Sinatra honored on stamp

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HOBOKEN, N.J. — Beneath perfect blue skies, Old Blue Eyes was honored yesterday in his hometown, in the city that never sleeps and in the gambling mecca he helped create with his immense talent and personality.

One day before the 10th anniversary of the legendary singer's death at 82, the U.S. dedicated its 42-cent Frank Sinatra commemorative stamp with ceremonies here, in New York City and Las Vegas.

Family members, elected officials and hundreds of fans gathered in the morning at New York's Gotham Hall with two of his children, Frank Sinatra Jr. and Nancy Sinatra Lambert, and grandchild A.J. Lambert, Mrs. Lambert's daughter, participating in the festivities. Mr. Sinatra's other daughter, Tina, 60, attended a similar ceremony in Las Vegas.

Several hours later, the scene shifted across the Hudson River to Frank Sinatra Park in Hoboken, a once-grubby harbor town that Mr. Sinatra was said to hate and to which he reportedly never returned after hitting it big in show business.

But that didn't stop the city from posthumously saluting Mr. Sinatra. Before the half-hour afternoon ceremony featuring lawmakers and postal officials, Sinatra tunes played repeatedly over loudspeakers. "Gosh," one listener said to his companion, "wouldn't you think they'd play 'I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter'?"

During the remarks that followed, Frank Sinatra Jr. stole the show with a moving rerun of his comments at Gotham Hall.

"Sometimes the legend overshadows the man, and that's unfortunate," said the 63-year-old son, who enjoyed his own singing career in the 1960s and became his father's bandleader. "This is [about] the child of immigrant parents who came to seek the promise of America from the Old World, and this [stamp] is the greatest expression of what America means."

During the morning activities, Nancy Sinatra, 67, gestured to an oversized replica of the stamp and told several hundred listeners, "All I can think about is that his big grin will go around the world on cards and letters and make people grin back. When you see that, how could you not?"

A.J. Lambert, 32, thanked the postal service and her audience "for helping to make this a very happy anniversary for us," adding that "10 years ago was not such a great day."

An equally poignant note was added by Rep. Jose E. Serrano, New York Democrat and a Puerto Rico native who learned English by listening to Sinatra records his father brought home from World War II.

"My dad used to say English isn't considered a romantic language," said Mr. Serrano, who sponsored legislation that made Sinatra the 38th recipient of the Congressional Gold Medal. "But then he would add, 'If you listen to the words coming out of this man's mouth, you'll learn that English is a romantic language.' "

According to the Postal Service, 120 million of the first-class stamps will be issued in the new 42-cent denomination. The image shows Mr. Sinatra of the 1950s, complete with his trademark fedora, his autograph in script across the bottom and his famous blue eyes gleaming. The final product was created by art director Richard Sheaff of Scottsdale, Ariz., and artist Kazuhiko Sano of Mill Valley, Calif., from a favorite family photo.