FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) – Connie Francis’ decades-long career was marked by all the glittering things of Hollywood royalty. There were No. 1 hit songs, iconic movies, Hollywood boyfriends, glamorous gowns and TV appearances on “American Bandstand” and “The Ed Sullivan Show.” Despite it all, she considers her personal life a bust.
“For as much success as I had professionally, personally I’m a failure,” said Francis.
When pressed if that’s what she really believes during a telephone interview, the 79-year-old singer says, “yeah I do. My choice of husbands, my lack of judgment in choosing the right husbands … my impulsiveness, my not looking before I leapt. So many mistakes that I would have avoided.”
Francis is auctioning some of her favorite trinkets at Heritage Auctions in Beverly Hills on Sunday, including the bomber jacket she wore performing in Vietnam, a love letter from singer Bobby Darin where he laments he’s “unhappy & miserable without you” and a 13-carat emerald ring with diamonds. She’s also auctioning several letters from her famous friends, including Frankie Avalon, Dick Clark and Frank Sinatra.
“There was a girl once who told me she had saved a Styrofoam cup with my lipstick on it from 1958 … so I said to myself I want to give something to my fans while I’m still alive, not when I’ve passed,” Francis told The Associated Press.