A Vocal Salute to Chairman of the Board

It was a night, said Ginny Mancini, when singers came together to take care of their own. Did they ever.

The Society of Singers paid tribute to Frank Sinatra Monday night at the Beverly Hilton, honoring the Chairman of the Board with its second Ella, a lifetime achievement award named after Fitzgerald, the first recipient.

The event was also timed to celebrate Sinatra’s 75th birthday on Dec. 12. But the award formalities were done away with early so the real fun--the singing--could begin.

There was the Frank and Ella duet of “The Lady Is a Tramp,” with two encores and three standing ovations.

There was George Burns singing “Young at Heart” and Harry Connick Jr. singing “More,” stopping midway to put on his glasses so he could read the lyrics on the cue cards. “I’ve never been this nervous before,” he said sheepishly.

There was the Manhattan Transfer singing with Connie Haines, plus songs from Peggy Lee, Tony Bennett, Jack Jones, Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme, the Hi-Lo’s, Joe Williams, Herb Jeffries and the “ladies who sang with the bands”: Helen Forrest, Kitty Kallen, Helen O’Connell, Kay Starr, Martha Tilton, Bea Wain, Fran Warren and the Sentimentalists. Henry Mancini conducted.

Some singers who no longer perform often--including Peggy Lee, Tony Martin and the band singers--sang from their tables; they glowed in the spotlight, buoyed by standing ovations.

It was no wonder the evening was a sellout; tables were crammed into the ballroom, and some with seats in the back chose to stand for the show. Word had spread since last year’s salute to Fitzgerald featuring Mel Torme and others.

The Society of Singers raised $500,000 from Monday’s event, but the group is still $2.5 million away from its dream: building a retirement home for singers.

“We have the plans ready to go,” said Ginny Mancini, president of the Society of Singers and co-chair (with Jeanne Hazard) of the event. “We have what we consider (plans for) the state-of-the-art retirement living . . . and now we’re waiting for some angel to say, ‘Here’s 30 acres to build what you want.’ ”

Also on hand for the celebration were Altovise Davis, Joanna and Sidney Poitier, Charles Bronson with Kim Weeks, Sylvester Stallone and brother Frank, Don Rickles, Bob Newhart, Harvey Korman, Kimberley Conrad and Hugh Hefner, Helen Reddy, Barry Manilow, Lucie Arnaz, Angie Dickinson, Lyn and Norman Lear, Artie Shaw, and some of Sinatra’s family, including wife Barbara, daughter Tina, son Frank Jr. and granddaughters Amanda and A. J. Lambert.

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