nothing about his life with Barbara
There was nothing about his life with Barbara, which I found odd. Did his children have such strong control over this documentary that they were able to delete the last part of his life?
shareThe kids did a hatchet job on Ava Gardner (it was their father who went crazy, wanted to marry her, paraded all over town and didn't care who knew) and they had an axe to grind with Barbara, as well. They claim she didn't notify them on the night he was dying - so that she would get all the attention as the solitary, loyal, grieving wife. Who knows what really happened?
Until those kids are gone, there will probably not be a more truthful and balanced rendition of Sinatra's life.
I agree with the Ava bashing... I even posted about it separately after part 1 aired. Their relationship was a mutual thing, Ava didn't 'steal' Frank away from the family and was no home wrecker. But, Barbara is a whole different story. She was just a gold digger Vegas showgirl who married Zeppo Marx, and then after they got divorced she snagged Sinatra. Talk about winning big. She was never nice to his kids and she pestered Sinatra to adopt the son she had with Marx just so he could get a piece of the Sinatra pie. I don't think there are any merits to be said about her. She kind of trotted him out in his later years too, doing that ridiculous auction at Sotheby's and doing photo shoots with him and all, which were more about making her look important as "Queen Sinatra". I never understood why any of his fans care about her. He married her because he needed a wife to run his household and be on his arm. That was all it appeared to be. Sinatra was not the type to be single. More a marriage of convenience than anything else.
Thanks for the info on Barbara. I have never been a Sinatra fan - ever. So I know very little about him, but the HBO doc was interesting in the way I find most all biographies.
It did seem strange to me there was no mention of Barbara and I had read the reason the kids hated her was refusal to let them see him in his finals hours. She may well have been everything you say she was and that picture ain't pretty.
Barbara Marx was mentioned. There were a few photos of her with Sinatra toward the end of the documentary.
The daughters never liked Barbara, she really didn't stand a chance with them since they wanted him to remarry their mother. Watch FS collect an award from Bono in 1994, that will give you an idea of how he felt about her. She might not be the nicest person to walk the earth but she still does great work with her children's center in CA. She doesn't talk about his daughters the way they talk about her.
Of course she doesn't speak bad about the daughters - it would make her look bad to speak ill about Sinatra's children.
I read Tina's book and if even half of what she said about Barbara is true she's and evil person. Supposedly, on the trip back from the funeral, all of the children had received (I believe) crosses which had been on his coffin. Barbara went and took them from each of his children.
Barbara was (at least) friendly with Frank Jr
Despite the harsh words Sinatra Sr.'s daughters, Nancy Sinatra Jr. and Tina Sinatra, often had with his widow, Barbara Sinatra, Frank Sinatra Jr. maintained a cordial relationship with the last of his father's four wives. He performed at the 1999 Frank Sinatra Celebrity Invitational Gala to raise funds for the Barbara Sinatra Center for Abused Children and sat at Barbara's table when Barry Manilow performed at that gala in 2000. Barbara Sinatra said Wednesday, "He was always supportive" of her children's center.
"He had a close association with me and I loved him," she said. "Frank's mother loved him a lot. We all did and we miss him. He was a very sweet guy. A very, dear, dear guy."
http://www.desertsun.com/story/life/entertainment/2016/03/17/frank-sinatra-jr-continued-his-fathers-legacy/81892820/