Sinatra family loses Smithsonian effort
In the words of their famous dad, Frank Sinatra's family had high hopes of persuading the Smithsonian Museum to add a wing to broaden the scope of the legacy of American music, a treasure trove that would include tons of Ol' Blue Eyes memorabilia.
But, because of a global recession, the family's vision got shot down in May. That's life.
"We met with them three weeks ago and they said it wasn't likely to happen," said Tina Sinatra, who credits her sister Nancy with the idea.
"It stinks. I think it's criminal. Such an obvious oversight," she said in an interview with Vegas Confidential last week.
The family has several thousand memorabilia items, most of them housed in the Frank Sinatra Museum at the University of Southern California. Two them are on display at the door of Encore, on loan from the Sinatra estate: the 1953 best supporting actor Oscar for Frank's role in "From Here to Eternity" and the 1967 Grammy Award for "A Man and his Music," the album of the year.
The superstar's children -- Nancy, Tina and Frank Jr. -- are in town Friday to host a special wine dinner at Encore's Sinatra, the only restaurant sanctioned by the Sinatra family to bear their dad's name.
The event is in honor of "Come Fly With Me," the award-winning 2007 Sinatra Family Estates Cabernet Sauvignon, named for Frank's No. 1 album in the mid-1960s. The limited-edition Napa wine is the collaboration of Danielle Price, executive wine director of Wynn Resorts, along with Tina, Nancy, and Frank Jr., and Frank's granddaughter Amanda Erlinger.
Encore chef Theo Schoenegger is preparing a four-course Italian feast to pair with the wine. Dinner begins at 7 p.m. and costs $175 per person. For tickets, contact Rustin Jensen at 702-770-2249.
THE SCENE AND HEARD
Neil Diamond, after putting the word out to his band that he had a deal with Caesars Palace, has decided to hold off starting his residency until next year, I hear. ...
Former KLAS-TV, Channel 8 reporter Edward Lawrence, is getting his soccer fix and more. He's in South Africa for the World Cup after landing tickets to three games (he had seats for France vs. Uruguay). He not only watched the U.S.-England draw on Saturday on the waterfront at Capetown but also went swimming with, shudder, great white sharks (from a floating cage) and toured Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela spent most of his 27 years in prison. Follow Ed's excellent adventures on Twitter at @EdwardLawrence. ...
The Hofbrauhaus will be the epicenter of local Germanic pride today when Germany takes on Australia in World Cup play. Australian star Tim Cahill, who got married at Planet Hollywood Resort last month, is a star for Everton of England's Premier League, the club co-owned by Planet Hollywood founder Robert Earl. The Hofbrauhaus is showing a live game every day at 11:30 a.m. and a taped game at 2 p.m. ...
Brazilian soccer star Ronaldinho , mentioned here last week after he partied at The Bank (Bellagio), is not the all-time World Cup scoring leader. That honor belongs to his former teammate Ronaldo.
SIGHTINGS
Country stars Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood, dining Friday night in the Chairman's Room at Sinatra (Encore).
THE PUNCH LINE
"Here in New York, we're six hours behind South Africa, which will make it hard to watch all the World Cup matches. But it will give you a great excuse to go to a pub at 8 a.m." -- Jimmy Fallon
Norm Clarke can be reached at 702-383-0244 or norm@reviewjournal.com. Find additional sightings and more online at www.normclarke.com.
