kings and popes from Italy and France demanded his works. Benvenuto’s father demanded true justice from everyone he encountered, and he passed this philosophy down to his son. Benvenuto would draw his sword and battle every hypocrite and phony who stood in the way of truth. It reminded me so much of Sinatra that I once sent a copy of the book to him for his birthday. I inscribed it: “If Shirley MacLaine’s philosophy is right, you must have been this cat in another life.”

Sinatra leaves behind a legacy of music, a legacy that will live forever. Five hundred years from now, people will still be listening to his recordings, watching his films, and they’ll say, “There was only one Sinatra.” And that’s not an opinion, it’s a fact.

LIFE Books

Read the rest of Tony Bennett’s remembrance of Frank Sinatra in the LIFE special edition Sinatra at 100.

LIFE’s special edition Sinatra at 100 is available now. Pick up your copy in stores today.

Best of Frank Sinatra

25 year old Frank Sinatra poised at mike, singing As Time Goes By at Riobamba nightclub, 1943.
25-year-old Frank Sinatra poised at the microphone, singing "As Time Goes By" at the Riobamba nightclub, 1943.Herbert Gehr—The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images
Frank Sinatra with wife Nancy and 3 yr-old daughter Nancy Jr.at home, 1943.
Sinatra with wife Nancy and 3-year-old daughter Nancy Jr. at home, 1943.Herbert Gehr—The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images
Frank Sinatra singing Close to You in CBS radio broadcasting studio as his admirer Rita Stearns, the winner of the Why I Like Frank Sinatra contest, looks on, in the audience, 1944.
Sinatra singing "Close to You" in CBS radio broadcasting studio as admirer Rita Stearns, the winner of the "Why I Like Frank Sinatra" contest, looks on, 1944.Herbert Gehr—The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images
Frank Sinatra singing "Five Minutes More," 1946.
Sinatra singing "Five Minutes More," 1946.Peter Stackpole—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Ethel Merman and Frank Sinatra singing duet Your the Top in preliminary rehearsal for Anything Goes presented on TV show The Colgate Comedy Hour, 1954.
Ethel Merman and Frank Sinatra singing the duet "You're the Top" in a preliminary rehearsal for "Anything Goes," presented on "The Colgate Comedy Hour," 1954.John Swope—The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images
Frank Sinatra and Donna Reed (R) holding Oscars while posing w. presenter, actress Mercedes McCambridge, for Best Supporting Actors in the movie "From Here to Eternity" at the 26th Annual Academy Awards Ceremony, 1954.
Sinatra and Donna Reed (R) holding Oscars received for their performances in "From Here to Eternity," with presenter Mercedes McCambridge at the 26th Annual Academy Awards Ceremony, 1954.George Silk—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Frank Sinatra singing to Vivian Blaine in scene from film "Guys and Dolls," 1955.
Sinatra singing to Vivian Blaine in a scene from the film "Guys and Dolls," 1955.Gjon Mili—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra, 1958.
Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra, 1958.Allan Grant—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Director Frank Sinatra during filming of movie None But The Brave, 1964.
Sinatra during the filming of "None But The Brave," which he directed in 1964.Don Cravens—The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images
Nancy Sinatra with father, Frank Sinatra, during producing and directing of movie "None But The Brave," 1964.
Nancy Sinatra with her father, Frank Sinatra, during the production of "None But The Brave," 1964.Don Cravens—The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images
Frank Sinatra with girlfriend Mia Farrow on deck of yacht Southern Breeze, 1965.
Frank Sinatra with girlfriend Mia Farrow on the deck of the yacht Southern Breeze, 1965.Bill Eppridge—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Frank Sinatra 1965.
Frank Sinatra, 1965.John Dominis—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Frank Sinatra giving musicians of the Count Basie Band direction at a rehearsal in an LA sound stage. Count Basie is playing on the piano, 1965.
Sinatra giving musicians of the Count Basie Orchestra direction at a rehearsal at a Los Angeles sound stage, 1965.John Dominis—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Frank Sinatra relaxing with pet dog Ringo at home, 1965.
Sinatra relaxing at home with pet dog Ringo, 1965.John Dominis—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Sammy Davis Jr. talking with singer Frank Sinatra at his farewell peformance, at UCLA, 1971.
Sammy Davis Jr. talking with Sinatra at Sinatra's farewell performance, at UCLA, 1971.Michael Rougier—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Frank Sinatra waves at the camera during a rehearsal for a MPTRF benefit, 1971.
Sinatra waves at the camera during a rehearsal for a benefit concert, 1971.Michael Rougier—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images

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