Mr. Memoli was a Bay Area restaurateur who served as historian and president of the Frank Sinatra Music Society

GLENDALE, Ariz. (October 7, 2020) – An impressive collection of Frank Sinatra reel to reel interviews, movies, signed letters, autographed photographs, art and other memorabilia honoring the iconic singer hits the auction block at 11 a.m. on Friday, Oct. 30 at EJ’s Auction & Appraisal, 5880 W. Bell Road in Glendale, on the northeast corner of 59th Avenue and Bell Road.

The “Joseph Memoli Frank Sinatra Audio Collection” includes more than 120 rare items that were part of Mr. Memoli’s extensive collection that he accumulated at his Oakland, California restaurant, “Memoli’s.”

Mr. Memoli was childhood friends with “Ol’ Blue Eyes” in New Jersey before becoming the historian and president of the Bay Area chapter of the Frank Sinatra Music Society many years later. The fan club he started evolved to a worldwide collectors group with officers in England, Australia, Italy and the United States.

“Joseph Memoli may have been Frank Sinatra’s biggest fan,” said auctioneer Erik Hoyer, owner of EJ’s Auction & Appraisal. “He certainly recognized the value of collecting thousands of songs and hundreds of tapes and movies, which were used in countless benefits, radio programs and television specials throughout the country.”

The collection, which was consigned by Mr. Memoli’s widow, a Sun City resident, includes several reel to reel interviews with the “Chairman of the Board.”

Hoyer spent several hours listening to the tapes, and while he thinks there will be interest in them, he said the bronze art and other memorabilia is also generating interest online.

“Currently, bidders are showing the most interest in a personally inscribed Movado watch that Frank Sinatra gave to Mr. Memoli in 1970,” Hoyer said.

Formed in 1970, the Frank Sinatra Music Society was dedicated to the acknowledgment and celebration of Sinatra’s musical genius. Among those accepting honorary membership in the group were notables like Sammy Davis Junior, Don Ho, Mr. & Mrs. Count Basie, Shirley MacLaine, Tony Bennet, Mrs. Nancy Sinatra, Frank’s daughters Nancy and Tina, and Frank’s son Frank Sinatra Junior.

For more details, visit www.ejsauction.com or call (623) 878-2003.

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