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STARS BEHIND THE BARS

All About History UK

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Issue 152

Ten iconic celebrity mugshots and the stories behind them

- Callum McKelvie

STARS BEHIND THE BARS

Frank Sinatra - singer, actor and future Ratpacker - was just 23 years old when he found himself on the wrong side of the law. But to our modern sensibilities the crime he was accused of might seem a surprising one - seduction. At the time, this was an offence under laws that were designed to protect the virtue of women. These laws allowed women to bring legal action against men who, according to an 1856 Iowa ruling, by "promise or artifice" or "by flattery or deception" had enticed them into the bedroom.

"SINATRA WAS RELEASED AFTER ONLY A FEW HOURS"

The young Sinatra landed in hot water after supposedly propositioning a woman and offering to marry her. When it was discovered that the woman in question was already married, the charges against the singer were dropped. But Sinatra hardly had time to utter a sigh of relief because he suddenly found himself rearrested the following month - this time on charges of adultery.

He was able to pay a $500 bond and was freed from police custody after only a few hours behind bars, and fortunately for him the incident didn't scupper his burgeoning showbiz career. Sinatra went on to become one of the 20th century's most successful performers, with classic songs such as My Way (1969) and New York, New York (1980), and appearances in films including The Man with the Golden Arm (1955) and The Manchurian Candidate (1962).

On 3 November 1970, actress Jane Fonda was on her way home from a trip to Canada, where she had given a speech protesting against the ongoing Vietnam War. Upon reentering the United States at Cleveland Airport, she was taken aside by officers and her luggage searched. They quickly came upon a bag full of vitamin pills and Fonda was arrested under the suspicion that the pills were illegal drugs.

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