Frank Sinatra Jr. Dies at 72

BY Gregory AdamsPublished Mar 17, 2016

Frank Sinatra Jr., singer and son of legendary entertainer Frank Sinatra, died today (March 16) following a heart attack, his family has confirmed. He was 72 years old.

News of Sinatra Jr.'s death arrived through Associated Press, with whom the Sinatra family confirmed that the singer had died of an unexpected heart attack in Daytona Beach, FL. He was on tour at the time. No other details were given.

A Facebook message from his sister Nancy adds, "Sleep warm, Frankie..."

Born in Jersey City, NJ, Sinatra Jr. followed in the footsteps of his father and started a singing career in his teens. He started performing as the vocalist of the Sam Donahue band in the early '60s, but was perhaps more famous for having been kidnapped from Harrah's Lake Tahoe in late 1963. The elder Sinatra would end up paying a ransom of $240,000 USD to have his 19-year-old returned two days later.

Sinatra would go on to issue a number of albums, starting with 1965's Young Love for Sale. By 1988, Sinatra asked Frankie Jr. to put his singing career on hold to become his father's musical director and conductor. He'd later jump back into his singing career, last offering up That Face! in 2006.

Sinatra's "Black Night" single from 1971 was recently utilized in 2015 feature film Entertainment, which starred comedian Neil Hamburger (a.k.a. Gregg Turkington).

Sinatra Jr. is survived by his son, Michael, and sisters Nancy and Christina.

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