Frank Sinatra after suffering from a major downfall in his music career begged and begged to get the part that he wanted in Frome Here To Eternity.(a war picture) Frank said himself the part was "him" he wouldn't even have to act.

The woman Johnny left to marry that other broad.(I don't remeber their names.) He also left his kids with his first wife. Is a lot like Frank leaving Nancy and his kids, to marry Ava Gardener who ended up to treat him like Johnn's second wife did. Sam Giancana got Frank working at the sands, like Micheal got Johnny to.

After the war picture Johnny made a deal with the man that wrote it so that Johnny could direct and act in it. Sinatra did the same thing and ended up only directoing one movie.

What do you people think?

Here's a link to the real story behind Sinatra (Johnny Fontaine) and the movie studio head.
TRUE STORY ABOUT SINATRA/JOHNNY FONTAINE

Its worth reading!

That would be cool if they turned out to have the same story!

That's an incredible story! I tell you, it would be some kinda' weird coincidence if Puzo's Fontaine/Woltz story was not taken from Sinatra/Cohn! "Fact is stranger than fiction"

Amazing how things can be.

As others have noted on these boards, the bandleader story also had a parallel in Sinatra's life. Supposedly, Willie Moretti, a NJ Mafioso with close ties to the NY Mobs, threatened famed bandleader Tommy Dorsey into letting Sinatra out of an exclusive-services contract so Frank could pursue a much more lucrative solo singing career.

Another funny coincidence is that Frank Sinatra had a friend called Frank "3 Fingers" Coppola, a notorious mobster who liked actors and singers, not "our" Francis Ford Coppola !

Don't forget the fact that Moretti did not approve of Sinatra's divorce and advised him to take care of his family. It is just like the "be a man" sequence in the beginning of GF1.

Moretti's daughter was married in 1947 or 1948 in her father's backyard. It was a typical wedding for a wealthly Italian family except for the singer - Frank Sinatra.

Sinatra was not happy with being so closely identified with Johnny Fontaine. He got into a shouting incident with Mario Puzo at a restaurant that is described in Lebo's book about the making of the Godfather movies.

Sinatra was definetly supposed to be Jonny Fontane. Definetly Also:

Hyman Roth: Meyer Lansky
Rosato's: Gallo
Vito: Carlo Gambino
Mike: Lucky Luciano
Tattaglia: Joe Bonnano