Rocky
Fortune
There are millions of
Frank Sinatra fans in
the world who love his unique style of interpreting a
song and making it his own.
There are almost as many who love his work in the movies such
as "From Here to Eternity", "The Manchurian
Candidate" and "Oceans Eleven".
But some of Sinatra's best work is sadly all but forgotten
today. I'm referring, of course, to the Old Time Radio
detective series, Rocky
Fortune.
Frank Sinatra starred in this short run series (25 episodes)
named after the lead character, Rocko Fortunato, who
goes by his nickname, Rocky Fortune. Rocky was a
wisecracking drifter who took a variety of odd jobs to
support himself and invariably fell into trouble usually with a
beautiful woman involved. Rocky is the "tough guy with a
heart of gold". Frank Sinatra plays this type of character very
nicely.
It's hard to believe today given the popularity of Old Blue
Eyes in his later career and his continuing popularity since
his death, but in the early 1950's Frank Sinatra's career was
all but over. During this very low ebb, he took on the radio
role, of Rocky Fortune.
However, Rocky's "fortunes" (sorry) quicky turned around and
the show ended after only one season when Sinatra left
to devote more time to his singing and movie career. "From
Here to Eternity", with his Oscar winning role, had
opened in August and Sinatra was once again a hot commodity in
Hollywood.
Sinatra often used Rocky Fortune to promote the film (and his
Oscar nomination). As the series wound down and the date of the
Academy Awards show drew near, it became a running gag
that Rocky seemed to work the phrase "from here to eternity"
into almost every show. Listen for it!
The show is a fun, not too serious little adventure that is
good for a laugh or two. Frank Sinatra is excellent and
we can only wish there had been more Rocky Fortune. All
episodes are available.
The Internet Archive has all of the episodes of
Rocky Fortune available for FREE download -
Sinatra is interviewed on Armed Forces
Radio Service during World War II.
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the Home Page of Old Time Radio from Rocky Fortune
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