The day Sinatra serenaded the sick... in Bristol
AT the height of his early fame he sang to sell‑out crowds and partied hard with the most beautiful women in Tinseltown.
but it wasn’t all a bed of roses for Frank Sinatra. In 1953 he found his career in the doldrums and as he fought his way back to the top he could even afford time to perform to patients at a hospital in bristol.
Just days after what would have been the 100th birthday of ol’ blue eyes, a picture has emerged showing him serenading the sick. earlier in the evening he had performed at the city’s hippodrome where ticket sales had been so poor the theatre was just half‑full.
After the show, the then 37‑year‑old was asked if he would visit the local Frenchay hospital, so instead of retiring to his hotel with a bottle, he ended up singing his hits to astonished patients at their bedsides. Fan betty bowden saw the bristol concert and then excitedly followed him to Frenchay.
She said: ‘After being used to packed thea‑ tres, with young women screaming and swooning over him, you would think he would be a bit put out, but not a bit.
‘This photograph shows him arriving [at the hospital] and sitting on the bed whilst singing to one young lady. What a lovely man he was with such a wonderful voice. I don’t think today’s singers will leave such lasting memories.’
A few weeks later Sinatra’s career was on the rise again with the release of film From here to eternity, which turned into an inter‑ national blockbuster. he is still regarded as one of the greatest singers of all time, having sold more than 150million records. Sinatra died in 1998 aged 82.