Today is the 100th birthday of Frank Sinatra.
For a relatively brief stint in his illustrious career I worked for him as his teleprompter operator. Some may scoff that he couldn’t remember all his lyrics and I say that every night the orchestra would unfurl their sheet music to play such standards as “I’ve Got The World On A String” and “Under My Skin.” I obviously make a joke that I was The Mind behind The Voice, but it was a necessary job.
The cultural icon was born in Hoboken, NJ in 1915 and always had some difficulty remembering lyrics. During his shows he used to tell a story about his time as a singing waiter at The Rustic Cabin in Englewood Cliffs, NJ and tried to sing a Cole Porter song for the man and his entourage, but forgot the lyrics.
And, that’s where I come in, at least in 1986. Prompting is an easy fix for flawed memories, especially during the swirl and commotion of a live event
My five years with Mr. Sinatra took me to places I never would have hoped to visit. He took me to Australia three times, Japan twice. I cut a wide swatch through Europe in our tours; countries like Austria, Monaco, Finland and Italy, among many, many others. Had I not worked a show in Des Moines I doubt I would ever have visited Iowa.
Yes, traveling on Sinatra’s dime had its perks and as the founding father of Vacations From Home traveling to such varied and exotic locations was quite alluring, especially since I only had to pay for my beer. My passport brimmed with stamps. Yeah, there was work, but that never got in the way of exploring with days off. We once traveled to Italy for five weeks and did all of five shows while there. We would travel to Las Vegas, Reno, Atlantic City or London for a week at a time, which allowed me to travel my fledgling family in for mini-vacations. These were good times.
So, happy birthday Francis Albert Sinatra. I am sure there’s a rip-snorting party going on right now!
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