Frank Sinatra Dead at 82 of Heart Attack

Frank Sinatra, the dashing teen idol who matured into the premier romantic balladeer of American popular music and the Chairman of the Board to his millions of fans, died Thursday night of a heart attack. He was 82.

Sinatra was pronounced dead at 10:50 p.m. in the emergency room of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, said his publicist, Susan Reynolds. Sinatra’s family, including his wife, was with him when he died.

Ol’ Blue Eyes was a master craftsman and ranked as one of the most influential singers in this country’s history. In more than 200 albums, his music led the evolution from Big Band to vocal American music.

The son of Italian immigrants communicated across generational lines with love songs filled with a rare mix of vulnerability and verve--from “Strangers in the Night” to “One For My Baby.”

He refused to compromise--”I’m going to do as I please,” he once said--and his trademark song was “My Way.”