Near the end of June Katie
and I drove north to get away from the Arizona heat and to visit family and friends in Washington state. We take our time on these trips and stop
along the way to view local sights or hike in beautiful areas. Besides, our
aging bodies demand that we get out of the car and move around at regular intervals.
Our first night’s stop
was Palm Springs. For years I’ve been interested in the history of Palm Springs
as Hollywood’s favorite get-away destination and playground. This exodus of the
rich and famous to the desert began in the 1930s, a time when gossip columnists
like Louella Parsons and Hedda Hopper could derail an actor’s career by
revealing details of their personal lives. The newspapers of the time paid
travel expenses for columnists for up to 100 miles and Palm Springs was just
over the limit. Famous people wanting to get out of the limelight could drive
to Palm Springs from LA in just a couple of hours and be out of the paparazzi’s
reach.
Before leaving on our
trip, I had just finished reading the book, “Sinatra and Me, In the Wee Small
Hours”, by Tony Oppedisano. I was a total rock & roll fan growing up in the
Midwest in the 50s and 60s but later in life my taste in music expanded and I
became a Sinatra fan. Tony O’s book is not so much a biography of Frank but a
memoir of Tony’s experiences and close friendship with him.
Tony O was a singer and
musician and performed periodically at Jilly’s night club in Manhattan where
many of the rich and famous hung out, including Frank. One night in December
1972, Frank came into Jilly’s and Jilly introduced him to Tony. They became friends right away. At the time
Tony was just 21 years old.
Jilly was Frank’s confidant for about 40 years, accompanying him on tours. “He was there for Frank for anything he needed”. In 1992 on his 75th birthday, Jilly was broadsided by a drunk driver and died. Frank was devastated. Jilly’s death left a big hole in his life. Tony worked his way into filling that hole, becoming Frank’s “road manager” and confidant.
Frank was the most
popular entertainer of his generation. Before Taylor Swift, Michael Jackson, the
Beatles and Elvis, in the 1940s, Frank had legions of girls screaming at his
concerts. These young women were called “Bobby Soxers” by the media, because of
the way they dressed--loose skirts, ankle socks and black and white saddle
shoes. At the time this was a rebellious way to dress. The Bobby Soxers’ music
was jazz and swing and their favorite singer was Frank.
In 1952 Sinatra's career
tanked and Columbia records dropped him. But he revived his career in 1953, after making the movie
“From Here to Eternity” and subsequently winning the Academy Award and signing with Capitol records. He began recording with Nelson Riddle and he and Riddle
had a great working relationship. Together they produced many of Sinatra’s most
popular recordings. It was this era of Frank’s music that turned me into a fan.
According to Tony O,
Frank felt most at home in the southwest desert. I could identify with that
feeling. In 1947 Frank had a house built in Palm Springs as a get-away for his
young family. He had just earned his first million and signed a movie contract
with MGM. He originally wanted architect E. Stewart Williams to build him a
Georgian style house with brick façade and columns. Williams and his business partner brother thought this was just wrong for the desert and suggested a
design more in harmony with the desert environment. They showed Frank plans for
a “Desert Modern House”, a mid-century modern design. He liked it, and so they
started work on what is now called Sinatra’s “Twin Palms House”.
Frank, his wife Nancy, and
their two children, Frank Jr. and Nancy "Jr." occupied the house just prior to the
Christmas holiday in 1947. In 1948 their daughter Tina was born, but later that
same year Nancy and the kids moved out because of Frank’s affair with Ava Gardner.
Frank and Ava married in 1951 and she moved into Twin Palms with him. It was
quite a volatile marriage and ended in divorce in 1957. Frank sold the house
and bought another property up on a hill subsequently called "the Rancho Mirage compound". It became his home base until he and
his 4th wife Babara sold it in 1995. He was briefly married to Mia
Farrow, his 3rd wife, sometime in the 1970s.
Twin Palms was not far from our hotel, so Katie and I drove by to have a look. It was in the middle of a sprawling, upscale suburban neighborhood. We couldn’t see past the front wall, so we went around to the back and peeked through the gate. There are plenty of photos online of both the outside and inside of the house which can be rented through Luxury Vacation Rentals, with emphasis on "luxury". Katie and I will not be staying there any time soon.
When Sinatra occupied Twin Palms there were no surrounding houses. The views of the mountains in the background are spectacular. I could imagine the peace he found that Tony O describes, sitting by the pool on still, warm nights, drinking Jack Daniels and smoking Camel cigarettes. It was definitely a different era.
