SINATRA’S BOOZY NIGHT WITH KISSINGER

THOUGH Kirk loved parties, he was no night-owl. It didn’t matter who the guests were — by midnight, he was ready for bed.

One night in the late Sixties, Frank Sinatra and the politician Henry Kissinger were deep in conversation at his dining table when the actor looked at his watch and stood up abruptly. ‘I was mortified,’ says Anne. ‘He started flicking the light switches. That put a quick end to the evening. Frank and Henry left together.’

But it wasn’t the end of the party for everyone. At 5am, the phone rang in the Douglases’ house.

‘It was the Beverly Hills chief of police,’ Kirk explains, ‘calling on behalf of President Nixon ... who was looking for Henry Kissinger.’

Anne took the call, and guessed where the National Security Advisor would be — boozing with his new friend Frank Sinatra.

‘I knew Kirk wouldn’t make the call. Everyone walked on eggshells around Frank, never knowing if he would banish you if he didn’t like what you said or did.

‘He greeted me with, “Who the hell is calling at this hour?” I asked if he knew where Henry was: “Yeah, right here. We’ve been talking all night.”

‘ “Well, tell him the President is looking for him.” I hung up and went back to sleep.’