Some Papers Not Printing Trudeau Strips on Sinatra

Frank Sinatra and his alleged connections to organized crime figures are this week’s subjects in Garry Trudeau’s “Doonesbury,” and some newspapers have decided not to use the controversial cartoon strip.

The Los Angeles Times, which ran Monday’s cartoon, cited legal reasons for its decision to pull the remaining strips.

“I made this decision on the strong advice of our attorneys,” said William F. Thomas, editor and executive vice president.

Legal Reasons Cited

The Portland Oregonian also cited legal reasons for not publishing the strips.

A number of papers have decided either to alter or not use today’s cartoon, which features a photograph of Sinatra with reputed Gambino crime family kingpin Aniello Dellacroce.

The strip said that Dellacroce was “charged with the murder of Gambino family member Charley Calise.” The strip does not mention that Dellacroce was acquitted of the charge.

Most newspapers that usually carry the strip did so Monday, and many reported little public reaction.

“There are no questions about the facts as cited in the strip,” said Lee Salem, editorial director of Universal Press Syndicate, which distributes “Doonesbury” to 835 clients.

“I think most people understand the strip deals with satire, humor and commentary,” he said.

Response by Sinatra

Sinatra, in a statement, responded to the strip by saying: “Garry Trudeau makes his living by his attempts at humor without regard to fairness or decency. I don’t know if he has ever made any efforts on behalf of others or done anything to help the less fortunate in this country or elsewhere. I am happy to have the President and the people of the United States judge us by our respective track records.”

When asked if Sinatra was considering a lawsuit, spokesman Len Rosen said that he could not elaborate on the statement.

The Sinatra series ranks with controversial “Doonesbury” strips depicting a trip through President Reagan’s brain and those commenting on the Watergate investigation, the Vietnam War and abortion.

Trudeau, who has made a fetish of not elaborating on his cartoons, said: “You don’t really think you’re going to get a quote from me on this, not after all these years.”

On Monday, the first cartoon in the weeklong series quoted the words President Reagan used when he gave Sinatra the Medal of Freedom last month. The last frame of the strip shows a photo of Sinatra posing with six other men. The caption reads: “Medal of Freedom recipient Frank Sinatra doing it his way with Tommy (Fatso) Marson, Don Carlo Gambino, Richard (Nerves) Fusco, Jimmy (The Weasel) Fratianno, Joseph Gambino and Greg de Palma.”

Government Exhibit

The photo was taken in Sinatra’s dressing room at the Westchester Premier Theater in New York in 1976 and was introduced as a government exhibit in the 1978 fraud trial of De Palma and Fusco.

About 40 to 45 newspapers called Universal Press Syndicate when the series was distributed, Salem said.

“They wanted to be sure we were comfortable with the material, both editorially and legally, and the answer was affirmative,” he said.