Paul Anka confirms Frank Sinatra rumor: “Yes, he had a big one”

Legendary singer-songwriter Paul Anka has confirmed a long-standing rumor about Frank Sinatra, which originated years ago after comments from the star’s former wife, Ava Gardner, regarding Sinatra’s manhood.

“Yes, he had a big one,” Anka told Page Six, adding with a smile, “Not sure what that does for you!”

Anka explained that his knowledge of Sinatra’s personal life came from close interactions with him and other members of the famous Rat Pack in Las Vegas. Anka, who also wrote the lyrics for one of Sinatra’s most iconic songs, My Way, said he, Sinatra, and the group often visited saunas together, joking that he sometimes had “trouble making eye contact.”

Sinatra was married four times—to Ava Gardner, Mia Farrow, Barbara Sinatra, and others—and had affairs with some of the most famous women of the mid-20th century, including Marilyn Monroe and Lana Turner.

Barbara Sinatra, in her 2011 memoir Lady Blue Eyes: My Life with Frank Sinatra, wrote: “Frank attracted women. He couldn’t help it. Just looking at him—how he moved and carried himself—made it clear that he was a great lover and a true gentleman. He adored women and knew how to treat them.”

Ava Gardner was even more candid in her assessment of Sinatra’s appeal, according to Vanity Fair. The couple’s marriage from 1951 to 1957 was stormy, marked by passionate arguments and reconciliations. Though Sinatra was not tall or physically imposing (5’6”, around 119 lbs), Gardner praised his physical attributes, reportedly remarking about his manhood, “19 pounds is…”

On their first date, Sinatra whisked Gardner away from a party to a deserted town where they shot at store windows and street lamps. The pair were arrested but were likely released after a call from Sinatra’s publicist or studio.

Sinatra left his first wife for Gardner, marrying her in 1951. Gardner filed for divorce three years later—after both were Oscar-nominated for Mogambo and From Here to Eternity. The divorce was finalized in 1957. Despite their turbulent marriage, they remained close friends until Gardner’s death in 1990 from pneumonia at age 67. Sinatra passed away in 1998 at the age of 82.