Frank Sinatra's Life and Loves
Sinatra was in a slump when he met the beautiful Ava Gardner at a party. Soon they were driving through the night guns blazing, says James Kaplan in an excerpt from his new biography, Frank.

Keystone / Getty Images,Keystone

Sinatra and Gardner attending a Hollywood party in February 1952.
Keystone / Getty Images

Sinatra and Gardner leaving London for a trip to Africa, where she was to make a film in November 1952.
Reg Birkett, Keystone / Getty Images

Gardner arranges Sinatra's bow tie at London's Washington Hotel on December 9, 1951, prior to their leaving for the Coliseum Theater for the "Midnight Matinee."
AP Photo

Sinatra poses for a photograph with Gardner at the gala debut of Ernest Hemingway's romantic adventure drama Snows of Kilimanjaro on September 18, 1952, at the Rivoli Theater in New York.
AP Photo

Gardner and Sinatra during a visit to Hawaii in the 1950s.
Pictorial Parade / Getty Images

Frank Sinatra is The Voice.
Bill Dudas / MPTV

Fans surround Frank Sinatra as he arrives in Pasadena, California, August 11, 1943, for Hollywood film and singing engagements.
John T. Burns / AP Photo

The iconic mug shot. Defiance, style, and the astonishing intelligence of the pale, wide-set eyes.
Michael Ochs Archives / Getty images

Frank Sinatra in Higher and Higher, 1943.
Courtesy of Perseus Books

Frank Sinatra and Gene Kelly play a couple of sailors on shore leave in MGM's Anchors Aweigh, 1945.
Michael Ochs Archives / Getty Images

Gloria DeHaven and Frank Sinatra in Step Lively, 1944.
Courtesy of Perseus Books

The Sinatras at home,1948.

Frank Sinatra and his wife Nancy at the Mocambo in Hollywood.
NY Daily News Archive / Getty Images

Frank recording at Capitol Studio C, West Hollywood.
Sid Avery / MPTV

Frank Sinatra is seen in Las Vegas with new love interest, actress Ava Gardner. Sinatra split with his first wife, Nancy, to marry Gardner in 1951.
AP Photo

Singer Frank Sinatra and screen actress Ava Gardner cut their wedding cake following their marriage in Philadelphia, November 7, 1951.
Hulton Archive / Getty Images

Sinatra and Donna Reed hold their Oscars for From Here to Eternity, 1954.
Hulton Archive / Getty Images

American actress Grace Kelly smiles as she points a camera at Frank Sinatra during a pause in production of the film High Society, January 19, 1956.
AP Photo

Frank Sinatra sings "You're Sensational" to Grace Kelly in High Society, 1956.
Courtesy of Perseus Books

American singer and actor Frank Sinatra is presented to Queen Elizabeth II in the foyer of the Odeon Theater, Leicester Square, London, October 27, 1958, at the premiere of Danny Kaye's film, Me and the Colonel.
AP Photo

The Rat Pack takes a stroll in front of the Sands in Ocean's Eleven, 1960.
Courtesy of Perseus Books

Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Ursula Andress and Anita Ekberg in 4 For Texas, 1963.
Courtesy of Perseus Books

Accompanied by daughters Tina, 17, left, and Nancy, 25, Frank Sinatra arrives at a Beverly Hills hotel for his 50th birthday celebration in December, 1965. The party was given by Sinatra's ex-wife, Nancy, and Sinatra's children Tina, Nancy, and Frank, Jr.
AP Photo

Frank Sinatra in the director's chair during None but the Brave, 1965, his first and only role as director.
Courtesy of Perseus Books

Actress Mia Farrow walks with husband Frank Sinatra in Miami, January 17, 1967.
AP Photo

Entertainer Frank Sinatra and his wife Barbara are the center of attention in the lobby of the Jerusalem Hilton on April 5, 1978, after the couple arrived from the United States. Sinatra dedicated a student center, which bears his name, at the Jerusalem University.
AP Photo
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