Wally Lamb On Franz Douskey’s New Sinatra Book: ‘It’s as if … you’re sitting across from Tony [Consiglio] in a booth at Sally’s’

Two teenagers — on the lam from school during the Great Depression — hit it off and became lifelong friends. One guy was from New Haven, the other from Hoboken, NJ.

They spent a lot of time at automats in Manhattan, getting decent meals cheap, and hanging out at the Paramount Theatre. There, they saw movies and live music, including the bands of Benny Goodman and Artie Shaw.

One day in 1935, while watching the Bing Crosby film “Pennies From Heaven,” the Hoboken kid said, “Someday I’d like to sing like that guy.”

“Great, Frank,” his New Haven pal, Tony, responded — somewhat skeptically, “I hope you do.”

Complete Column At Register Citizen

Tweet

Douskey Wikipedia

Recent Cool Justice Columns

twitter@cooljustice