"Frank Sinatra Has a Cold" is a profile of Frank Sinatra written by Gay Talese for the April 1966 issue of Esquire. The article is one of the most famous pieces of magazine journalism ever written and is often considered not only the greatest profile of Frank Sinatra but one of the greatest celebrity profiles ever written. The profile is one of the seminal works of New Journalism and is still widely read, discussed and studied. In the 70th anniversary issue of Esquire in October 2003, the editors declared the piece the "Best Story Esquire Ever Published". Vanity Fair called it "the greatest literary-nonfiction story of the 20th century".
Assignment
Talese had spent the first ten years of his career at The New York Times. He felt restricted by the limitations of newspaper writing and began searching for jobs with magazines. In 1965, he signed a one-year, six-story contract with Esquire magazine. His first assignment from Esquire editor Harold Hayes was to write a profile of Frank Sinatra. It was a difficult assignment; Sinatra had turned down interview requests from Esquire for years.
Sinatra, about to turn 50, was in the spotlight. His relationship with 20-year-old Mia Farrow was constantly in the news. A CBS television documentary had upset Sinatra, who felt that his life was being pried into, and he was unhappy about speculation in the documentary about his connection to Mafia leaders. He was also worried about his starring role in an upcoming NBC show named after his album, A Man and His Music, and his various business ventures in real estate, his film company, his record label, and an airline. At the time, Sinatra maintained a personal staff of 75.
Sinatra refused to be interviewed for the profile. Rather than give up, Talese spent three months, beginning in November 1965, following Sinatra and observing everything he could and interviewing any members of his entourage who were willing to speak. Esquire paid nearly $5,000 in expenses over the duration of the story. Talese was uncertain whether the story could be finished, but ultimately concluded, in a letter to Harold Hayes, that "I may not get the piece we'd hoped for—the real Frank Sinatra, but perhaps, by not getting it—and by getting rejected constantly and by seeing his flunkies protecting his flanks—we will be getting close to the truth about the man." Without Talese ever receiving Sinatra's cooperation, the story was published in April 1966.
Profile
The profile begins with Sinatra in a sullen mood at a private Hollywood club. Stressed about all the events in his life, Sinatra, and many of his staff, are in a poor mood because Sinatra is afflicted by the common cold, hampering his ability to sing. The significance of the cold is expressed by Talese in one of the story's most famous passages:
Sinatra with a cold is Picasso without paint, Ferrari without fuel—only worse. For the common cold robs Sinatra of that uninsurable jewel, his voice, cutting into the core of his confidence, and it affects not only his own psyche but also seems to cause a kind of psychosomatic nasal drip within dozens of people who work for him, drink with him, love him, depend on him for their own welfare and stability. A Sinatra with a cold can, in a small way, send vibrations through the entertainment industry and beyond as surely as a President of the United States, suddenly sick, can shake the national economy.
The style of narrative writing, in this passage and throughout the piece, was alien to journalism at the time, and was considered the province of fiction writing. Only a few other authors, such as Tom Wolfe, were using such techniques in journalistic writing. The piece employed techniques like scenes, dialogue and third-person narrative that were common in fiction, but still rare in journalism.
While Sinatra was near the heights of his fame in the 1960s the world of music was changing. The arrival of bands like the Beatles and the accompanying cultural change was threatening to Sinatra. This is illustrated in a scene with the writer Harlan Ellison who is wearing corduroy slacks, a Shetland sweater, a tan suede jacket, and Game Warden boots while playing pool in a club. Sinatra confronts and questions Ellison about his boots. Ellison, annoyed by Sinatra's questions, rebuffs him. After Ellison leaves the room, Sinatra tells the assistant manager, "I don't want anybody in here without coats and ties."