The Chairman of the Board Trivia Quiz

Answer: Italy

Frank Sinatra's father Anthony traveled to the U.S. from Italy in 1903, while his mother Natalina, also a native of Italy, arrived in America with her parents while she was an infant. She was given the nickname "Dolly" as a child because of her pretty face. Anthony and Natalina married in 1913, and Frank was born 12 years later. Frank was an only child.

His parents remained married until Anthony's death in 1969. Natalina was killed in a plane crash in 1977.

Answer: Presidential Medal of Freedom

Sinatra campaigned for several different presidential candidates on both sides of the political aisle. He also donated his time and money to various campaigns, including Reagan's. His generous spirit and patriotism, along with his contributions to arts and entertainment led Reagan to award Sinatra with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Answer: Lawford failed to intervene in an incident with President Kennedy

Peter Lawford joined the Rat Pack at Sinatra's invitation, and the two worked together for a couple years. A disagreement between the two regarding Lawford's brother in-law, President Kennedy, caused a rift. Kennedy was planning on a trip to Palm Springs for an event, and was originally planning to stay at Sinatra's residence.

However, because of Sinatra's alleged ties to the Mafia, whether true or not, Kennedy switched locations. An enraged Sinatra expected Lawford to step in on his behalf, and Lawford refused.

This caused irreparable harm to their relationship, and Sinatra expelled Lawford from the Rat Pack.

Answer: Yes

"The Frank Sinatra Show" was a musical variety show that had two separate iterations; the first aired on CBS from 1950 to 1952. The second attempt aired on ABC from 1957 to 1958. The ABC series was Sinatra's final full TV series. Despite his musical talent, the show received poor ratings, leading to its short run.

Answer: No

Sinatra starred as Danny Ocean, alongside fellow Rat Pack members Sammy Davis Jr, and Peter Lawford. The original "Ocean's Eleven," did not win any awards for any of the starring members of the Rat Pack, or any other cast members. It was nominated for a Golden Laurel award and a Writer's Guild Award, but did not win either.

The remake with George Clooney was nominated for a handful of awards in 2002, winning four.

Answer: Reprise Records

Discontented with his record label, Capitol Records at the time, Sinatra decided to start his own record label. His first album under Reprise Records, "Ring-a-Ding-Ding", reached number four on the Billboard charts in 1961. Sinatra recorded 35 albums on his Reprise Records label over the next 20 years.

Sinatra retained a third of the albums ownership when it was sold to Warner Brothers in 1963. His partial ownership ended at the conclusion of 1963. Notable names that have signed with Reprise Records include Michael Buble, Green Day, Eric Clapton, and Neil Young.

Answer: Guys and Dolls

Frank Sinatra starred alongside Marlon Brando as Nathan Detroit, who needs an advance to rent out space for a well attended game of craps. He places a bet on Brando's character, Sky Masterson, that Masterson would be unable to convince a woman of Detroit's choosing to go to dinner with him. "Luck Be a Lady" is sung from the perspective of Masterson, hoping that lady luck will remain by his side.

"Guys and Dolls" won the 1955 Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture-Musical or Comedy. "Luck Be a Lady" was named to AFI's top 100 film songs as part of their "100 Years" series. Another Sinatra classic, "New York, New York" also made that same list, released in 2004.

Answer: True

Sinatra starred alongside Burt Lancaster and Montgomery Clift in "From Here to Eternity." The trio played soldiers stationed in Hawaii just before the Japanese attack of Pearl Harbor. Sinatra won the 1954 Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for his performance, one of eight Oscar wins for the film.

Answer: 3

Sinatra was awarded three separate stars on the Walk of Fame on February 8, 1960. He received a star for motion pictures, recording, and television. His eldest daughter Nancy was also a recipient of a star in recording.

Sinatra's musical career and numerous albums earned him his recording star, while his extensive film career landed his motion picture star. Sinatra also had several well received appearances on television, both as a host and a guest star, which earned him his television star on the Walk of Fame.

Answer: The Best is Yet to Come

The original headstone at Frank Sinatra's grave was replaced rather mysteriously. No one outside of the family knows the real reason the grave marker was changed, whether it was damage from the elements, or if there was deliberate damage done to the stone.

Its believed that Sinatra's daughters changed the stone, given the wording on the new facing, but some question remains about whether their tenuous relationship with Sinatra's wife, who commissioned the original stone, was part of the replacement.