Frank Sinatra Jr. Dies of Cardiac Arrest [Updated]


Frank Sinatra Jr., son of legendary singer of the same name, has died of a cardiac arrest, according to reports. Sinatra Jr., who was 72-years-old and who carried on the music legacy of his father, was reportedly on tour in Daytona Beach, Florida, when he passed away.

Frank Sinatra Jr.’s Wednesday death was unexpected, according to a Fox News report. Details regarding the death of the singer, who was a legend in his own right, are very limited at this early hour.

Sinatra and Sinatra Jr.
[Photo by @AnthonyLeilani/Twitter]
According to reports, Frank Sinatra Jr.’s family is asking for privacy during their time of mourning for their son, brother, uncle, and father.

When Sinatra Jr. was 19-years-old, he was abducted and held for ransom. By that time, Sinatra Jr. had already become part of the music industry, following in his famous father’s footsteps. At one point in his career, he was his father’s musical director and his conductor.

Recently, Sinatra Jr. performed at a New York Yankee’s game.

Frank Sinatra Jr. At Baseball Game
[Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images]
Frank Sinatra Sr. died on May May 14, 1998 at the age of 82. He passed away as the result of a heart attack.

More details regarding this breaking news story will be published as they become available. At this time, the world’s condolences and best wishes are with Frank Sinatra Jr.’s family as they struggle to come to terms with their unexpected tragedy.

***Update***

Frank Sinatra Jr. was born on January 10, 1944 and his parents were divorced by the time he reached his sixth birthday, reports People. Because of Frank Sinatra Sr.’s intense performance schedule, which included both recording albums and participating in motion pictures, father and son were distant during Jr.’s early years.

“He was a good father as much as it was within his power.”

Despite being somewhat estranged from his famous dad during the formative years of his early childhood, Frank Sinatra Jr. ultimately followed in Sr.’s impressive footsteps. The younger Sinatra was a student of music from the time he was 5-years-old, and by his teens was an accomplished singer, pianist and arranger of music. His formal musical education included working with such names as Duke Ellington and Nelson Riddle, opportunities afforded to him largely by way of his famous parentage.

While Frank Sinatra Jr. was a talented musician in his own right, one of the single largest, most defining events of his accomplished life had nothing at all to do with music. When Sinatra Jr. was only 19, he was kidnapped from a hotel room in Nevada and ransomed. Ultimately, he was held captive by his kidnappers for four days before his father paid the ransom and he was released. The ransom amount was $240,000.

While three accomplices, Barry Keenan, Johnny Irwin and Joe Amsler, were ultimately arrested and convicted for the kidnapping of Frank Sinatra Jr., there is still speculation surrounding the crime over half a century later. This is because the men convicted of the Sinatra Jr. kidnapping used in their defense a story that the entire kidnapping had been phony, a story-line that ultimately evolved into the rumor that Sinatra Sr. had created the entire scenario to advance Frank Sinatra Jr.’s career.

“The criminals invented a story that the whole thing was phony.”

While Frank Sinatra Jr. had a relatively successful career, his floundered a bit in his late father’s shadow. In his own words, he lacked a “degree of [personal] identity.”

“Over all these years, I have never had a hit movie, never had a hit television program and never had a hit record. I have made no mark of my own creation. My lack of success does not trouble me at this stage in my life, no. When I was younger, sure, I wanted to have some degree of, shall we say, identity. But it never came.”

Obviously, his late father recognized the level of his son’s talent, and Frank Sinatra Sr. brought Jr. “into the fold” in 1988. Frank Sinatra Jr. toured with his father for the last seven year’s of Sinatra Sr.’s life.

In recent years, Frank Sinatra Jr. has delved into the realm of contemporary media, lending his voice and singing talents to the highly-popular animated series Family Guy. He appeared in two episodes of the long-running Seth MacFarlane cartoon and lent his voice to five songs.

Frank Sinatra Jr. is survived by two sisters, Nancy and Tina Sinatra, and his son, Michael Sinatra.

[Image Courtesy Of Charley Gallay/Getty Images]

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