Chairman leaves his stamp

Ol' Blue Eyes was back headlining on the Strip on Tuesday as the U.S. Postal Service unveiled its new Frank Sinatra commemorative stamp.

Sinatra family members joined friends, stamp collectors and tourists in front of the fountains at Bellagio for the midday dedication of the 42-cent, first-class stamp that features a portrait of the legendary Chairman of the Board, with his trademark blue eyes, fedora and smile. Sinatra's autograph also appears on the stamp.

"When we lost Dad 10 years ago tomorrow, I swear to God ... I said, 'Do you think we'll ever get called by the U.S. Postal Service?'" said Sinatra's daughter Tina Sinatra, who got choked up while talking about her Rat Pack father.

Frank Sinatra died on May 14, 1998. He was 82.

Tina Sinatra said three cities -- New York, Las Vegas and Hoboken, N.J. -- were chosen to launch her father's stamp on Tuesday for obvious reasons.

Sinatra was born Dec. 12, 1915, in Hoboken. He made his 1942 breakthrough appearance as a solo performer at New York's Paramount Theater and later scored a hit with the theme from "New York, New York." And he began his long love affair with Las Vegas in 1951 when he debuted at the Desert Inn.

Tina Sinatra said it was in Las Vegas that she first realized what her father meant to others. As a young girl, she saw him perform at the Sands.

"I saw for the first time the adulation," she said. "I never saw that many people in the dark so quiet when somebody else did something. I couldn't figure all that out until I put the word 'entertainment' to all of it."

Then, she said, she understood: "That's what my dad does when he's not home."

Another Sinatra daughter, Nancy, was on hand for New York City's stamp ceremony on Tuesday. Sinatra's son, Frank Sinatra Jr., attended the ceremony in Hoboken.

U.S. Postal Service Board of Governors Chairman Alan Kessler called Sinatra "our nation's first modern entertainment superstar."

"He was, as they say, 'the complete package,'" Kessler said in a statement. "He had looks and charm, talent and skill, creativity, tenacity and style."

The local event included the Bellagio fountain show choreographed to Sinatra's hits "Fly Me to the Moon" and "Luck Be a Lady."

Scores of people came from near and far to watch.

Appearing on a postal stamp "is the greatest thing that could ever happen to a human being," and Sinatra deserved it, said Carmen Collazo, a 74-year-old Las Vegan who attended the ceremony.

Collazo said he was introduced to Sinatra decades ago by a mutual friend in Atlantic City.

"I spent a day with him," he said. "He didn't know me from Adam, but he said, 'Come on, kid, let's go.' He was a nice, congenial person."

Collectors have been looking forward to the Sinatra stamp launch, said Michael Baadke, managing editor of Linn's Stamp News, a weekly stamp newspaper.

"It's a very nice stamp," said Baadke, who planned his Las Vegas vacation from Ohio to coincide with Tuesday's event.

Sinatra "made an incredible contribution to entertainment history," he said. "Collectors are excited."

Richard Sheaff, Postal Service art director, worked with stamp artist Kazuhiko Sano to create the stamp based on a 1950s photograph of Sinatra.

The 120 million Sinatra stamps became available nationwide Tuesday, one day after the price for a first-class stamp increased from 41 to 42 cents.

Tina Sinatra said that among the many honors her father received over his 60-year career, including several Grammys and the Presidential Medal of Freedom, being featured on a U.S. stamp would have made him the proudest because it comes "from the people."

"He wasn't ours. He belonged to you," she said. "That's what he always said."

Contact reporter Lynnette Curtis at lcurtis @reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0285.