7 The 100 Most Influential Musicians of All Time 7friendships with organized-crime figures. There was also
the widely reported incident, and resulting lawsuit, in
which Sinatra punched a gossip columnist, an action
for which Sinatra received some vindication in later years
when it was revealed that the columnist had collaborated
with the FBI to discredit Sinatra. Sinatra began a five-year
period of professional decline and personal depression.
His divorce from first wife, Nancy, in 1951 and his subse-
quent stormy marriage to actress Ava Gardner further
harmed his reputation. In 1952 his Columbia recording
contract was not renewed, his talent agency discontinued
its sponsorship, and his network television show was
canceled; Sinatra was considered a has-been. Ironically,
several of Sinatra’s recordings from this period are now
considered among his best, especially his 1951 recording of
“I’m a Fool to Want You.”
The Actor
Sinatra appeared in several films throughout the 1940s,
the best among them being the musicals in which he
costarred with dancer Gene Kelly. Of these, Anchors
Aweigh (1945) and Take Me Out to the Ballgame (1949) are
pleasant diversions, whereas On the Town (1949) ranks
among the greatest of film musicals. It was acting, rather
than music, that precipitated Sinatra’s comeback in 1953.
He played the role of the scrappy, tragic soldier, Maggio,
in From Here to Eternity (1953), and his performance
earned him an Oscar for best supporting actor. Sinatra
went on to become one of the top film stars of the 1950s
and ’60s. The political thriller The Manchurian Candidate
(1962) is perhaps Sinatra’s greatest film and features his
best performance. In later years, he was memorable in The
Detective (1968) and in his final starring role in The First
Deadly Sin (1980).