HEART to heart
You just played the Smith Center in Las Vegas, and you’ll be coming back to town in May. Does it feel like coming home?
Well, I started there with Sophie Tucker in 1959 at the Sahara, then with the Rat Pack in 1962 at the Sands. It’s a very special town.
You were one of the youngest performers to ever play with the Rat Pack.
Me, Bobby Darin and a couple of others started in pop music, and we wanted to test ourselves: How are we going to evolve? The Beatles hadn’t hit yet, so The Rat Pack were the only guys to emulate.
What were they like?
Hanging out with them in the steam room, socializing, they knew exactly who they were, and acquired wisdom to deal with their success. But they had a soft side. Frank [Sinatra] would say, “If I could just get another hit…”
Yet they’re known as tough guys.
You could kind of do or say whatever you wanted, and we did, but every action had consequences. One guy got beat up, another disappeared, but it was always fun, fun, fun with them! The real mystery was Dean [Martin] — he was quiet. Frank was involved in civil rights and cared about the little guy.
Why did you write “My Way” for him?
I was 26, 27. We were having dinner in Florida and he told me he was quitting — he was being hassled, had all kinds of things going against him, but he wanted to do one last album. I realized that if I wanted to write for him, it had to be now. I wrote it the way he talked — “spit it out.” When the record company found I’d written it, they were kinda pissed off that I didn’t do it myself!
You famously dated Annette Funicello…
She was a beautiful, wonderful person who handled her success with that whole Disney machine well. She had no bad habits and was very gracious…. When you fall in love at that age, it’s like temporary insanity. You’re teenagers, you don’t know where it’s going. She wanted to get married, and that’s not where I wanted to go. I have nothing but the fondest memories of this girl.
Since your 1963–2000 marriage to Anne de Zogheb and your 2008–’10 marriage to Anna Kolodziejska, you recently celebrated your first anniversary with Lisa Pemberton.
I’m also on my 60th anniversary in the business. But more importantly, I’ve won total custody of my young son [with Anna], Ethan. I’ve been fighting this battle for years. It was tough, emotional, expensive, but that doesn’t matter. It was for the most important cause in my life. He’s a little athlete, healthy and happy.
How is life with nine grandkids?
We have two baby girls! When you live the life I have, you’re able to share wisdom and experience. Three of my girls live in Europe: Switzerland, Monte Carlo and
“Jason’s a great guy. There are no airs with him, which is good. I wouldn’t put up with it!” — Paul (with son-in-law Jason Bateman)
London. [My daughter] Amanda and Jason Bateman, my son-in-law, have two daughters, and another [of my] daughters lives here, and the kids are Ethan’s age, so it really works out.
Any thoughts about retirement?
If you’re thinking about retiring, you’ve retired already! I go to work when I want to and I work because I’m very good at what I do, I’m proud of what I do, and it’s in demand. We’re going to Chile and Argentina next year. I watched Sinatra retire four times, playing with trains. It made him happy for a few weeks, but then he went ballistic. For those of us who are fortunate to have that relationship with our audience, you need to work.
How does your wife keep you young?
It’s great to have someone who’s there for you and loves you, but I think my son keeps me young. We just played baseball and basketball yesterday.
Do you have a bucket list?
Maybe [I’d do] a documentary or Broadway, but I’m at an age where time is an asset you don’t want to waste. Everything I do is based on how much time it takes away from Ethan — maybe we’ll do a safari in Africa. For a lot of years, it was me, me, me, but the bucket list isn’t about me anymore. It’s about us.
— Reporting by Spencer Lubitz