Frank Sinatra: USC’s BMOC

For the last ten years Nancy Sinatra, Frank’s most famous daughter, has been pestering the Smithsonian and the Library of Congress to use taxpayers’ dollars to build a place where she can store her dad’s old junk. But since the Feds remain unwilling to build Nancy’s proposed “National Museum of American Music,” she’s scored square footage at the University of Southern California where her father’s gold records, fedoras and award statues can collect dust.

The newly dedicated Sinatra Hall opened to USC students, faculty and visitors on Monday. Inside, a huge collection of Frank-related stuff is on display, most of it on loan from Nancy and her sister Tina. Included in the collection are the crooner’s Congressional Gold Medal, the Oscar he won in 1953 for his performance in From Here to Eternity and various Gold record sales awards.

Why USC? As well as being a school located in Sinatra’s beloved California (Ol’ Blues Eyes owned a mansion in Beverly Hills, a beach house in Malibu and a ranch in the California desert), Nancy and her brother, Frank Jr., both attended the university. Nancy got caught up in the whole “I have a hit record” thing with “These Boots are Made for Walkin'” and never graduated; Frank Jr. didn’t finish either-a real chip off the old block, Jr. sings in the big-band tradition and has a couple albums to his name, though he’s still searching for Gold. Sinatra Sr.’s oldest granddaughter did graduate from USC, however, and so the family gave the school a donation and let it house the old man’s stuff.

Originally Published November 21, 2002