It Was The Kind of Evening Ol' Blue Eyes Would Have Loved

LAS VEGAS -- It was the kind of evening Old Blue Eyes would have loved: a room full of friends, high emotions, great music and libations to match.

Dozens of celebrities were among the 1,300 guests on hand Saturday night for "Thanks Frank," a moving tribute to Frank Sinatra on the Las Vegas Strip where he ruled for generations.

The black-tie gala was the highlight of a week of activities that included the Frank Sinatra Celebrity Classic golf tournament, which concluded Sunday. The fund-raising event was planned months ago. Sinatra died May 14 at the age of 82.

The emotion-filled gala kicked off with Barbara Sinatra receiving a standing ovation in her first public appearance since her husband's death.

"I know Frank would have loved being here himself. Somehow I feel his presence in this room," Mrs. Sinatra said.

She said the singer was a committed philanthropist, and that thousands of donations from all over the world had poured in since his death.

"Frank loved his friends and boy, did they love him," she said, asking the audience to join her in a toast.

"Here's to you, Blue Eyes," she said, choking with emotion.

The crowd was on its feet again at the end of the 90-minute musical tribute when singer Paul Anka offered a special rendition of "My Way," a song Anka penned that Sinatra made famous.

Anka said he had obtained permission from the Sinatra family to produce a new rendition of the famous ballad, introducing it for the first time at the gala. The crowd sat transfixed as Sinatra's version was interspersed with Anka's, duet style.

Anka closed the show with a rousing version of another Sinatra staple, "New York, New York," as film clips traced the life of the Chairman of the Board on two giant screens.

Wayne Newton, co-host for the week's events, sang "Fly Me to the Moon" and told of touring with Sinatra in 1980 to help the presidential bid of Ronald Reagan.

Before the gala began, Newton's eyes grew moist as he recounted special moments with Sinatra. Newton told of an incident in 1976 when he was seriously ill with double pneumonia, doctors were baffled, and Sinatra called to offer his plane to take him to UCLA or Mayo Clinic.

"He was always doing things like that for others and never wanted any credit," Newton said.

Quincy Jones, the gala producer, conducted a 40-piece orchestra that played a collection of Sinatra's greatest hits.

"It's been said he created the soundtrack for all of our lives," said Jones, the arranger for some of Sinatra's biggest hits. "He was a very rare human being whose likes we will never see again."

A host of performers sang or paid tribute to Sinatra, including Newton, Anka, Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme, Vic Damone, Danny Gans, Jack Lemmon, Gregory Peck, Angie Dickinson, Robert De Niro, Leslie Nielsen, Hal Linden, Robert Stack, Tom Dreesen, Susan Anton, Mike Conners, James Ingram and Patti Austin.

The event at the MGM Grand Hotel-Casino was designed to raise money for the Barbara Sinatra Children's Center at Rancho Mirage, Calif., and Opportunity Village in Las Vegas. The California center was opened by the Sinatras in 1986 to treat and counsel abused children. The Las Vegas facility aids the developmentally challenged.

Dozens of celebrities, including a long list of sports figures, were on hand for the three-day golf tournament. Among the sports figures signed up for the event were Steve Bartkowski, Vida Blue, George Brett, Rollie Fingers, Carlton Fisk, Tom Flores, Steve Garvey, Bruce Jenner, Steve Spurrier, Joe Theismann and Gene Washington.

The week's activities began Tuesday with the opening of an exhibit of Sinatra memorabilia at the MGM Grand. The exhibit closed Sunday.

archive