The Frank Sinatra
Show
1950-1952

It was a low point in the singer's career. His record sales declining, dumped by his movie studio, his radio series cancelled, and perhaps most frighteningly, sidelined for over a month with a ruptured vocal cord, Frank Sinatra was in the depths of despair. He was dogged by bad press, due to an affair with movie star Ava Gardner while still married to first wife Nancy. It didn't help that his thin skin and ill temper (not to mention an overindulgence in alchohol) sometimes fueled violent confrontations with reporters and photographers he felt had wronged him.

So it was that, in 1950, Sinatra found himself casting about for a vehicle that could help him resusitate his career. Television was the new thing and had helped a number of has-been entertainers, so why not give it a try? Following a well-received appearance on Bob Hope's TV show on May 27th, the struggling singer signed with CBS for dual television and radio shows to begin in the fall. The radio show, Meet Frank Sinatra (later retitled Here's Frank Sinatra) aired on Sunday afternoons. The TV program, entitled The Frank Sinatra Show, featured longtime musical director Axel Stordahl, singer June Hutton (Stordahl's wife), comedian Ben Blue, and a succession of vocal groups.

The show was plagued with problems right off the bat, suffering from disappointing ratings, a high turnover in personnel, and a shortage of sponsor support. Scheduled on Saturday nights opposite the formidable Your Shows of Shows, Sinatra had trouble drawing viewers. In an effort to shore up the ratings, CBS kept replacing the producer and director, but it didn't help. (In one comedy sketch, Sinatra quipped that sidekick Ben Blue "changes costumes faster than I change producers.")

There was also turnover in the cast. Reportedly unhappy with the way his talents were being used, Blue left in January 1951. Sinatra wanted to replace him with Jackie Gleason, but the comic was then busy hosting Cavalcade of Stars on the Dumont network and that show's sponsor wouldn't let him go. (Gleason did manage to get clearance, though, to make a series of guest appearances.)

The Sinatra show ran on a sustaining basis (meaning it had no sponsor) until November 1950, when the Bulova watch company signed on - but only for the first half-hour. Bulova pulled out at the end of the season, and it began to look as if the show wouldn't return in the fall. But at the last minute, CBS managed to convince Ekco Products (a housewares company) to sponsor one-quarter of the show. Unfortunately for Sinatra, the network moved the program to Tuesdays at 8:00 pm - opposite Milton Berle's Texaco Star Theater, an even bigger ratings powerhouse than Your Show of Shows. "The Voice" was no match for Uncle Miltie, and in January 1952, Ekco dropped out. With the exception of a single episode, the program remained sponsorless for the rest of the season. At a cost of $41,500 an episode - an estimated total loss to CBS of a million dollars - the show was just too expensive to continue, and the network cancelled it.

Things would get worse for the singer before they got better. Sinatra's radio show had been cancelled in July 1951, and he now not only didn't have a TV show but would soon lose his contract with Columbia Records. He had managed to convince his wife to give him a divorce so he could marry Ava Gardner in November 1951. But life with Ava was stormy, and the bad press continued. With little work available, Frank's financial situation became so desperate that he was reduced to borrowing money from his new bride.

Despite the disappointing ratings, Sinatra's first foray into television wasn't bad. The star was, of course, a fine singer at the peak of his powers. The comedy material wasn't always the best, but even when a joke was a dud, Sinatra usually had enough comic flair to pull it off. Perhaps most fascinating is that, even with all the turmoil in his personal life and career, Frank copes surprisingly well. His greatest period was just around the corner, and though not yet fully realized, the seeds of that greatness are very much in evidence.