LIFE IN SPAIN: The Frank Sinatra incident in Malaga

ON September 19, 1964, Malaga police slapped Frank Sinatra with a 25,000 peseta fine – around $175 – after the singer sparked a barroom brawl.

It wasn’t Sinatra’s first time on the Costa del Sol. A decade earlier he had stormed into Malaga in a jealous rage. His then wife, Hollywood star Ava Gardner, was rumoured to be enjoying more than just flamenco – she was having a torrid fling with young bullfighter Luis Dominguin.

Sinatra, who had lookouts everywhere, flew in to put a stop to it. Their two-year marriage was already crumbling – they eventually divorced in 1957 – but she was still his wife, and Frankie wasn’t about to let a matador steal the show.

By 1964, though, Ava was long gone. Sinatra was about to turn 50 and had just met Mia Farrow – a doomed romance of its own, given the 30-year age gap.

He was in Spain filming ‘Von Ryan’s Express’, a World War II adventure shot largely in Ardales. The Hollywood crooner was holed up in Torremolinos’ swanky Pez Espada hotel – and making life hell for director Mark Robson. Sinatra had muscled into the lead role, demanded rewrites and even tried to change the ending.

Then came the bust-up. Paparazzi had been circling when Sinatra was spotted cosying up to a Cuban actress. Camera bulbs popped, and so did his temper. He hurled a martini glass at one photographer and his minders piled in, clashing with hotel staff.

Normally such scraps were settled quietly – a quick apology and a cash sweetener. But Sinatra made things worse by locking himself in his suite, refusing to meet police and threatening to call in the US ambassador.

What could have been smoothed over escalated fast. He was fined, warned to leave Spain as soon as filming wrapped, and effectively barred from the country.

Before boarding his flight to Paris, Ol’ Blue Eyes snarled at waiting reporters: “I’ll never return to this goddamn country!”

And true to his word – he never did.

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