Rant #1,946: That's Life

Remember a few posts ago when I talked about the death of the lady who was the companion of reclusive actress Greta Garbo?

She was kind of a footnote celebrity, as she was at least slightly well known not because of her own accomplishments, but because of her link to a famous person.

Well, we have another one of these to report.

Barbara Sinatra, the last of singer Frank Sinatra's four wives and the one he was married to for the longest period of time, has passed away at age 90.

She was very well known in entertainment circles, but not well known to the public.

While Frank carried on his life on the public stage, Barbara did her work behind the scenes.

She was a huge fundraiser, and spearheaded the creation of a center for abused children that bears her name, the Barbara Sinatra Children's Center at Eisenhower Medical Center in Rancho Mirage, California.

Sinatra, nicknamed "Lady Blue Eyes," was presented with the rights to her husband's legacy upon his death in 1998. She owned the rights to his likeness, the rights to his "Trilogy" collection, ownership of most of his material possessions, and various mansions, as well as many millions of dollars.

Barbara Blakeley was a showgirl, and was married three times herself.

Her middle marriage, to Zeppo Marx of Marx Brothers fame, allowed her to hobnob with the Hollywood elite, and when she divorced him in 1973, Sinatra came calling, and they married in 1976.

Although she pretty much kept in the background during her marriage to Sinatra and the years after he had passed, she was quite well known in Hollywood circles, and was even portrayed by Melanie Griffith in a film about Frank Sinatra, "The Night We Called It a Day."

Upon her death, she is survived by her son from a prior marriage, grandchildren and her stepdaughters, Nancy and Tina Sinatra.

So again, while Barbara Sinatra had numerous accomplishments on her own, she is, and will primarily always be known as, Frank Sinatra's wife.

That does not minimize her life, but her link to "Old Blue Eyes" still will define her for the ages.