Happy Birthday, Frank!

 

Cake and champagne to celebrate Sinatra's birthday

 

One of the things that drew Tim and me together, 30 years ago, was a common love of Frank Sinatra. We both grew-up listening to his music and watching his films. His infatuation with Ava Gardner was romantically epic; plus he was, for a little while at least, a friend of the Kennedys. What's not to love?

Yesterday would have been Frank's 100th birthday. To celebrate, we schlepped over the hill to see John Pizzarelli—another favorite singer—perform iconic Sinatra songs at the Valley Performing Arts Center. We were certainly among peers: everyone there was either our age or older. Cake and champagne were served during intermission, after we all sang "Happy Birthday" to the one-and-only Chairman of the Board.

BTW, if you're a fan, there's an interesting Sinatra exhibit running through February 2016 at the Grammy Museum. Lots of film-clips and memorabilia to see and a good overview of his career.

 

Me and the elevator at the Grammy Museum—

winter has finally arrived, can you tell? 

Frank Sinatra’s Home

Built in 1947, the former Sinatra estate, called Twin Palms, is located in what used to be the heart of Palm Springs’ “movie colony,” not far from our hotel. Architect E. Stewart Williams reportedly completed the house in seven months--just in time for Frank’s big annual Christmas party. According to one account, the home was so popular with Sinatra’s Hollywood friends that it inspired others to move to the desert, helping usher in the wave of modernism that defines the area today.

From the street, the house looked like any of the other mid-century homes in the neighborhood. But the entrance soon took our breath away as it opened onto a huge piano-shaped pool. Just beyond was the house with its sliding glass doors and floor-to-ceiling windows that look out on the pool. Though we were early, people were already touring the home by the time we arrived. A man wearing a vintage suit and Sinatra-style hat was pointing out historic architectural features.

As soon as we entered the living room, Tim made a beeline for Frank’s state-of-the-art recording console that controlled music piped throughout the house.



We then wandered the halls, admiring the view while pretending we were at a Rat Pack party. Frank Jr.’s bedroom--now covered in photos of Frank Sr. and various celebrities (note the prominent portrait of Ava Gardner)--was especially popular as we all tried to guess who was in each picture.

An outdoor buffet eventually forced us to join the other diners in the backyard. Our tablemates were a filmmaker and her husband, plus an "ex-pat" L.A. couple who now live in La Quinta but maintain a condo in Marina del Rey. After our fill of roast beef sliders (Tim) and chicken (me), we took one last stroll through the house before returning to the pool. In the distance I could see more food. Could it be dessert? Indeed! Hundreds of tiny cupcakes were elegantly stacked for our pleasure.

“Where have you been my entire life?” I asked, after biting into a scrumptious strawberry champagne cupcake. I grabbed a lemon tart and one more cupcake (white chocolate raspberry--yum!), before Tim dragged me away toward the car. A truly magical evening.


The master bedroom











The guest bedroom














Frank Jr,'s bedroom

Louis & Keely: Live at the Sahara

Like a lot of baby-boomers, Tim and I grew-up listening to American “standards” as well as rock ‘n roll. In fact, a shared love of Frank Sinatra was one of the things that drew us together. We’re also big fans of Bobby Darin (during his “Frank period”) and Louie Prima and Keely Smith, whom we remember seeing several times on the Ed Sullivan Show when we were kids.

Louie and Keely were the Sonny and Cher of their day. Not only did songwriter-singer Louie Prima marry a much younger woman (22 years his junior), he—like Sonny did with Cher—also helped make her into a legendary songstress. What was always most fascinating to me, though, was the way they interacted on stage. Louie was uncontrollable, leaping around the stage like a banshee, while Keely stood cool as a cucumber, refusing to be moved by his antics. Sonny and Cher imitated this schtick a decade later, but (even to my young eyes) never did it quite as well.

Last year, a play called Louis & Keely: Live at the Sahara opened to rave reviews at the Sacred Fools Theater in East Hollywood. We were too late to get tickets, but did see it when it moved to The Matrix on Melrose a few months later. We were totally blown away. Written and performed by Jake Broder and Vanessa Claire Smith, the play chronicles Louie and Keely’s relationship from the time they met to the end of their marriage. Smith is good as Keely; but it’s really Broder’s show as he sings, jumps and sweats his way through more than ten highly energetic songs. We were exhausted by the time we left the theater.

Though Tim isn’t much for repeat performances, he did eagerly agree to see the show again when it returned to L.A. two weeks ago. Now at the Geffen’s intimate Audrey Skirball Kenis Theater in Westwood, the play has been reworked (i.e., tightened) by Oscar-nominated director Taylor Hackford, who is also a big Louie and Keely fan. New characters have been added, including Sinatra, who plays a major role in the couple’s ultimate breakup. I didn’t think it was possible, but this revamped version is even better than the original.

So if you’re in the L.A. area and love the old Vegas singers of our youth, then I highly recommend grabbing tickets to Louis & Keely: Live at the Sahara. The play runs till April 26 and is well worth the price of admission.