Back in 1966, Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin, at the peak of their popularity, got into a heated argument that turned into an almost fatal incident as an art collector confronted them for being too loud at the Polo Lounge.
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This violent brawl is included in Scott Huver's new book, Beverly Hills Noir: Crime, Sin, & Scandal in 90210. "These two guys were at the very top of the entertainment food chain," Huver told Fox News Digital. "They couldn't have been more popular; they couldn't have been more well paid and more iconic in 1966 when the incident happened."
Said incident took place at the Polo Lounge, where Sinatra and Martin shared a booth with Jilly Rizzo, Sinatra's bodyguard, and Richard Conte. The gentlemen were enjoying their time together, but Frederick Rand Weisman, an art collector, grew increasingly irritated after hearing Sinatra and Martin's "rowdy laughter." He was at a booth next to them.
Weisman then approached Sinatra and Martin and asked them in a not-so-elegant manner to keep it down. "You talk too f------g loud, and you have a bunch of loudmouthed friends," said Weisman, according to Sinatra. Sinatra and Weisman engaged in distasteful back and forth and, eventually, Weisman was out cold on the floor.
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There are two versions. Sinatra claims that, after insulting Weisman with an antisemitic remark, Weismann hit him in his right eye. Then, Weisman slipped and fell. "I at no time saw anyone hit him — and I certainly did not," Sinatra said. However, other accounts claim that Sinatra used a bootshide telephone to knock Weisman out.
"What we don't know exactly is who swung first, who did what to whom in what order. But it ended up with somebody clobbering Frederick Weisman over the head with one of the famous pink telephones that sat boothside on all the banquettes in the Polo Lounge. He ended up unconscious on the floor," Huver said.
Some even theorize that Rizzo was actually the one who knocked Weisman out. However, he disputed the claim. "Sinatra don't need no protection," Rizzo said. "He's man enough to stand up and defend himself in his own way, like any man should."
Either way, Weisman had to undergo surgery and suffered from memory loss for months. An investigation started as both Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin left the state. However, Weisman's family didn't press charges after all. Reportedly, they were receiving threats or, according to Huver, they might have been paid out by the singer.
