[sinatraphiles] October 7 - THIS DATE IN SINATRA HISTORY

From: Scott Henderson <scott@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: sinatraphiles@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Date: Sat, 07 Oct 2023 10:05:08 -0400

Studio

NONE

Radio

1939  Live Remote:  Panther Room, Hotel Sherman, Chicago, Illinois
Saturday Afternoon
2:30 p.m. - 2:45 p.m.
NBC Blue  & Red Networks -- WJZ & WEAF - New York City
Harry James &  His Orchestra
Harry on lead trumpet, Jack Schaeffer, Claude Brown, Jack Palmer (trumpets), Russell Brown, Truett Jones, Dalton Rizzotto (trombone), Dave Matthews, Claude Lakey (alto sax), Bill Luther, Drew Page (tenor/baritone sax), Jack Gardner (piano), Red Kent (guitar), Thurman Teague (bass), Mickey Scrima (drums), Marie Carroll, Frank Sinatra, Jack Palmer (vocals)

1944 Your Hit Parade
Network: CBS
Program #490
Time: 9:00-9:40 P.M. (Rebroadcast October 8, 1944 12:00-12:40 A.M.)
Sponsor: Lucky Strike
Script by: Tom Langan
Script (Final As Broadcast)
1. Singing On A Star (6) - Frank Sinatra
2. Hallelujah - Orchestra
3. It Had To Be You (7) - Joan Edwards
4. commercial
5. When The Red Red Robin Comes Bob Bob Bobin' Along - Orchestra & Hit Paraders
6. Let Me Love You Tonight (9) - Frank Sinatra
7. Alabamy Bound - Orchestra
8. station break
9. Time Waits For No One (5) - Hit Paraders
10. How Many Hearts Have You Broken (4) - Joan Edwards
11. commercial
12. Together (3) - Hit Paraders
13. Is You Is Or Is You Ain't (2) - Joan  Edwards
14. commercial
15. I'll Walk Alone (1) - Frank Sinatra
Notes: Show was revised to 40mins. for Democratic National Committee.

1949 Light Up Time
Sponsor: Lucky Strike Cigarettes
Network: NBC
Show #25
Broadcast: 4:00-4:15 PM PST (Repeat: 8:00-8:15 PM PST)
Starring: Frank Sinatra & Dorothy Kirsten
Jeff Alexander And The Orchestra
Script (as broadcast)
1. opening
2. It All Depends On You - Frank Sinatra
3. commercial 1
4. You Go To My Head - Dorothy Kirsten
5. You're In Love With Someone - Frank Sinatra
6. commercial 2
7. My Romance - Frank Sinatra & Dorothy Kirsten
8. closing

Television

1950 The Frank Sinatra Show
Network: CBS
Location: New York City
Script Dated: October 7, 1950
Show: #1 (PREMIER)
Sponsor: sustaining
Time: 9:00 P.M.-10:00 P.M.
Writers: Harry Crane
Producer: Paul Dudley
Director: Hal Gerson
Announcer: Ken Roberts
Orchestra Conducted By: Axel Stordahl
Guests: J. Carrol Naish, Ben Blue, Mary Mayo, Harrison and Kaye (tap dancers), The Moon Mists
1. When You're Smiling - Frank Sinatra
2. I Concentrate On You - Frank Sinatra
3. sketch: "Chaplin" Frank Sinatra as "The Kid" & Ben Blue as "Charlie Chaplin"
4. sketch: "Life With Luigi" - Frank Sinatra & J. Carrol Naish
5. Ol' Man River - Frank Sinatra

Ed O'Brien:
Frank's first TV series got off to a rough start.
There were changes made almost immediately and
a certain amount of panic set in. William Paley personally
oversaw the revamping of the show and Sinatra let CBS
and his agent know just how unhappy he was. Here
is an article from the 11-4-50 issue of Billboard

SINATRA PUTS MCA ON NOTICE
NEW YORK. Oct 28 -- As a result of the difficulties
he has been having with his CBS-TV show, Frank
Sinatra this week gave MCA its dismissal as his
agent. The singer feels he has not gotten adequate
video representation from the firm, the result of which
was that his first program was very badly received.
Some of Sinatra's advisers, however, are trying
to straighten out the situation harmoniously and
bring the vocalist back into the MCA stable. Sinatra,
also, is not too happy at the treatment accorded him
by CBS-TV, which has assigned one of its better, b
ut more overworked producers -- Irving Mans-
field -- to his show, after Paul Dudley, the initial
producer, was moved off the program. The Sinatra
contract with MCA has two more years to go.

Actually the ratings were not all that bad.
Avg. audience for the month of Oct 1950
1. Your Show of Shows NBC 30.6
2. Frank Sinatra Show CBS 19.5
3. Madison Square Garden Rodeo DuMont 10.9
4. NFL Pro Football ABC 8.6
(pro football was no big deal back then)

Ed O'Brien:
The highlights of this first show were the songs. Frank opened with "When You're
Smiling" using the Siravo arrangement. Sounds very much like the Blackpool version
in 1953. After the song, he thanked the audience for coming to his "opening night.'
Porter's classic "I Concentrate On You" featured a Stordahl chart, heavy on strings.
Frank closed out the song with a gorgeous falsetto note on "you." Before "Ol' Man
River," the perils of live TV had Frank yelling for the mike." His powerful rendition
revealed there was no foundation to the claims that his voice was shot in the early
'50s. Overall show was a mixed bag, but Sinatra's singing was superb.

Concerts

1935 Fox Theatre, San Diego, CA (October 6-8)
The Hoboken Four
touring with the Major Bowes' Radio Amateurs

1939 Panther Room, Hotel Sherman, Chicago , Illinois (September 8 - November 3)
Harry James and his Orchestra w/Frank Sinatra

1940 Surf Ballroom, Clear Lake, Iowa (One Nighter)

If you haven't heard of the Surf Ballroom then you're missing out on a part of history.
Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J. P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson gave their last performances at the Surf on February 2, 1959 as part of the "Winter Dance Party Tour". Holly, Valens and Richardson left The Surf immediately after the show, going to the nearby Mason City airport and chartering a small plane to take them to Fargo, North Dakota to prepare for their next show at the Moorhead Armory in Moorhead, Minnesota. The plane took off at 12:55 AM Central Time on Tuesday February 3, 1959. Shortly after takeoff, the plane crashed, killing everyone aboard.

A concrete monument was erected outside The Surf, and the ballroom is adorned with large pictures of the three musicians.
A street flanking the facility's east property line is named Buddy Holly Place in his honor.

1941 Hamilton-Butler Sesqui-Centennial Celebration, Fairgrounds, Hamilton, Ohio (One-Nighter)
Tommy Dorsey and his Orchestra w/Frank Sinatra

1943 Wedgwood Room, Waldorf Astoria , New York City (October 1 - November 30)

1952 Chase Park Plaza Hotel, St Louis, Missouri (4-10)

1953 SANDS, LAS VEGAS, Nevada (7-27)
Frank Sinatra & Orch (8) with Bill Miller, Nicholas
Bros.(2),Charles Nelson, Bek Steiner, Bryon Balmer,
Copa Girls (10), Ray Sinatra Orch (12); no cover or
minimum

Frank Sinatra has always appealed to the gambling
genre. His previous bookings in Las Vegas have
signalled turn away biz for the entire span. Now,
bolstered even more by the success of the Maggio
role in "From Here To Eternity," he reaches into
ranks of moderate bet-flingers and insures more
than capacity for his three-frame Sandstand.
Although high on the list as a top moneymaker in
Vegas, Sinatra's vocals and attitude have left much
to be desired among discriminating customers. With
this return, he fronts a dulcet musical ensemble and
warbles a rather subdued repertoire of standards. As
he meanders down memory lane, Sinatra slams the
door on his former worshippers to please an older and
less exuberant set of applauders.
Whether selling a fleeting hit parader or an evergreen,
the unmistakable stamp of quality is always evident.
Jarring the pleasant reverie are tendencies to insert
dubious gags or parody lines in great established
melodies, ennui and mechanically phrased offerings
of humility. Offset these by top showmanship, striving
toward perfection, flair for the dramatic, and that's
the very complex guy Sinatra.
Very few of the current crop of male singers could equal
his contouring of "My Funny Valentine," "Spring Is Here,"
"Someone To Watch Over Me," or create the spine-tingle
of his "One For My Baby." In these ballads he reaches
the heights. Such profuse programming of oldies tends
to pall, with similarity of mood and tempi needing even
more sock shots in the rhythm section than he formats.
Insertion of "This Can't Be Love," Coffee In Brazil," "All
Of Me" in mild jump tempo does aid somewhat in relieving
the legato streams. Although reception varies throughout,
Sinatra exits to kingsize mitts.
VARIETY
October 21, 1953

Ed O'Brien notes: This was Frank's first engagement at the Sands.
He would perform there many times over the next 15
years. In September of 1953 he would have a chamber
group ( Frank's description) of nine backing him. He
reduced it by one for the Sands appearances.

1974 The Main Event, Philadelphia , PA
With Woody Herman And The Young Thundering Herd
Conducted By: Bill Miller
1. The Lady is a Tramp
2. I Get a Kick out of You
3. Let me try Again
4. My Kind of Town
5. Ol' Man River
6. monologue
7. I Get Along Without You Very Well
8. I've Got You Under my Skin
9. Send in the Clowns
10. If
11. You Are the Sunshine of my Life
12. What Are you doing the rest of Your Life
13. My Way

Notes: The verse of "I Get A Kick Out Of You" and the song "Let Me Try Again" Appear On The CD: The Main Event (Reprise).
(The Philly concert was released as part of the "Standing Room Only" three-CD set issued in 2018--Ed)

1976 Civic Center, Hartford, CT
Time: 8:00 PM
Orchestra Conducted By: Bill Miller
Opening Act: Sam Butera & The Witnesses
1.  I Write the Songs
2.  Where or When
3.  Stargazer
4.  The Lady Is a Tramp
5.  Embraceable You
6.  My Funny Valentine
7.  I Get Along Without You Very Well (Except Sometimes)
8.  For Once in My Life
9.  Like a Sad Song
10.  This Is All I Ask
11.  Never Gonna Fall in Love Again
12.  It Was a Very Good Year
13.  Night and Day
14.  My Way

1980 Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, Nevada (October 3-8)
Key Musicians: Vincent Falcone Jr. - piano, Charles Turnner - trumpet, Gene Cherico - bass, Irv Cottler - drums.
Orchestra Conducted by: Vincent Falcone Jr.
Pat Henry  opening act

There were two-shows on 10/3 & 10/4.
Muhammad Ali vs Larry Holmes was the main attraction at Caesars on 10/2.
Frank was at ringside for that sad affair.
Ed

1990 Sands, Atlantic City, New Jersey
Closing Night
Orchestra Conducted By: Frank Sinatra, Jr.
1. I've Got The World On A String
2. A Foggy Day
3. For Once In My Life
4. Come Rain Or Come Shine
5. The Lady Is A Tramp
6. Where Or When
7. monologue
8. Bewitched
9. What Now, My Love?
10. Strangers In The Night
11. The Best Is Yet To Come
12. medley: The Gal That Got Away / It Never Entered My Mind
13. Mack The Knife
14. One For My Baby
15. My Way
16. Summer Wind
17. New York, New York
Notes: TT 72mins.

1991 Congresgebouw, Hague, Holland
Monday evening
W/ Steve & Eydie
Orchestra Conducted By: Frank Sinatra, Jr.
1. Come Fly With Me
2. Where Or When
3. You Make Me Feel So Young
4. Come Rain Or Come Shine
5. For Once In My Life
6. The Lady Is A Tramp
7. monologue
8. Bewitched
9. The Best Is Yet To Come
10. Summer Wind
11. I've Got You Under My Skin
12. Mack The Knife
13. One For My Baby
14. Luck Be A Lady
15. New York, New York
16. Frank, Steve, & Eydie - Hits Medley: Come Fly With Me / Night
And Day / I Get A Kick Out Of You / I've Got The World On A
String / You Make Me Feel So Young / All The Way / When You're Smiling / Young At Heart / Zing! Went The Strings Of My Heart
17. My Way
Notes: TT 91mins.

-------------------------------------------

EXTRA:

1935 Fox Theatre, San Diego, CA (October 6-8)
The Hoboken Four
touring with the Major Bowes' Radio Amateurs

Heres an extra that occurred October 7, 1935 in San Diego
The Major Bowes Amateurs who were in town gave a performance for members of the Ad Club.
No mention if the Hoboken Four were among the artists who performed.

Emacs!

-----------------------------------------

1940, Surf Ballroom, Clear Lake, Iowa (One Nighter)

Emacs!

-----------------------------------------------------------

1941 Hamilton-Butler Sesqui-Centennial Celebration, Fairgrounds, Hamilton, Ohio (September 7 - one-nighter)

Emacs!

Aug. 24, 1992 - Dorsey, Sinatra and Rich helped Hamilton swing:

Journal-News, Monday, Aug. 24, 1992
Dorsey, Sinatra, Rich helped Hamilton swing during sesquicentennial in 1941

By Jim Blount

Ask anyone who was in town for Hamilton's 150th birthday celebration in 1941 what was the most memorable event and there's a good chance the answer will be the six nights of big band music and dancing held at the Butler County Fairgrounds.

A "Garden Under the Stars" was created for the five-band event, which was headlined by the talents of Tommy Dorsey, Frank Sinatra, Connie Haines, Buddy Rich and Ziggy Elman all in one night.

Dorsey, whose "I'm Getting Sentimental Over You" earned him the sobriquet "the sentimental gentleman" was billed as "the greatest swing trombonist in the country" whose music would appeal to Hamilton-area "hep cats and jive enthusiasts." Vocalist Connie Haines was called "the sweetheart of swing."

The "Garden Under the Stars" featured a sheltered, hardwood dance floor measuring 149 by 30.5 feet which could accommodate more than 2,000 people and tables and chairs. A 10-foot high white picket fence surrounded the area.

"The entire garden and the floor are illuminated by myriads of gaily-colored electric lights and sesquicentennial banners and buntings in attractive decorative arrangements," noted Frances Eberling, a Journal-News reporter."

Fred M. Stitsinger was chairman of the big-band committee and, according to the newspaper, "the one who conceived the idea of a Garden Under the Stars."

The series started Monday night, Oct. 4, 1941, with the Raymond Scott band; followed Tuesday by Tommy Dorsey; Wednesday by Henry King; Thursday by Leighton Noble; and Friday and Saturday by Frankie Masters.

Dorsey was the top draw, attracting "more than 4,000 swing-conscious Butler Countians and their sesquicentennial celebration guests" for a four-hour show, reported Bill Moeller.

"Dorsey played under severe handicap," Moeller said, because "he suffered a sprained back Sunday while playing tennis in Pittsburgh and was advised by his doctor to take it easy for several days."

Instead, Dorsey was on the Hamilton bandstand Tuesday night "for three hours without a break until intermission" and "had to be assisted from the stand."

The most requested songs were "Quiet Please," featuring drummer Buddy Rich, "And the Angels Sing," starring trumpeter Ziggy Elman; "I'll Never Smile Again" with Frank Sinatra and the Pied Pipers; and "Marie" and "Song of India" by the band.

Dorsey's "I'll Never Smile Again" had been the top tune of 1940 and would rank in the top 10 for the 1940-1949 decade.

Sinatra known for making teenage bobby-soxers scream and swoon was 23 years old and in the final year of his three-year stint with the Dorsey band.

Of his Hamilton audience, Dorsey said "it is one of the most enthusiastic crowds I've ever seen and one of the largest packed into a place this size."

Bill Moeller wrote that "several times the crowd had to be warned against shoving" because "jam-fans in the distant rows sought to get a better look at the Dorsey musicians."

"Although the music was not scheduled to start until 9 o'clock, many jive devotees were at the garden as early as 7 o'clock. A line started to form around the band stand shortly before 8 o'clock and the early birds still were in their original positions when the music stopped at 1 o'clock, " Moeller reported.

Attendance for the six nights of big-band music was about 9,000, including Thursday night when rain and cold limited the dance crowd to about 300 and caused cancellation of some other sesquicentennial programs. Total attendance for all events was about 100,000, according to 1941 newspaper reports.

-------------------------------------

1950 The Frank Sinatra Show
Network: CBS
Location: New York City
Script Dated: October 7, 1950
Show: #1 (PREMIER)
Sponsor: sustaining
Time: 9:00 P.M.-10:00 P.M.
Writers: Harry Crane
Producer: Paul Dudley
Director: Hal Gerson
Announcer: Ken Roberts
Orchestra Conducted By: Axel Stordahl
Guests: J. Carrol Naish, Ben Blue, Mary Mayo, Harrison and Kaye (tap dancers), The Moon Mists

Emacs!

Emacs!

Emacs!

Variety
10-11-50

-------------------------------------------

1953 SANDS, LAS VEGAS, Nevada (7-27)
Frank Sinatra & Orch (8) with Bill Miller, Nicholas
Bros.(2),Charles Nelson, Bek Steiner, Bryon Balmer,
Copa Girls (10), Ray Sinatra Orch (12); no cover or
minimum

Emacs!

Emacs!

sinatra01

Emacs!

Thanks to Michel Macaire for above photo

Emacs!

Emacs!

           Billboard
           10-31-53
           review of 10-19-53 show

Frank was originally set to open on 10-4 but his marriage
was falling apart and Ava was his primary concern. Then the date
was changed to 10-8. Variety has a small article mentioning this
opening. Frank told Jack Entratter that he might have to push
the date up to 10-13. He was in negotiations with Elia Kazan
and Sam Spiegel for the plum role of Terry Malloy in Columbia
Pictures "On The Waterfront." At the same time, Lucille Ball
and Desi Arnaz had formed their own production company.
They had created a show for Frank in which he would play
a down and out club performer. The tentative title was
"Blues In The Night." Frank was also set to start, on 10-6,
a dramatic radio show titled "Frankie Galahad." He was
a taxi driver in N.Y.C., who solved crimes. At the last moment
it was switched to "Rocky Fortune." According to Variety,
Frank taped the debut show, in Los Angeles, on the afternoon
of the 6th. He then decided to open at the Sands the next day.
Variety, in their 10-7 issue, had B & J Kean as the headliners
with the Louis Jordan Orchestra. They had opened in mid-
September and Jack Entratter extended their run until Frank's
appearance was set. Entratter got ads in the late editions
of the Tuesday papers and also in Wednesday's.
           Opening night was a bit of a disaster. Ava would not
attend, Frank was distraught and it showed. His finely tuned
octet felt it too. They hit a few clams and Frank exploded
at them during the actual performance.The Vegas papers were
highly critical of his behavior. Billboard reviewed his show on
10-13. The reviewer mentioned opening night and how Frank
redeemed himself the following week. Entratter had cut back on
the supporting acts to give Sinatra a full hour of singing to a
very appreciative crowd. Frank's cousin, Ray, was on the bill,
but he was not involved with Frank's segment of the show. The
star was billed as "Frank Sinatra & Orchestra."
             Frank opted to go with two radio shows and skip the
offer from Desi and Lucy. He knew how draining a TV series could
be and "Pink Tights" was set for a mid-December start at 20th
Century, and other offers were pouring in everyday, regardless of
what happened with the "Waterfront" project. And he was about to
record his first Capitol album with Nelson Riddle conducting George
Siravo's charts.
             On 10-31, Frank appeared before the Nevada Tax
Commission. He was applying for a state gambling license. He
was awarded the license and the Sands increased his ownership
to two percent. After the hearing, Sinatra returned to the Sands
and threw a big party. He also performed. Which bring us to the
question of when did he close his first engagement at the hotel.
The 10-28 issue of Variety has him performing for the final week
of October. The 11-4 Variety does not list any entertainment during
the first week of November. The 11-11 has Jeanette MacDonald
opening. Frank set new attendance records during his engagement.
Variety gave him a rave review and the Sands couldn't wait for his
next appearance.
Ed

Scott:
I went with October 27th because of this article from October 28th:

Emacs!

The second paragraph says contacted at the Sands Hotel where he finished out a show stand last night. I took that to mean the 27th. I saw no ad for the Sands however in the Las Vegas Review Journal on the 27th with the last ad appearing on the 26th but not saying anything about it being the last night. I also assumed that if he opened on Wednesday then he would have closed on a Tuesday being October 27th. Jeanette MacDonald opened October 28th at the Sands:

Emacs!

--------------------------------------

1974 The Main Event, Philadelphia , PA
With Woody Herman And The Young Thundering Herd
Conducted By: Bill Miller

The mob ticket heist that may have produced an incredible Frank Sinatra show at the Spectrum

A new Sinatra recording uncovers an incredible story about the ticket heist that made it happen.

Emacs!

An enthusiastic audience watches Frank Sinatra perform during an October 7, 1974 concert at the Spectrum.

PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER

    by Jonathan Takiff, For the Inquirer
    Published May. 3, 2018, 4:29 p.m. ET

No, Frank Sinatra never commissioned Kander and Ebb to "start spreading the news" or paid Sammy Cahn and Jimmy Van Heusen to write a musical homage to our kind of ring-a-ding rocking town.

But listening to the first authorized concert recording of Sinatra captured locally at the Spectrum part of the three-show package dubbed Standing Room Only (Universal Music www.sinatra.com) it's clear that Philadelphians held a special place in the pop icon's heart. Back atcha, fella. On Oct. 7, 1974, the collective South Philly crowd cheered for his overtured entry so intensely, "we physically felt it, the sonic pressure pushing us back like a strong headwind," remembers Sid Mark, the veteran 61 years! host of Sinatra radio shows (now Sunday morning/mid-day on WPHT 1210-AM), who walked Frank up the ramp to the Spectrum stage that evening.

And that roar wouldn't quit. You'll then hear Frank's lavish 40-piece orchestra Woody Herman's Young Thundering Herd vamping through the opening intro to "Tramp" (a.k.a. "The Lady is a Tramp") a crazy six times over. Finally, the singer finds an opening to jump in with his swinging homage to that free-spirited scamp who never "dishes the dirt" or "bothers with people she hates."

That was just for starters. The level of excitement and fevered response is equally palpable and unprecedented around Sinatra performances of the jazzy, finger-snapping "My Kind of Town" and "I've Got You Under My Skin." Even more so when he takes on grand ballads that show off his pop-operatic flair. Like on the "not heard much" anymore "Ol' Man River" and almost as demanding "Send in the Clowns." It all underscored that the artist, then 58, hadn't lost of speck of his skill set or his empathy for the downtrodden and brokenhearted.
Advertisement

Several times over, Sinatra pauses to remark about "the great love in the room" and declares, "This is the most fantastic welcome. We've been playing other towns and I can tell you, with all due respect, they're marvelous in other towns, but they're like a cookie sale. When you holler, you really holler here. I'm telling you something [they're] nothing like this." And while Sinatra is often exuding the brash and mercurial playboy persona who has all the answers slamming the press "bums" (Rex Reed, Rona Barrett) and comically squelching a chatterbox there's one moment during the Philly date where the veneer breaks, emotion gets the better of him. The man's on the verge of verklempt.

A fitting tribute timed to the 20th anniversary of his passing at age 82, the Spectrum show release is bookended in this career-arcing package with a swinging, "I've just turned 50" 1966 show from Sinatra's stronghold at the Sands Hotel-Casino in Las Vegas, backed by the walloping Count Basie Big Band, and conducted by Quincy Jones. On the other side, there's a performance from Dallas in 1987, where The Voice shows weathering but the spirit remains strong. Even ragged notes are turned to dramatic advantage. The only technical/theatrical aids he's needing are those still dazzling band charts, a serious sound system, and a low-slung teleprompter screen keeping song lyrics in his sights. Yeah, the man was slammed for bringing that cheatin' TV tool to the stage. Today, virtually every arena artist uses a teleprompter as a security blanket.

But that middle-of-the-package Philly show is really one for the books for reasons mostly, although not totally, grand. The recording captures Sinatra on the comeback trail with the Ol' Blue Eyes is Back album and tour, marking his return after a cut-short retirement "to spend time with the family and paint" that "quickly drove the guy nuts," mused Mark. "He missed the excitement, missed the music."

And the fan base was now extra hot to fox-trot with the legend in concert. A marketing strategy milked by his national tour producer Jerry Weintraub and manager/attorney Mickey Rudin with a total of three '74 shows in Philly. The first two in April (21-22) were part of a tour ostensibly benefiting Variety International, an entertainers-founded charity for children (known locally for its summer camp) that had honored Sinatra as its Man of the Year. Then came the Oct. 7 show that was a warm-up (and backup recording date) for "The Main Event," a televised Madison Square Garden concert that took place six nights later, famously pumped like a championship prize fight by show announcer Howard Cosell.

"I can't believe we're back here so soon, but here we are," Sinatra told the crowd surrounding him with love at that October Spectrum show. That's the utterance wherein he's almost losing it. "Frank liked a center stage to get him closer to the crowd," recalls another longtime local DJ pal, Jerry Blavat. "Plus, in the round, he could pack in more people and sell more ringside seats."

At the time, this fledgling music critic/reporter for the Philadelphia Daily News believed there was another reason Frank Sinatra had returned here so quickly. Namely, as an apologetic "make-good" date for the devotees who had been first in line to buy tickets to the April shows but oddly wound up with distant seat locations. So maybe that's why we hear the fans yelling so aggressively on this October night?

First whispered in my ear way back when by agitated principals in the Spectrum organization, the story was that self-proclaimed "friends" of Sinatra classic tough guys had shown up at the South Philly arena's offices and forcefully demanded preferred status to buy the best seats in the house, weeks before the tickets were offered to the public. Not a few dozen ducats, not a few hundred, but several thousand, which they would then resell on the street and through ticket brokers at greatly marked-up prices.

My informants were reluctant to go on the record and name names or affiliations, fearing for their "health." But their concerns were later verified when tickets went on sale and first-in-line-buyers called me to complain how they'd been stiffed, sold seats 20 rows back. Or worse.

Ever protective of the Sinatra legacy, Mark, 84, still says "I don't believe that happened." Blavat, 77, acknowledges "Mickey Rudin held back tickets for Frank's friends to buy, but 50 or a hundred per show, at the most 500." As for the thought that Mafia mobsters might have engaged in a major ticket heist, the Geator scoffs, "That's BS. It was always rumored, but I was with him close to 30 years, and traveled with Junior [now deceased Frank Sinatra Jr.] for much of his life. There were no such people around."

So then we got in touch with Larry Magid, the seasoned Philly promoter whose Electric Factory Concerts aligned with Weintraub to produce the local Sinatra dates. And he finally spilled the complete story, guarded for 44 years.

"Frankie Flowers [D'Alfonso] a big-time bookmaker and florist who I casually knew called and asked for tickets for 'friends of Frank,'" Magid related. "I said I was willing to sell him four. I think the top price was $12.50. Maybe $15. Then that Saturday he came to my office with this other beefy guy who said he was with the Teamsters. 'Four tickets won't do, we want to buy 2,500,' Frankie told me in a soft 'good cop' voice. I told him we couldn't do this, that it would look bad to the public. And over the years we'd learned that if you say 'no' to mobsters when they try to shake you down, they usually back off."

Not this day. "Suddenly, the other guy threw himself across my desk, grabbed me by the throat, and started squeezing, choking, yelling he's going to kill me if they don't get the tickets," Magid remembers with a bitter laugh. "So now I'm starting to figure out what 'friends of Frank' really means. Still, I told them that it wasn't in my control to sell them that many tickets, as the distribution was under the Spectrum's control, which is why they then went and paid a 'social call' to the Spectrum people and put the scare on them."

But before blood was spilt, Sinatra's consigliere Rudin got in on the act. He phoned Magid and repeated the mantra "'They're Frank's friends, just sell 'em the tickets to the April shows. Whatever they want, he wants.' So finally, reluctantly, we did," acknowledges the promoter. "And then, of course, took heat for it from the press and even on radio, surprisingly, from [WFIL DJ] Long John Wade."

As for the wild exuberance of the crowd at that Oct. 7, 1974, Standing Room Only show, Mark has an alternative and equally plausible explanation. "The day before the concert, on my 'Sunday with Sinatra' radio show, I told listeners 'If you're going, I want you to be on your feet when the orchestra starts playing. Then I want to hear the loudest ovation ever, even before he sings the first note. Bless 'em, they all came through."

--------------------------------------------------

1991 Congresgebouw, Hague, Holland

Emacs!

Frank Sinatra bedankt in 1991 het publiek in het Haagse Congresgebouw
(Frank Sinatra thanks the public in 1991 in the Hague Congress Building)

--Thanks to Carl Rasmussen for the note and photo above

© 1997-2023 The Sinatra Archive
This calendar, or any parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any fashion
whatsoever without the prior written permission of the publisher (The
Sinatra Archive)

[sinatraphiles] October 7 - THIS DATE IN SINATRA HISTORY

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