I’ve always been fascinated at watching the evolution of enteratainers: how the looked in their prime and how they looked and performed at the ends or later parts of their lives. This is the first in an occasional series. Some evolve and adapt. Others simply lose their gift.
Here’s Frank Sinatra at the top of his game in 1966 doing Witchcraft — with a notably unPC ending:
And here’s a rare clip of him doing one of his last big hits years after it became famous at his 75th birthday celebration in 1990. The showmanship is still there but the machinery is greatly worn. Yet, the spirit does shine:
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.