He was a fascinating study in a combination of human traits I had never encountered before.....Intense personal charisma, frightening mood swings, kindness, meanness, huge generosity and just sheer and undeniable talent pouring out of every pore in his body.
I have rarely met anyone who when in their presence, radiates palpable magnetism....something you actually FEEL. He was one.
One day, we were shooting in a police station on the West Side of Manhattan and all of a sudden, the city went powerless. It was the blackout of 1978. Mr. Sinatra was due on the set in one hour and no one know what was going to happen, we assumed the power would come back any minute. He was staying in his apartment in the Waldorf-Astoria on Park Avenue, so I was dispatched to see what his intentions were...was he going to come, or what. His apartment was on the 35th floor and there were NO ELEVATORS running. I ran into one of his entourage (that was the appropriate word for them) in the lobby, so thankfully, I didn't have to climb 35 floors, and he said that Mr. Sinatra would be right down and I could take him to the set. I was amazed!!!! He walked down 35 flights of stairs and went to the set and when the power came back on, we finished the day.
We were shooting in Little Italy for many scenes, and needless to say, to the locals, he was God Incarnate!! I'll never forget his sidekick, Jilly Rizzo, yelling to me.."Hey kid, c'mere, I want you should meet someone......" and he introduced me to some guy named "Jimmy Fingers" who he said had helped get them some special food to Sinatra that day. Jilly was a character of great personality. Very jovial and genial. I left them and went about the rest of my duties and 2 days later, read in the paper that "Jimmy Fingers" was found in the East River! I thought to myself, "That food must not have been that good...".
On another day, Sinatra was doing a concert that night at Forest Hills Stadium and he arranged for limos to pick everyone in the crew up. Our limo was cruising up Madison avenue and the ENTIRE TRANSMISSION FELL OUT OF THE CAR. I remember the driver saying he'd have another car PRONTO because the LAST thing they wanted to do was make Mr. Sinatra unhappy!! He generated loyalty and some considerable fear.
My final memory was of a day we were shooting down by the piers on the Hudson River. It was a shot where the camera was on a crane platform up high, and was supposed to see Mr. Sinatra drive into the scene from 2 blocks away. Now you HAVE to understand that you did NOT bring Mr. Sinatra out of his dressing trailer until you were ready to shoot!!!!! They told him they were ready and put him in the car and sent him two blocks away with me in the back of the car with a walkie-talkie. Turned out that they were having camera trouble and they had sent him out there NOT ready to shoot. I'll never forget him telling me ...."Kid, you tell them that they have one minute to fix the fucking problem, and then I'm hitting the gas." I related this to the assistant director who told me to tell Mr. Sinatra to PLEASE give them a few minutes.....he said "Kenny, entertain Mr. Sinatra" and we BOTH laughed. It bought us an extra minute. After about 2 minutes, Mr. Sinatra said "Kid, tell them I'm rolling" and I did. They panicked and then, somehow, someway, got the camera rolling and got the shot.
I a very grateful I met this legend and got to know him for 6 weeks (and he got to know me). I enjoyed how he called me "Kid." I will remember the talent, admire the many unsung contributions he made to people (paying bills for people in need was common for him), and wonder about all the stuff that was rumored, but I got to experience ("Mr. Fingers") for a brief moment in time. I'm a lucky guy.
You did it your
way Mr. Sinatra!!!
Kenny Morse