Frank Sinatra, Jr.

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Frank Sinatra, Jr. (born Franklin Wayne Emmanuel Sinatra on January 10, 1944 in Jersey City, New Jersey) is an American singer and conductor.

He is the son of famed musician Frank Sinatra and his first wife, Nancy Barbato.

Frank Jr. has always existed in the shadow of his far more famous father. Whether he is genuinely talented in his own right has been widely disputed. His supporters feel that if he had been born with another name he could have achieved quite a following of his own, while his detractors have claimed that he has made his entire career off his name. Unlike his sister Nancy, he has never had a major hit recording.

He was kidnapped in December 8, 1963 at Harrah's Lake Tahoe and released two days later after his father paid out the US$240,000 ransom demanded by the kidnappers, who were later captured, prosecuted, convicted, and sentenced to long prison terms. Gladys Root represented one of the kidnappers. In order to communicate with the kidnappers via pay telephone, as per their demands, the senior Sinatra carried a roll of dimes with him throughout this ordeal, which became a life-long habit. Frank Sinatra, Jr. did not seem to be overly scarred by this event. The kidnapping has been later explained in Act Three of the "Plan B" episode from the radio narrative show, This American Life by Barry Keenan, one of the kidnappers. The kidnapping is portrayed in the 2003 made-for-TV movie Stealing Sinatra, which is based on Barry Keenan's story.

At the time of trial, Keenan attempted to make it appear that Sinatra Jr. himself was a willing conspirator in his own kidnapping. This allegation didn't stand up in court, but still proved to be fodder for late-night TV jokes and negative publicity for Frank Jr.'s career.

Frank Sinatra, Jr. has played at times in Las Vegas in the footsteps of his father, but this seemed to invite almost invariably negative comparisons. On seeing the act, Forbes Magazine editor Malcolm Forbes remarked, "Junior Sure Ain't Senior!", to which several readers wrote to ask if he would like his son, Steve Forbes, to be referred to in this manner. Frank Jr. appeared in the Sammy Davis television drama "A Man Called Adam" in 1966 and hosted a summer replacement series while the popular Dean Martin Show was on hiatus in 1968. Since both Davis and Martin were close friends of Frank Sr.'s, it further fueled the notion that Frank Jr.'s career was built on nepotism.

In the later stages of his father's performing career, Frank Sinatra, Jr. became his father's musical director and conductor.

In 1989, Sinatra did a cameo vocal on the acclaimed Was (Not Was) album, "What Up, Dog?" on Chrysalis Records, singing "Wedding Vows In Vegas" with the band. He also appeared with WNW doing that song on Late Night With David Letterman on NBC the same year.

In 1994, Sinatra was offered the role of Vic Fontaine on Star Trek: Deep Space 9. Despite being a fan of the show, he turned it down, declaring that he only wanted to play an alien. He also had a guest spot playing himself on The Sopranos, in a role where it was unclear if he was mocking or acknowledging all the stories about his father's involvement with the mob, and where he lets the character Paulie Walnuts refer to him as the "Chairboy of the Board".

Frank Sinatra Jr. on an episode of Family Guy

Sinatra appeared in a 2006 episode of Family Guy, "Brian Sings and Swings" (Season 4, Episode 21) where he was introduced as the "Member of The Board". He performs several tunes during the show, accompanied by Stewie and Brian. During the ending credits, he sings the Family Guy theme song. He also recorded a commentary for its DVD release.

On June 12, 2006, Sinatra was scheduled to appear as a guest on the Howard Stern Show, but walked out moments before the interview took place, because he refused to sign a mandatory guest release. Eye witnesses, including the show's producer, Gary Dell'Abate, claimed Sinatra was already in a foul mood when he entered the studio offices, which culminated in a fit when Sinatra lashed out and broke a CD and other items against a wall. Sinatra's publicist then asked Dell'Abate to remove an article from the release which demanded the guest have their person searched; Dell'Abate tried to oblige, but Sinatra was already gone by the time he returned to the guest waiting room. Howard Stern, upon hearing this news, asked: "Doesn't he know he's Frank Sinatra, Junior?"

In 2006, Sinatra recorded a new album entitled "That Face" including old evergreens like "You'll Never Know" and the self-penned song "Spice."