Lot 33
Early Frank Sinatra Cigarette Lighter
A silver-colored cigarette lighter that was a personal belonging of Frank Sinatra. Custom-engraved with "Frank Sinatra", which is highlighted in black in a rectangular cartouche. It is marked on the bottom “Ronson Adonis Trademark, Made in England, Brit. Pat. 621570”. Height: 1 ¾ inches x 2 inches x 3/8 inches.
The consignor’s family was given this lighter personally by Frank Sinatra early in his career. During the production setup for Sinatra's interview for Edward R. Murrow's show "Person to Person" in September 1956, members of the family were helping out to make sure no one disturbed anything during the days prior to filming. When Sinatra came to the house, he decided to have a smoke, and one of the family members joined him. As they both were drawing out cigarettes, Frank asked: "Do you need a light?" and he took out his lighter and lit the cigarette. He then handed the lighter over and said to keep it.
Frank Sinatra was the quintessential popular American singer of the mid-20th century, and more; he was a talented film and stage actor, a sought-after Las Vegas performer, a successful radio and television performer, a “Rat Pack” leader, a friend of the leading celebrities and power figures of the day, an early proponent of Civil Rights, and an early magnet for the kind of overwhelming media attention that today is standard celebrity fare.
Sinatra’s singing career started in the 1940s, and he spanned several genres: swing and big band, moving on to becoming a “crooner” popular with young girls in the 1940s, and then later as a gifted adult performer with a consistent line-up of hits. He even retired in the early 1970s, and then had a comeback a few years later, one that lasted another decade. Throughout his career, he won numerous awards, including 11 Grammy Awards, including several lifetime achievement awards.
Sinatra the actor won the Best Supporting Actor Academy Award for his role in the film “From Here to Eternity”, and was nominated for Best Actor for his starring role in “The Man with the Golden Arm”. He was also in “Ocean’s Eleven” and “The Manchurian Candidate”.
It was the movie “Ocean’s Eleven” that brought open public attention to the “Rat Pack”, that famous and infamous group of the 1960s of which Sinatra was a leading light. The Rat Pack had changing numbers of members, but primarily consisted of Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Jr., Peter Lawford, and Joey Bishop. They were a cohort of friends, fellow actors, and performers, who worked together and played together. Their mystique came from their glamorous life-styles, their sense of fun and style, and the fact that the eyes of the media were on them and kept them in the news.
Frank Sinatra was given two of our nation’s highest awards: in 1985, he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Congressional Gold Medal in 1997. He died May 14, 1998 at age 82, in Los Angeles, California. He was mourned around the world.
Estimate: $12,000 - $16,000