Dec. 20, 1963 - Frank Sinatra Jr. resumed his kidnap-interrupted singing career last night — accompanied by a beefy bodyguard lent by his father. The young singer hit the jackpot with sentimental old ballads before swooning fans at the Stateline Casino in Nevada, where a marquee flashed the welcome: “Frankie Jr. is back.” Sinatra flew from Los Angeles to Reno yesterday afternoon and motored the 65 miles to Stateline, on the south shore of Lake Tahoe. Frankie’s bodyguard — built like a sumo wrestler — insisted he wasn’t a bodyguard at all. “I’m an associate of Mr. Sinatra’s father,” said Ed Pucci (left). “I’m Frankie Jr.’s — personal manager while he’s up here.” But publicist Gene Evans described Pucci’s assignment differently. “Frank Sinatra sent him here as the kid’s personal bodyguard,” Evans said. “Pucci told me, ‘Nobody’s gonna talk to the kid.’” The young singer is staying at the same motel where the kidnapping occurred, just two doors from the original room. He was hailed as a hero by a giant crowd of well-wishers packing the room last night. They whistled and stomped, and a few even swooned in a manner reminiscent of the pre-war days when Sinatra Sr. had them fainting and screaming. In this first appearance at Lake Tahoe since the kidnapping, he was every bit the hero his dad was a generation ago. The engagement is scheduled to end Christmas night. The next day he is scheduled to open at Harrah’s Club in downtown Reno.
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