Frank Sinatra dies
LOS ANGELES (CNN) -- "Ol' Blue Eyes," Frank Sinatra, is being mourned Friday around the world by millions of fans after his death from a heart attack.
The Sinatra family plans to hold a private funeral. The time and location of the service have not been disclosed.
Sinatra, 82, was pronounced dead Thursday at 10:50 p.m. in the emergency room of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, said his publicist, Susan Reynolds. Sinatra's family, including his wife, was with him when he died.
Sinatra was a master craftsman and ranked as one of the most influential singers in this country's history. In more than 200 albums, his music led the evolution of Big Band to vocal American music.
Whether it was in song, on the silver screen or in nightclubs, few could escape the charm of Ol' Blue Eyes. His voice carried over countless phonographs, as lovers huddled listening to tunes like "Try a Little Tenderness," "My Way," "I've Got You Under My Skin" and "Strangers in the Night."
As a matinee idol, he appeared in blockbuster films such as "From Here to Eternity," "The Man With the Golden Arm" and "The Manchurian Candidate."
With some 1,800 music recordings, 60 film credits, nine Grammys and an Academy Award, Sinatra was the grandmaster of entertainment, an American icon of seeming immortality. He recorded more top-40 albums than any artist: 51, three more than Elvis Presley. And he holds an unrivaled record of longevity on Billboard charts, where a Sinatra song was a fixture every week from 1955 to 1995.
After suffering another heart attack,[54] Frank Sinatra died at 10:50 pm on May 14, 1998 at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, with his wife Barbara by his side.[54] He was 82 years old.[54] Sinatra's final words, spoken as attempts were made to stabilize him, were "I'm losing."[55] His death was confirmed by the Sinatra family on their website with a statement accompanied by a recording of the singer's version of "Softly As I Leave You." The next night the lights on the Las Vegas Strip were dimmed in his honor. President Bill Clinton led tributes to Sinatra, stating that he had managed "to appreciate on a personal level what millions of people had appreciated from afar."[56] Elton John stated that Sinatra, "was simply the best - no one else even comes close."[56]
On May 20, 1998 at the Church of the Good Shepherd in Beverly Hills, Sinatra's funeral was held, with 400[57] mourners in attendance and hundreds of fans outside.[57] Gregory Peck,[57] Tony Bennett,[57] and Frank Sinatra, Jr. addressed the mourners, among whom were Jill St. John, Tom Selleck,[57] Joey Bishop, Faye Dunaway,[57] Tony Curtis,[57] Liza Minnelli,[57] Kirk Douglas,[57] Robert Wagner,[57] Don Rickles,[57] Nancy Reagan,[57] Angie Dickinson, Sophia Loren,[57] Bob Newhart,[57] Mia Farrow,[57] and Jack Nicholson.[55][57] A private ceremony was held later that day at St. Theresa's Catholic Church in Palm Springs. The eulogy was given by lifelong spiritual adviser and minister Jairus Bellamy.[citation needed] Sinatra was buried following the ceremony next to his parents in section B-8 of Desert Memorial Park in Cathedral City, a quiet cemetery on Ramon Road at the border of Cathedral City and Rancho Mirage, near his famous Rancho Mirage compound, located on tree-lined Frank Sinatra Drive.[55] His close friends Jilly Rizzo and Jimmy Van Heusen are buried nearby in the same cemetery.
The words "The Best Is Yet to Come" are imprinted on Sinatra's grave marker.
