Frank Sinatra’s two-year romance with the much younger actress Irene Tsu has been laid bare in her new memoirs.
The 77-year-old got candid about the ‘passionate and adventurous’ affair while plugging her book A Water Color Dream: The Many Lives Of Irene Tsu to Fox News.
Irene – who 29 years his junior when they were together – dished that Sinatra spontaneously summoned her to an impromptu first date in the California desert in 1968 amid the collapse of his marriage to Mia Farrow.
Memories: Frank Sinatra’s two-year romance with Irene Tsu had been laid bare in her new memoirs; they are both pictured in 1967, the year before their relationship began
‘It was hard not to be captivated by Frank. And when you were with him, you were going to have a good time,’ she gushed of the Chairman Of The Board.
Mia, who was married to Frank from 1966 until 1968, was a full 30 years his junior.
When Irene first met Frank he was in Miami shooting Tony Rome and she was in town to film one of her famous ‘wiki wiki girl’ ads for Chevron.
Her manager sent her to a networking lunch at a hotel with ‘eight or nine people,’ but when Frank arrived ‘you heard the voice. You didn’t even have to look up to know it was Sinatra’s. The voice just commanded the room. And I didn’t want to look for him. I felt like I wasn’t allowed and I didn’t want him to catch me staring!’
Throwback to 1967: The 77-year-old got candid about the ‘passionate and adventurous’ affair while plugging her book A Water Color Dream: The Many Lives Of Irene Tsu to Fox News
The way they were: Frank got together with Irene amid the collapse of his marriage to Mia Farrow; he and Mia are pictured at their wedding in Las Vegas in 1966
When he caught sight of her again at a Beverly Hills private club a month later, she was enraptured by his legendary eyes.
‘He had the most incredible blue eyes I’ve ever seen. You just got lost in them. He was so relaxed and charismatic. You just became captivated by him.’
A restaurateur rang her up ordering her to join Frank for dinner at 7:30pm and ‘Be on time,’ so she ‘went shopping like crazy’ for the perfect outfit.
While she braced herself for the date, Frank himself called and said: ‘Baby, I don’t know if you heard, but my divorce has been announced and there’s paparazzi all over my property. I’m heading out to the desert. I want you to come with me.’
Stars align: When Irene first met Frank he was in Miami shooting Tony Rome (left) and she was in town to film one of her famous ‘wiki wiki girl’ ads for Chevron (right)
They spent ‘a magical weekend’ in the desert and then she stayed at his home ‘in the Pink Room, which was Mia’s. He told me: “If you don’t like the color we can change it. Pick any color you want.” So I did – a buttercup yellow.’
The Shanghai-born actress made her her movie debut in 1961 in the dance ensemble of Flower Drum Song, and by the late 1960s she was recognizable for her Chevron ads, but her stardom was still eclipsed by Frank’s.
‘We would go to the most expensive restaurants and here I was ordering a carrot. And if you were Frank Sinatra, no one would dare come near you. He was very political and I was not at all savvy about that. So we didn’t really have a lot of deep discussions. He lived with a lot of tension and had insomnia,’ she remembered.
Frank started off a liberal Democrat but drifted slowly rightward after a falling-out with his old pal John F. Kennedy in the early 1960s.
Differences: Irene, pictured with John Wayne in the 1968 film The Green Berets, said Frank ‘didn’t really like his women to work’ but noted their relationship ended amicably
By the early 1970s he switched over to the Republican Party and he ultimately produced both of Ronald Reagan’s inaugural galas in the 1980s.
Irene revealed that Frank ‘didn’t really like his women to work. He would say: “I could give you anything. You want a car? A house? Jewelry? Just tell me what you want.” But that wasn’t really me. I was perfectly content with my bicycle and working. It was too restrictive for me.’
Frank purportedly left Mia because he demanded that she quit her starring role in the Roman Polanski film Rosemary’s Baby and she declined. She is said to have been served with the divorce papers on set.
Mia was Frank’s third wife overall and his second movie star spouse, after his tempestuous marriage to Ava Gardner.
Breaking point: Frank purportedly left Mia because he demanded that she quit Rosemary’s Baby and she declined; she is pictured in the film
In 1976 he married his fourth wife Barbara Marx, a twice-divorced socialite 12 years his junior who stayed with him until his death in 1998.
Frank’s biographer Kitty Kelley claimed on TV in the 1980s that Barbara was ‘a woman who is on call at all times. He vowed that he would never, ever marry another actress again and he will not tolerate any woman who has her own career at all.’
However Irene says her own relationship with Frank ended amicably, and that he sent her a gift in 1971 when she tied the knot with Hungarian director Ivan Nagy.
‘I got a call from Frank one day and he said: “If you don’t tell me what you want as a wedding present you’re going to get a Ming vase.” I said. “No Ming vase! But I could use a washer/dryer actually.” He laughed so much. He said: “What are you going to do, open a Chinese laundry?’ But I got it,’ she shared.
Side by side: In 1976 he married his fourth wife Barbara Marx, a devoted homemaker who was 12 years his junior and who stayed with him until his death; the couple are pictured in 1990
‘I remember the washer/dryer came with a note that said: “All the happiness to you and no starch.” It was a good washer/dryer actually. I kept it for a long time.’
Irene divorced Ivan in 1980, after which he dated the notorious ‘Hollywood Madam’ Heidi Fleiss and eventually died aged 77 in 2015.
In addition to his marriages and Irene, Frank is rumored to have had affairs with multiple actresses ranging from Judy Garland to Elizabeth Taylor.