Marty and Dolly Sinatra
Sinatra’s biographers believe that his mother, Dolly, was the dominant factor in the development of his personality and self-confidence. According to Frank’s fourth wife, Barbara Marx Sinatra, Dolly was abusive to him as a child, and apparently “knocked him around a lot.” Dolly was energetic and driven and became influential in the town of Hoboken and in the local Democratic Party circles.
Governor Ronald Reagan, Nancy Reagan, Vice President Spiro Agnew, hospital director Glen Bailey, Mrs. Martin Anthony Sinatra, Frank Sinatra at the opening of Palm Springs Desert Hospital, 1/15/71 Photo By Everett Collection/Shutterstock
Dolly worked as a midwife, earning $50 for each delivery, and allegedly ran an illegal abortion service for Italian Catholic girls (she was nicknamed “Hatpin Dolly”). While she had a gift for languages, Frank’s father, Marty, was illiterate. He was a bantamweight boxer who fought under the name Marty O’Brien. He also worked for the Hoboken Fire Department for 24 years.