remember the life of the artist who became a symbol of the 20th century in music and cinema

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While still a teenager, he decided he would be a singer, inspired by Bing Crosby. Destiny changed when bandleader Harry James called him to record, opening the door to hits like All or Nothing at All. In 1940, alongside Tommy Dorsey, he achieved national recognition, but two years later he broke away from the group to build his solo name – a decision that would define the next phase of his career.

From fan hysteria to movie stardom

Between 1943 and 1946, Sinatra established himself as a cultural phenomenon. The “bobby-soxers” filled the shows, earning the young man the nicknames “The Voice” and “The Sultan of Fainting”. In film, he made his debut in 1943 and won his first Oscar two years later for the short film The House I Live In, which promoted racial and religious tolerance. The post-war period, however, shook his popularity: contracts were terminated and the artist faced a period of decline.

The turning point came in 1953, when he played Private Maggio in From Here to Eternity. This role, his first without singing, earned him the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor and revived his career. In music, Capitol Records gave him space to develop a more mature vocal style, supported by a dialogue with jazz.

In the second half of the 1950s and early 1960s, he established himself as a central figure in show business. He earned an Oscar nomination for The Man with the Golden Arm (1955), starred in Under the Dominion of Evil (1962) and, alongside Sammy Davis Jr., Dean Martin, Peter Lawford and Joey Bishop, helped define the Las Vegas imagination with the Rat Pack, a group combining glamour, humor and explosive nightlife.

During this period came the greatest classics: Strangers in the Night (1966), a Grammy winner, and Something Stupid, recorded with his daughter Nancy, which topped the charts for four weeks in 1967. By the end of the decade, My Way would become a definitive Sinatra trademark, immortalizing the confessional tone that characterized much of his work.

The 1970s marked a return after a brief hiatus, with the album Ol’ Blue Eyes Is Back, as well as increasing participation in American politics. Sinatra supported various candidates throughout his life, from Franklin D. Roosevelt to Ronald Reagan – who awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1985.

On a personal level, he was married four times and had three children, all with his first wife, Nancy Barbato. Her private life fueled the tabloids, as did Kitty Kelley’s unauthorized biography published in 1987, which alleged alleged ties to the Mafia – accusations that did not diminish her popularity.

In 1993, at age 77, he reached new generations again with the album Duets, recorded with names such as Barbra Streisand, Tony Bennett and Aretha Franklin. His last public appearance was in 1995, at an event at the Palm Desert Marriott Ballroom, California. Three years later, on May 14, 1998, Sinatra died in Los Angeles at the age of 82.