[Dixielandjazz] Frank Sinatra and Palm Springs -- Los Angeles Times

[Robert Ringwald]

Palm Springs, His Way
This is Sinatra's kind of town
by Maxine Nunes
Los Angeles Times, October 14, 2012
Back in 1975, when Mel Haber first opened his Palm Springs restaurant, he waited
for the call that would signal true success. Three months passed before it came:
"He's on his way over."
The "he" was Frank Sinatra.
In those days, said Haber, owner of Melvyn's Restaurant (200 W. Ramon Road, Palm
Springs), maitre d's alerted each other when Sinatra and his entourage left one restaurant
night spot on the way to a next, which they often did. In a town full of megawatt
stars, no one had an aura as powerful as Sinatra's -- not Gregory Peck or Marlon
Brando, not even Ronald Reagan.
"When Mr. Sinatra came into the dining room, everything stopped. Silence came over
this room," said Brian Ellis, then and now maitre d' at Melvyn's.
The star's corner table is still there, as is much of the original staff. Bartender
David Shunick can serve you Jack Daniel's on the rocks and dining room captain Bobby
Bolduc can prepare pepper steak for you tableside, just as they did for Sinatra.
Another Palm Springs eatery that looks the same as it did back when the star was
a regular is Lord Fletcher's (70385 Highway 111, Rancho Mirage). "He saw me grow
up," said Michael Fletcher, who started there as a busboy and now runs the restaurant
his father, Ron, opened in 1966.
Sinatra's generosity was legendary, and one night after dinner, Fletcher recalled,
Ol' Blue Eyes tossed a $20 bill under the table. "Why did you do that?" one of his
pals asked. "Just think of the expression of the guy vacuuming the carpet tomorrow,"
Sinatra said.
Perhaps most memorable of all was the night Sinatra came in with astronaut Alan Shepherd
-- and the two of them wound up behind the bar singing "Fly Me to the Moon."
You can still enjoy Sinatra's favorite dishes at Lord Fletcher's -- braised short
ribs with red cabbage or pot roast with potato pancakes, followed by English rice
pudding with raspberries for dessert.
The Riviera Palm Springs (1600 N. Indian Canyon Drive, Palm Springs) was a major
Rat Pack hangout back in the day, and the hotel has been revamped to reflect the
era when Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr. performed in the hotel's Grand
Ballroom. It's worth a visit to the Circa 59 restaurant just to see the great black-and-white
photos of those legendary hipsters in action.
The Rat Pack liked to lounge around the pool by day, then party all night in the
presidential suite -- where you can do the same for a mere $2,200 a night.
Love and Marriage
Sinatra had four wives -- two for each of his desert homes. Twin Palms (1148 E. Alejo
Road, Palm Springs) was built in 1947 for his first wife, Nancy Barbato, and survived
his tempestuous marriage to Ava Gardner -- no worse for wear, the story goes, except
for a sink chipped by bottle he threw. The home, a mid-century modern stunner, can
be rented (chipped sink and all) for about $2,600 a night.
His second desert home was The Compound (70588 Frank Sinatra Drive, Rancho Mirage),
where he lived, in succession, with wives Mia Farrow and Barbara Marx. He built it
to accommodate newly elected pal Jack Kennedy and his Secret Service agents. But
the president never stayed there, reportedly because of Sinatra's reputed connection
to mobster Sam Giancana. The Compound is not open to the public, but it's definitely
worth a drive by.
About a half mile from The Compound is Michael S. Wolfson Park (70001 Frank Sinatra
Drive), with a welcome Sinatra fans find especially fun. At the entrance is a pillar
with a button at its center. Push it and Sinatra's voice comes out of a nearby rock
sounding so vibrant it's almost like he's standing next to you.
Body and Soul
Probably few confessions had the sizzle of Sinatra's, who attended two desert churches:
St. Francis of Assisi Church (47225 Washington St., La Quinta) and St. Louis Catholic
Church (68633 C St., Cathedral City), where daughter Nancy was wed.
You can say farewell to the star at his final resting place in Desert Memorial Park
(31705 Da Vall Drive, Cathedral City). For a man who lived so large, it's a surprisingly
modest grave near friends and family -- just a simple bronze marker that reads: "The
best is yet to come."


-Bob Ringwald
www.ringwald.com
Amateur (ham) Radio Operator K6YBV
916/ 806-9551

Women will never be equal to men until they can walk down the street 
with a bald head and a beer gut, and still think they are sexy.