Old Blue Eyes... The Voice... Chairman of the Board.
This extraordinary entertainer appeared in over 50 motion pictures and enjoyed a music career that spanned six decades. Beyond entertainment, Sinatra was a patriot, philanthropist and in his own way, an activist -- from World War II morale-boosting campaigns to
a private battle on behalf of African American entertainers in Las Vegas.
In 1971, he was awarded the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award by the Motion Picture Academy for his many charitable deeds. He received the Kennedy Center Life Achievement Award in 1983 and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1985. In 1987, Sinatra was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award by the N.A.A.C.P. Even all of those awards were topped when, in 1997, Frank Sinatra received the highest honor the U.S.A. can bestow upon a civilian: a Congressional Gold Medal for his countless accomplishments as a singer, actor, and humanitarian. One of Sinatra's favorite songs, "The House I Live In," summed up his feelings for his country:
"The words of old Abe Lincoln,
Of Jefferson and Paine,
Of Washington and Jackson
And the tasks that still remain;
The little bridge at Concord,
Where Freedom's fight began,
Our Gettysburg and Midway
And the story of Bataan.
The house I live in,
The goodness everywhere,
A land of wealth and beauty,
With enough for all to share;
A house that we call Freedom,
A home of Liberty,
And it belongs to fighting people
That's America to me."