When Connie Francis debuted in the movie Where The Boys Are back in 1960, the then 17-year-old had absolutely no clue that her life would turn out to be the way it did. Over the course of 83 years, this actor went through the highest of peaks and the lowest of hell when it came to her personal life. Despite all the struggles that she went through, this 83-year-old believes in looking ahead and into the future rather than delving into the past.
The Memoir Of Connie Francis- The Singer Who Suffered A Lot
Connie Francis had the most excruciating period of life from 1974 to well into the 90s. Between 1984 and 1991, she had been committed to a mental institution 17 times. This commitment came after she suffered an incorrect diagnosis of manic-depressive disorder. But if one were aware of the life she had led by the time she was 40, people would have been far more sympathetic to her situation.
She was raped in 1974, and her brother was shot to death in 1981. According to media reports, he was gunned down before his New Jersey home by a mob. If that wasn’t enough, she also suffered setbacks in the romance section- having married and divorced 4 times.
She also went through a nasal surgery that took her voice for 7 years. She had once stated, “Losing my voice was like a surgeon losing his hands.” Her father derailed her relationship with Bobby Darin, the famous singer. If sources close to the actor are to be believed, she considered the singer to be the love of her life.
Apart from her brother’s murder, Francis has no regrets about her life. Speaking to Growing Bolder, Francis had once mentioned, “Although there were some terrible lows, there were exhilarating highs.” The bittersweet journey of Francis was chronicled not only through her songs but also through a memoir which was titled, “Among My Souvenirs: The Real Story, Vol. 1”, which was published in 2017.
A Life Of Lows More Than Highs
Connie Francis, or Concetta Rosemarie Franconero, was born on December 12th, 1937, in Newark, New Jersey. She was always an A student who dreamed of being a doctor. But due to a twist of fate, she turned out to be one of the chart-topping female vocalists in the early 1950s and 1960s, with her popularity seemingly enhanced by her role in “Where the Boys Are.” Interestingly, this film also put Fort Lauderdale on the map.
But the highs didn’t remain for long in Connie Francis’s life. The Washington Post had previously reported that back in 1974, law enforcement found the singer in a hotel room in Long Island naked, gagged, and tied to an overturned chair. She was reportedly terrorized for around three hours at knife-point, where she was robbed and raped. This crime led to multiple nervous breakdowns, a failed marriage, and also ended her career.
Rape, Murder, and Failed Marriages- Francis Dealt With It All
When Fox News asked Connie Francis as to how she dealt with the trauma in 1974, she replied, “I had a lot of help. I had good friends, a family who supported me and my sense of humor… But I didn’t have the benefit of going to a support group for women who were raped because it would have been in the National Enquirer the following week. So I had to do that in the privacy of my own home. But it did take seven years out of my life. I didn’t grant an interview for seven years. I didn’t sing for seven years. It was a horrible experience.”
Speaking about her memoir, where she had outlined the struggles that she went through, Connie mentioned that the most difficult chapter to write was “My brother’s murder. I rented out a room in the Aladdin Hotel in Las Vegas for two weeks to write the chapters on the rape and my brother’s murder […] figure once I got those out of the way, I would be able to concentrate on the lighter aspects of my life. I needed to put humor into my book. The thing that saved me has been my sense of humor. So I tackled those two subjects first.”
Connie Francis’ Songs Were Made Out Of Her History
Every song that Connie Francis recorded had a miserable history attached to it. For “Who’s Sorry Now?”, one of her chart-topping hits, Connie mentioned, “My father wanted me to record that song for a year and a half and I turned him down. It was a square song, it was written during the 1920s, and the kids on “American Bandstand” would laugh me right out of the show. He said, “If you don’t sing this song sister, the only way you’ll get on ‘American Bandstand’ is if you sit on top of the television set.”
So I did it as the last song. I stretched the other songs before I got to “Who’s Sorry Now” so there wouldn’t be time. But there were 16 minutes left. My father said, “If I have to nail you to that microphone, you’re gonna do ‘Who’s Sorry Now.’” So I did it. I didn’t like it… I remember that record had been out for three months and it went nowhere… But Dick Clark liked it… It was a cosmic moment for me. It’s a moment I’ll never forget. Because I knew in five seconds my life would never be the same. And it wasn’t. It was a happy shock.”
Bobby Darin and Connie Francis- The Love That Got Away
Connie Francis also had a turbulent married life. She was first married to Dick Kanellis, then she married Izzy Marion, Joseph Garzilli, and finally Bob Parkinson. It is quite unfortunate that her longest marriage lasted just 5 years. But it could be because she had always loved just one man her entire life- who she could never have.
When Francis recorded her first big hit in 1958, she was working in various capacities- which included making demos that would then be shopped to various celebrities. She had, for a while, performed for a time on a local New York City children’s TV program. It was during this time that she met with Bobby Darin, another performer- with whom she only had arguments in the beginning.
Nevertheless, the argument soon turned into love, but under the radar of Francis’ controlling father. As it goes, the relationship ended abruptly when her father chased Darin out of the recording studio at gunpoint one day. Throughout her life, Francis was heartbroken that she could never marry Darin- who later married Sandra Dee in 1960.
The Meeting With Frank Sinatra
But this famous singer also had interacted with Frank Sinatra- the national heartthrob when she was just growing into her own. When Fox asked her about her relationship with Sinatra, she mentioned, “I got weak in the knees when I met Sinatra. I was actually afraid to meet him. There were two people I idolized: One was Frank and the other was Judy Garland. I got to meet both of them. Frank invited me to a party. He rented a whole restaurant to have a dinner party for me in Las Vegas.
The first night that we met, he used vile language, not at me, but at somebody else. I was with Don Rickles and I said, “I’m outta here. You can babysit him all night if you want to.” So Frank came up and said, “Is there a problem Don?” Don said, “Well you used language that offended her, Frank. She was afraid you would use the F-word.” Frank said, “Well I didn’t disappoint her, did I?” Don said, “Don’t you see that sign on her forehead? It says ‘I’m a virgin.’” Frank then said, “The only virgins I know in Las Vegas are 4-year-olds and ugly.” He did apologize, which is very rare for him. And from there we had a wonderful friendship.”
Sources
- “At 83, Connie Francis Bears Prideful Scars of Troubled Life .” Growing Bolder
- “Connie Francis opens up about her horrific 1974 rape, brother’s murder in new book.” Fox News. Stephanie Nolasco.
- “4 Husbands Later Connie Francis Reveals Who Her One True Love Was.” Dusty Old Thing. Rose Heichelbech.
