Julie Sinatra didn't find out until she was 53 that her father was 'Old Blue Eyes'

Tomorrow many people will honor the memory of Francis Albert Sinatra, who was born Dec. 12, 1915. Among those will be one New Mexico woman who claims to be the illegitimate daughter of Frank Sinatra.

Living in Velarde, Julie Sinatra, 68, said, "It wasn't until I was 53 that I found out the truth about my parentage. I was living in Cave Creek, Ariz., and as I was channel surfing, I came across a TV miniseries on the life of Frank Sinatra. It caught my interest because one of the starlets featured resembled my mother, who was a northern Italian woman that had pursued a career in Hollywood."

According to Julie Sinatra, she grew up in Northern California with an abusive, alcoholic mother who had a series of husbands, and Sinatra never quite understood her mother's animosity toward her. In retrospect, she now believes that the anger her mother displayed was because of her appearance. She does have an uncanny resemblance to Frank Sinatra, with his rough facial features and signature blue eyes. "When I would come home from school, she was always mad at me and discouraged my use of playing the piano. Now I realize that I was a daily reminder of a painful time in her life," she said.

The story of Sinatra's 15-year odyssey is outlined in her book, Under My Skin, My Father, Frank Sinatra, which has just been released as an e-book on Amazon.com in honor of his birthday. It details the heartache she endured in contacting the Sinatra family.

"I was so naive back then," she said. "I wrote to Tina Sinatra asking to arrange a meeting with my father, and I was sent a cease-and-desist letter from the family's lawyer. I didn't want any money; I just wanted to meet him. Unfortunately, he died a year later and he didn't even know that I was trying to contact him."

According to the book, Sinatra's mother, Dorothy Bunocelli, worked as a hostess for Bugsy Segal at the Pink Flamingo in Las Vegas, Nev. Segal had a side business providing starlets to Hollywood. She used the stage name Alora Gooding and appeared as an extra in Anchors Away and Around the World in 80 Days, with Frank Sinatra. At that time, she was married to Tom Lyma, and Frank Sinatra was married to Nancy Barbato. Theirs was a clandestine on-and-off relationship that began in 1940 and continued through 1947, Julie Sinatra said.

She has vivid memories from her childhood. "When I was 11, I remember my Aunt Iva telling my mother, 'At least let her listen to his music,' " she said. "One time, when I was a teenager, I was watching the news with my mother when a story on Frank Sinatra aired where he had punched a photographer, and my mother blurted out to the television, 'Way to go big shot,' as if she knew him."

Before her mother died in 2002, she finally told Julie that Frank Sinatra was her father.

She also shared photos of the couple that had been stashed away for decades of the first time they met at the Garden of Allah in Los Angeles. Later, she met with a former bodyguard of the star who verified that not only did she resemble her father, but they had many of the same mannerisms. She also discovered that both she and Frank Sinatra suffered from Dupuytren's contracture, which appears over time affecting the connective tissue in the palm of the hands.

In 2000, she legally changed her name from Julie Ann Maria Lyma to Julie Sinatra. "It's certainly opened doors for me."

She's been featured on Entertainment Tonight and Inside Hollywood. In 2007, she published the print version of her book. Three years ago, Julie Sinatra moved to New Mexico so that she could concentrate on writing music and provide her aging horse with room to graze peacefully. She's hoping that the revenue generated from her e-book will help her music foundation for children. The basis of the foundation is to encourage children to explore their musical abilities and, more importantly, their identity, an area in which Julie Sinatra is now so well-versed.

Ana Pacheco's weekly tribute to our community elders appears every Sunday.
She can be reached at 505-474-2800.