Hollywood Whirlwind: Prowse, Sinatra The Six-week Engagement
Publishers note: This extract is from the biography Juliet Prowse: Born to Dance , the story about the dancer/entertainer who burst into the spotlight in her first movie, Can-Can where she met Frank Sinatra. Juliet was new in Hollywood and wanted to establish herself as an all-round entertainer particularly on stage. In one scene in Can-Can, an unplanned kiss from Sinatra, which was not in the script, led to Juliet dating him. But dating Sinatra was not for the faint-hearted as he dated multiple women at the same time, but he was furious when he heard that Juliet started dating someone else. This extract picks up after a fight that Frank and Juliet had about her other man.
Juliet was relaxing at the pool when she first heard the news. What? Frank is dating Marilyn Monroe? She laughed out loud she couldnt imagine them together. She was still confused about Frank, but hadnt seen or heard from him for months since their blow up. Oh well, cosi e la vita! the Italian cest la vie! Frank and Marilyn had been friends for years, and after her failed marriage to Arthur Miller and a stint in rehab, she was recuperating at Franks house. But between Marilyns dalliances with the Kennedy
brothers and her erratic behaviour, Franks feelings were more protective than passionate. Apparently, he preferred women with an inner strength and self-reliance, like his mother and Ava Gardener Marilyn was too much trouble. In Juliet, Frank certainly had had an independent woman who believed that things worked out as they should. As she said, I feel if I get what I want, I was right for it. If not, I dont cry over it.
By New Year 1961, Juliet had not seen Frank for six months. She was performing in New York and Frank tracked her down and asked her when she would be returning to LA. Then Frank did something extremely unusual: he said that he would meet her at the airport. Juliet was a little perplexed but excited. In the security-relaxed days of January 1962, Franks limousine drove up to the plane on the tarmac. As Juliet disembarked, he was standing with roses, and after a kiss, he flipped open a little velvet box with a ten-carat marquise cut diamond ring. Will you marry me? he said. Juliet was filled with shock and emotion. For most of her relationship with Frank, all she had wanted was the certainty of his love. Now he was declaring it to her. Feeling overwhelmed but also overjoyed, she said, Yes!
What happened next was a whirlwind as the media went into a frenzy. The press in South Africa heard the news before Phyllis and George Phyllis and George Juliets parents, and were clambering over their front lawn when a telegram from Juliet arrived. What do you think of your new son-in-law to be? they asked. Having spent the previous Christmas enjoying Franks hospitality, Phyllis and George had nothing but praise for him. They felt he was charming as, after their visit, Frank had presented the family with gifts. George got a gold-plated putter, Phyllis got a set of 59 Sinatra recordings, and Clive got a gold-plated chess set.