Sinatra is a 1992 CBS biographical drama miniseries about singer Frank Sinatra, developed and executive produced by Frank's youngest daughter Tina Sinatra and approved by Frank himself.[1][2][3] Directed by James Steven Sadwith, produced by Richard M. Rosenbloom, and written by William Mastrosimone and Abby Mann. It stars Philip Casnoff, Olympia Dukakis, Joe Santos, Gina Gershon, Nina Siemaszko, Bob Gunton, and Marcia Gay Harden, with some of Sinatra's vocals recreated by Tom Burlinson. It won two and was nominated for seven Primetime 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.[4]
| Sinatra | |
|---|---|
 Promotional poster | |
| Genre | Biography Drama |
| Written by | William Mastrosimone Abby Mann |
| Directed by | James Steven Sadwith |
| Starring | Philip Casnoff Olympia Dukakis Joe Santos Gina Gershon Nina Siemaszko Marcia Gay Harden |
| Theme music composer | Artie Butler |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | Tina Sinatra |
| Producer | Richard M. Rosenbloom |
| Production locations | Hoboken, New Jersey Union Station - 800 N. Alameda Street, Downtown, Los Angeles |
| Cinematography | Reynaldo Villalobos |
| Editors | Steve Potter Scott Vickrey |
| Running time | 250 min; 60 min (4 episodes) |
| Production companies | TS Productions Warner Bros. Television |
| Original release | |
| Network | CBS |
| Release | November 8 – November 10, 1992 |
Plot
editFrank Sinatra (Casnoff) emerges from Hoboken, New Jersey, 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 (Posey) and Tommy Dorsey (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 (Harden) and Mia Farrow (Siemaszko) while juggling his movie and singing careers and forming significant friendships with an ambitious young senator named John F. Kennedy (Kelly) and powerful Chicago mob boss Sam Giancana (Steiger).
Cast
edit- Philip Casnoff as Frank Sinatra
- Tom Burlinson as his singing voice
- Olympia Dukakis as Natalie "Dolly" Sinatra
- Joe Santos as Marty Sinatra
- Gina Gershon as Nancy Barbato Sinatra
- Nina Siemaszko as Mia Farrow
- Joe Grifasi as George Evans
- Marcia Gay Harden as Ava Gardner
- Bob Gunton as Tommy Dorsey
- David Raynr as Sammy Davis Jr.
- Ralph Seymour as Budd
- Jeff Corey as Quinlin
- Danny Gans as Dean Martin
- Vincent Guastaferro as Hank Sanicola
- James F. Kelly as John F. Kennedy
- Matthew Posey as Harry James
- Rod Steiger as Salvatore Giancana
- Carol Barbee as Marilyn Maxwell
- David Byrd as Michael Romanoff
- Paul Collins as Westbrook Pegler
- Maggie Egan as Jo Stafford
- Brian Markinson as Sonny Werblin
- Tony Simotes as Buddy Rich
- John Wesley as Sy Oliver
- Marc Grady Adams as Lee Mortimer
- Tony Gaetano as Humphrey Bogart
- Leata Galloway as Billie Holiday
- David A. Kimball as Benny Goodman
- Bruce Gray as Fred Zinneman
- Shelly Lipkin as Joey Bishop
- Jack Betts as Earl Wilson
- Rena Riffel as May Britt
- Brad Blaisdell as Skitch Henderson
- Chris Weatherhead as Mercedes McCambridge
- Patricia Supancic as Nancy at 14
- Beverley Mitchell 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 as Director
Production
editFilming
editFilming was shot on location in Hoboken, New Jersey, and at the Los Angeles Union Station in California.
Reception
editThe series got a mostly positive reception but was accused of whitewashing the controversial aspects of Frank Sinatra's life.[1][5][6][7][8][9]
Awards and nominations
editReferences
edit- ^ a b "COVER STORY : Is This Really His Life? : Frank Sinatra blessed a TV bio with daughter Tina as executive producer. Cynics have already cried whitewash. But the CBS miniseries script includes the heartbreaks, the fights and the Mob. The question is: Why did he allow it?". Los Angeles Times. July 26, 1992.
- ^ "SINATRA PORTRAIT RINGS WITH TRUTH AND CLARITY". Orlando Sentinel. 8 November 1992.
- ^ Strum, Charles (November 8, 1992). "TELEVISION; Sinatra: The Idol, The Institution, The Mini-Series". The New York Times – via NYTimes.com.
- ^ "DVD Talk". www.dvdtalk.com.
- ^ "TELEVISION". Los Angeles Times. January 23, 1992.
- ^ O'Connor, John J. (November 6, 1992). "TV Weekend; Sinatra: The Good, the Bad, and Mostly the Music". The New York Times – via NYTimes.com.
- ^ "GETTING SEMI-TOUGH WITH FRANK SINATRA". Chicago Tribune. 6 November 1992.
- ^ "SINATRA THE MINI-SERIES". Chicago Tribune. 27 May 1992.
- ^ November 06, Ken Tucker Updated; EST, 1992 at 05:00 AM. "Sinatra". EW.com.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "Nominees/Winners". IMDb. Retrieved April 3, 2019.
- ^ "The ASC Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography". American Society of Cinematographers. Archived from the original on 2011-08-02.
- ^ "1993 Artios Awards". Casting Society of America. October 19, 1993. Retrieved September 21, 2023.
- ^ "Sinatra". Golden Globe Awards. Retrieved September 21, 2023.
- ^ "SINATRA". Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Retrieved September 21, 2023.
- ^ "THE 45th ANNUAL EMMY AWARDS: Presenting the Prime of Primetime". Los Angeles Times. September 20, 1993.
- ^ "Emmy Award Nominations 1993: Nighttime Nominees: A Complete Rundown". Los Angeles Times. July 23, 1993.
External links
edit