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April 28, 2009
Frank Sinatra and Ava Gardner Shoot Out the Night
Ava Gardner, publicity still for The Killers, 1946.
The love affair—and I’m using that term loosely—between Ava Gardner and Frank Sinatra was doomed from the start. Both stars were emotionally immature with little impulse control. Both were alcoholics, and both had a history of affairs with equally unstable partners.
And so The Voice and The Shape plunged into a tsunami of a relationship and a six-year marriage (1951-1957) punctuated by unbridled passion, threats of suicide, and metronomic doses of violence.
In the Autumn of 1949, Gardner and Sinatra, not yet lovers, were both guests at the Palm Springs home of producer Darryl F. Zanuck. The liquor flowed, and the two stars locked in on each other like lethal missiles.
Ava said, “You’re still married.”
Frank responded, “No, doll, it’s all over. It is done.”
For hours they drank and flirted. Ava’s career was going through the roof. Her smoldering role as the femme fatale in The Killers—one of the best noir movies ever—catapulted her into the Hollywood stratosphere.
For a shoeless farm girl from North Carolina with no father and little education, Hollywood stardom was a dangerous perfume. In a few short years Ava went from being a sensitive, prim and proper virgin to a notoriously promiscuous, hard-drinking woman.
To read the complete story by yours truly, please head on over to Big Hollywood.
Posted by Robert J. Avrech at April 28, 2009 08:43 AM
Comments
Seraphic Secret is private property, that's right, it's an extension of our home, and as such, Karen and I have instituted two Seraphic Rules and we ask commentors to act respectfully.
1. No profanity.2. No Israel bashing. We debate, we discuss, we are respectful. You know what Israel bashing is. The world is full of it. Seraphic Secret is one of the few places in the world that will not tolerate this form of anti-Semitism. That's it. Break either of these rules and you will be banned.
Loved the story over at BH. Are there any Hollywood couples like Ava and Frank around today? Someone with the absolute talent of Frank and the smokin' looks of Gardner? I can't think of anyone today that can do what Sinatra did and there sure isn't anyone with the natural beauty of Gardner. She almost melts the screen in Mogambo.
The most amazing thing is that their marriage lasted six years. That it lasted six days is surprising.
Posted by: Johnny at April 28, 2009 06:29 PM
Another great story Robert. What I enjoy about your stories is that you give a Hollywood story from another angle - perhaps best said a true human angle of stars rarely heard.
The little I know about Ava and her men she gave a lot more than she got back.
Posted by: Bill Brandt at April 28, 2009 09:41 PM
I'm disappointed that you didn't reveal that your first real date with Karen went much the same way... except you both got drunk on cholent and drove all the way from Bensonhurst to Bay Ridge on the B11 bus.
Posted by: Jake at April 29, 2009 04:06 AM
Having been on paternity leave (7 lbs 0 oz and a head full of hair!) for 2 weeks, I've missed your posts!
Excellent post, Robert, as usual!
Posted by: ProphetJoe at April 29, 2009 07:10 AM