Blue Eyes

 

 

Frank Sinatra is one of the most popular musical artists of the 20^th century. In fact, he is one of the best-selling music artists of all time having sold more than 150 million records worldwide. In 1943, he was the idol of the “Bobby Soxers.” In the 1950s, Sinatra and the Rat Pack (rats are rodents that live in sewers) put Las Vegas on the map. He earned an Academy award and a Golden Globe award for best supporting actor in “From Here to Eternity.” His portrayal of Maggio, a soldier, during the bombing of Pearl Harbor was terrific. He portrayed a soldier in The Manchurian Candidate and was super in that film as well. Unfortunately for Frank, he could only be a soldier on film. More about that later.

Frank Sinatra was honored in 1963 at the Kennedy Center; was awarded the presidential Medal of Freedom by Ronald Reagan in 1985; and the Congressional Gold medal in 1997. He received 11 Grammy awards including the Grammy Trustees award, Grammy Legend award and the Grammy Lifetime Achievement award. Time magazine called Frank as one of the most influential individuals in the 20^th century. One music critic called him the greatest singer of the 20^th century.

Sinatra campaigned for Franklin D .Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman, John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan. He was investigated by the FBI for his alleged relationship with the Mafia. He was married to Nancy, Ava, Mia and Barbara. This essay addresses Frank Sinatra from a characterological viewpoint.

At the beginning, Homo sapiens have certain physiological requirements for their survival and for the survival of the species. Physiologically speaking, man has hunger, thirst, sex satisfaction and bodily exercise needs that’s are rooted in the chemistry of the organism. In a deficit state, the human organism experiences uncomfortable and/or painful tension, anxiety or fear. When the need states are relieved or fulfilled, the organism experiences pleasure and/or satisfaction. Thus, seeking pleasure is positive.

It should be noted that anxiety or psychic tension, located in the mind, is the center of neurotic behavior. The emotional reaction can be a result of a danger, or an imaginary danger. The danger is often hidden but it is subjective. Not only that, one can’t persuade somebody out of their anxiety. For Frank Sinatra, feelings of affection, inadequacy, anger and suspicion were his dynamic anxiety motivational forces. Feelings of inadequacy and helplessness were unbearable for a person whom power, ascendancy and having to be in control, of every situation were necessary. These feeling were signs of weakness or cowardice. He attempted to escape these unbearable feelings of anxiety with prescription drugs, alcohol and nicotine. Further, he feared being alone. In which he compensated, by throwing himself into his work and having numerous sexual encounters as other attempts to avoid his dreaded feelings of anxiety. However, irritability and anger accompanied his anxiety.

The anxiety related to irrational greed, creates imbalance in the mind. One can only temporarily mitigate anxiety in that need state. This irrational desire propels the pursuit of irrational pleasures. In this unfulfilled uncomfortable anxiety filled need state, there can never be enough money for long term satisfaction. It remains a psychological deficit and/or irrational scarcity. So one is like a slave to the desires for creating, pursuing, accumulating, possessing and controlling more and more.

Let me repeat, unfilled physiological needs of the body create tension or anxiety and the removal is associated with satisfaction. Irrational desires are rooted in psychic deficiencies in the mind. The anxiety and insecurity propel the individual to pursue a variety of irrational behaviors.  In essence, irrational psychic needs are part of a system of scarcity and/or shortage.  On a side note, pleasure can accompany the accomplishment of any goal. However, luck, ability, power to cope with the outside society is required. Also important, is task difficulty. It can’t be easy. However, unfortunately, physical and/or mental suffering are unavoidable and are the human condition.

Back to Frank Sinatra, the following can be said. Frank, at birth, was delivered with the aid of forceps which caused severe scaring of his left cheek, neck and a perforated eardrum. He had a childhood operation on his mastoid bone which left major scarring on his neck as well. During adolescence, he suffered from cystic acne which furthered scarring his face and neck. A flaw or facial blemish is disastrous for any adolescence as appearance is golden.

Sinatra’s mother Dolly, according to Frank’s fourth wife, was abusive and knocked him around a lot. Frank stated regarding his mother “I didn’t know whether she was going to hug me or hit me?” Dolly was also involved in Democratic Party circles, worked as a midwife, and ran an abortion service and had the nickname “Hat Pin Dolly.” Sinatra’s illiterate father was a boxer and worked for the Hoboken Fire Department working his way up to Capt. When he told them that he was going to pursue a singing career, his father said “You’re going to be a bum” and his mother threw a shoe at Frank. Note that Frank’s character development occurred within a dynamic and changing social process.

 It’s been said that Frank lived in a rough aggressive neighborhood. This skinny underweight kid was fearful and scarred, and avoided physical confrontation at all costs. Although he attended high school he didn’t graduate, acted out his unhappiness and was expelled for “general rowdiness.” As a teenager he began singing professionally and learned music by ear. Frank never learned to read music. Frank attempted to enlist in World War II, but failed his physical and was diagnosed with “emotional instability,” a psychiatric disorder. He stated “war years, there was great loneliness, and I was the boy in every corner drugstore.  Give him a gun, with others and maybe aggression will be a reaction formation against his fear. Do not forget about the multitude of ongoing interpersonal associations affecting the development of his character.

There are doctor reports of heavy drinking-fifth of Jack Daniels daily, heavy smoking-two packs of unfiltered Lucky Strikes including secondhand smoke, that damaged his lungs, medications , urethra cancer, acute diverticulosis and vascular dementia. He performed, on stage, with cigarettes and alcohol which was his routine. He was also depressed, anxious and angry and made four suicide gestures while on Elavil a psychotropic medication.

Frank Sinatra was insecure and unhappy regardless of his blue eyes and warm smile. He certainly had the suburb physical gift of artistry with his music. However, his irrational pursuit of prestige, popularity and fan adulation was strong and powerful. Could he get enough “love” or reduce his anxiety? He certainly had difficulty getting enough “love” within numerous affairs and marriages. The underlying reassurance against the psychic tension for affection was humiliation. Perhaps, his mother’s “parenting” played a part. He was physically and emotionally inadequate as a teenager .He was rejected physically for the draft, had physical facial scarring, didn’t graduate from high school, and was not able to read music. No wonder Frank was insecure and emotionally troubled. He performed in the 1990s, with faded memory (beginning of dementia)-not remembering the lines and fainted onstage in Virginia diagnosed with heart attack. He performed 65 concerts in 1990, 73 in 1991, 84 in 1992 in 17 different countries. He passed in 1998.

Frank Sinatra was operose and pursued the irrational desire of power and possession. He acquired much wealth during his illustrious career. Expensive residences, boats, planes etc. He also associated with the mob, Kennedy and Reagan. He ran the show and was aggressively rude toward others. It was his show. He was gonna do it his way. This striving for power attempt was unconscious to protect him from the anxiety, insecurity and fear dating back to his childhood and adolescent experiences. He feared and attempted to counter any expression of helplessness or weakness with his public persona. This striving also was an attempt to protect him against the danger of feeling or being regarded as insignificant. He would feel humiliated if he had to acknowledge the existence of his demons. He despised himself for having and not being able to cope on his own. He avoided being alone and even created the “Rat Pack.” This group gave the impression of solidarity and friendship to the public. It was a front to mask his anxiety, unhappiness and fear of loneliness.

Frank Sinatra also accumulated and acquired female relationships. Sometimes sex was important and other times not. This pursuit for affection was based on the anxiety resulting from his unfulfilled needs of not being loved and admired without conditions. For Frank, his pursuit of affection was accompanied by his irrational desire for ownership and possession. He had too many unfulfilled or a scarcity of receiving care, respect, love and affection in his early life. This irrational desire and behavior for affection resulted in his exclusive and unconditional demands for love. His ways of pursuing and receiving affection was based on bribery “I love you darling, you should love me in return.”  Also in the mix was, in his mind, justice. “Look at all that I have done for you, I assisted you in a movie career.” However, he also expected that she would be grateful and forever affectionate and dependent on him. This was an expectation .He likely did things for others also, unspoken in his mind with a condition of expectation. In his mind, he was entitled to receive special attention. When Mia, preferred to do her own movie and didn’t go along to do a movie with him that facilitated their breakup- humiliation. How could she do that to me, after all I did for her? Unfortunately, not being able to love self-interferes with not being able to love another.

He was smitten with Ava. On one occasion she left him at a nightclub. Frank’s anger, insecurity, manipulation and dependency surfaced.  Later that evening he called her. He also was angry with her when she met with her ex-husband. During a later conversation with Frank, he fired his pistol. He didn’t trust her nor could he control her as a possession for him. She left also -humiliation.

Sinatra’s irrational need for affection, fame, adulation continued throughout his years. He was unable to ever resolve the insecurity related to inadequacy, not being good enough and being unlovable. That deep well was impossible to fill for him. Being on stage and performing, Frank had to have his psychoactive numbing crutches regarding his anxiety. Alcohol and nicotine were weak aids at best and assisted in his escape from his reality. Even though he had dementia, couldn’t remember the words to his songs, and had them written on a Teleprompter on the stage floor, he still performed.

For Blue Eyes and Chairman of the Board, fame, money, adulation, affiliation, wives were just possessions that never fulfilled or met his irrational passions. Yes, he had numerous achievements and received many awards. However, psychological achievements can be satisfying only when they are challenging and difficult to obtain.  Frank’s achievements and accomplishments and materialistic success were not enough to interfere with his self-destructive or abasement behavior. His excessive drinking, excessive smoking, pitiful nutritional eating habits, and his disregarding medical advice were irrational, nonproductive and self-defeating. These abasement behaviors suggest little regard for life with anger and hatred turned inward, and suggests a wish to die. At 82, he had a nurse monitoring his care. His wife on May 14, 1998 left the home to go to dinner. Later that night she was summoned to the hospital bed. Barbara said “he opened his eyes and said “I can’t,” closed his eyes and passed.  Sinatra’s unfulfilled needs, deficiencies, and scarcity heavily interfered emotionally and led him to pursue unfilled irrational behavior patterns. His public persona was about happiness but his inner soul was about depression. Depression is the opposite of happiness.  Yes, he did it his way. However, his way was extreme self-destructive behavior. Did Frank achieve Nirvana? No, he experienced too much pain and too much anger. The Epicurus quote “He who is not satisfied with a little, is satisfied with nothing” fits Sinatra.

References

Autopsy, The Last Hours of Frank Sinatra.

Horney, Karen. The Neurotic Personality Of Our Time. WWW.Norton and Company Incorporated.