This ’60s Icon Faced Heartbreak and Tragedy — The Love She Lost & the Brother She Mourned

She became well-known in the late 1950s and sold over 80 million records during her storied career, making her one of the best-selling female vocalists ever. Her achievement did, however, come at a very personal cost, as her private life was marred by heartache, family meddling, and tragic events.

She was born in Newark, New Jersey, from a hardworking Italian family. Her father had already planned her career as a star by the time she was a teenager. Although his rigorous supervision guaranteed the success of her work, it also cost her independence.

Her father’s dominance over her life created the conditions for the heartaches and tragedies that would follow, even if she had her big break in the 1950s. Her relationship with the man she still refers to as the love of her life was among the first things to fall victim to her father’s influence.

From modest beginnings to chart-topping fame, a star is born.

Her father, George Franconero, who played the concertina, a traditional Italian instrument, at their family home, sparked her early love of music. She was singing songs like “O Sole Mio” in public by the time she was four years old. Her career was propelled by her father, who believed she was destined for success.

During her adolescence, she performed on the television show “Startime Kids,” although her early solo recordings were unsuccessful. Everything changed just as she was ready to accept a scholarship to New York University and give up her dreams of becoming a musician.

At her father’s insistence, she issued “Who’s Sorry Now?” in 1958. She became extremely famous after the song sold 1.5 million copies. She ruled the charts for the next ten years with classics including “Where the Boys Are,” “Stupid Cupid,” and “Lipstick on Your Collar.”

She was a Hollywood celebrity, appearing in musicals like “Follow the Boys” and “Looking for Love.” Her personal connections would eventually suffer as a result of her father’s strict control over her life, even if she was well-known and wealthy.

Bobby Darin’s Forbidden Romance

She met Bobby Darin, a budding songwriter attempting to establish himself, in 1956. After a quarrel about one of his compositions, he left in frustration, making their first meeting anything but pleasant. However, they got closer as they carried on working together.

Their connection had developed into a serious romance by the time she was eighteen. Her father, on the other hand, was adamantly opposed to their relationship because he thought it would ruin her promising career. According to reports, he took drastic measures to break up with her.

He once found out about the young couple’s elopement plans and used a gun to force Darin to leave a rehearsal. She grudgingly avoided Darin out of concern for his safety, but for a while they kept up their affectionate correspondence.

Devastated by the split, Darin eventually went on and wed Sandra Dee, an actress, in 1960. She still struggles with unresolved emotions and memories of their star-crossed romance years later.

The Sadness of Bobby Darin’s Death

Both Darin’s life and career took off and ended quickly. With four million-selling songs, two Grammy Awards, and an Oscar nomination for his performance in the 1963 movie “Captain Newman, M.D.”, he had already attained legendary status by the time he was 24 years old.

But his triumph was marred by a lifelong struggle with a cardiac disease brought on by rheumatic fever as a child. He famously remarked, “I have to be a legend by the time I’m 25 because that’s how long doctors gave me to live,” expressing his opinion that his time was running out.

Darin passed away at the age of 37 in 1973 as a result of complications after heart surgery. The singer was devastated to learn of his passing. She said, years after his death, that “I never felt quite the same about anyone the way I still feel about Bobby to this day.”

The thought that their love had been interrupted by both fate and her father’s harsh intervention added to her anguish. The letters she wrote to him reappeared almost fifty years after his death.

She recovered the 18 love letters that Darin’s family had auctioned off in 2016. A Darin fan outbid her at first, but in the end, the fan gave the letters back to her without demanding cash, claiming they were hers.

She said it was a sad sensation to hold those letters once more, full of memories of a love that was never fully realized. She would experience other tragedies, but her romance with Darin was the most agonizing loss of her life.

The Attack That Revolutionized Her Life

She went through a terrible incident in a hotel on Long Island in 1974. She was raped at knifepoint by a man who broke into her room while she was asleep. She was traumatized by the incident, which she later characterized as the start of her darkest time.

She adopted her young son, Joey, a month after the attack. In the years that followed, she subsequently referred to him as her greatest source of happiness. Her career came to a complete halt at the same time.

Her difficulties were exacerbated by a poorly performed nasal surgery, which prevented her from singing for seven years. She struggled to comprehend the terrible incident and became reclusive after being traumatized by the attack.

She had to have more corrective surgery for years before she was able to speak again. She started the gradual healing process with the support of her family, close friends, and faith. She talked on the value of resilience and finding meaning after trauma years later.

Her family was irrevocably altered when another terrible tragedy hit after years of trying to heal from this awful experience.

Her younger brother’s passing

Her family suffered a terrible tragedy in 1981 when her younger brother, George Franconero Jr., was killed by execution. George, who was 40 at the time, was shot dead on a New Jersey winter morning when he was cleaning ice off the window of his automobile.

The actress and her family were heartbroken by the death of her only sibling. She claimed she was unaware of George’s ties to organized crime until it was too late and only found out about them after his death. She said her mother’s grief was intolerable and that the effect on her was devastating.

The murder sent her into a downward spiral, and in the early 1980s, she overdosed on sleeping pills in an attempt to end her life. “I couldn’t accept my brother’s murder,” she recalled afterwards. That was simply devastating.

She spent multiple hospitalizations in psychiatric hospitals as a result of her mental health issues. She finally found the strength to carry on, though, with the help of friends and family and treatment.

She assumed the position of matriarch for her family in the ensuing years, taking on the responsibilities of caring for her parents, adopted son, and brother’s wife and kids. She set out on a quest to find love after going through so much heartache and loss.

A Search for Love in Her Four Marriages

She married four times in the years after her breakup with Darin as she looked for love elsewhere. But every marriage ended in divorce. She later acknowledged that her weddings were an attempt to reestablish the bond she had lost with Darin.

“Opposite Corners” (1997) was a film written by her third husband, Joseph Garzilli. Bob Parkinson, her fourth and last husband, produced films such as “I Challenge You” (1985).

None of her marriages survived, despite her best efforts; the oldest lasted five years, while the shortest ended after only four months. When she thought back on her decisions, she acknowledged that her profession frequently took precedence over her personal life.

“If I had put as much thought into selecting husbands as I did with Vegas openings, I would have been fine,” she once stated. She also mentioned how her relationships occasionally suffered as a result of her fame in show industry. “I spent most of my life apologizing to men for my success,” she said.

Her Life and Legacy in the Present

At the age of 87, Connie Francis is still regarded as one of the most iconic people of the 20th century, despite having a failed romantic life. She became one of the most successful female vocalists of her day, selling over 80 million records over her career.

Her performances in movies demonstrated her versatility as an entertainer, and her famous tunes defined a generation. Apart from her achievements in music and cinema, Connie discovered meaning in telling her story to the world.

She wrote two memoirs: “Among My Souvenirs” in 2017, which provided a more in-depth look at her life’s highs and lows, and “Who’s Sorry Now?” in 1984, which detailed her early professional and personal hardships. She disclosed in 2022 that she was writing more books to carry on her remarkable tale.

Francis has also made use of her position to promote topics that are important to her, such as veterans’ support, mental health awareness, and victims’ rights.

In Florida, she now leads a more tranquil existence. She has spent the last few years writing more of her memoir and thinking back on her incredible experience. In 2022, she said, “I have free time on my hands to do only what I want for the first time.”

Her admirers continue to honor her legacy despite her retirement, leaving sincere remarks like “You are just as beautiful as ever, Connie,” and “She’s so gorgeous and what a classy lady.” “Connie looking great like always,” remarked another admirer, while another merely referred to her as “Beautiful!”

The profound respect and love she continues to receive decades after her ascent to stardom is reflected in these tributes. Many people are still inspired by her music and stories today.