Clooney is (almost) as cool as Sinatra

In “Ocean’s Thirteen” (which opens June 8) there are a few references to guys “who shook Sinatra’s hand” having a certain code. George Clooney is, with a doubt, someone who would have loved to shake Ol’ Blue Eyes’ hand (he never got the chance, though the two did speak once).

In his career, Frank Sinatra wasn’t just a singer who revolutionized American music. He wasn’t just a pop star who became an Oscar-winning actor. Nor was he simply an artist who commanded creative control when most of his contemporaries did as they were told. For decades Sinatra defined all things cool.

These days Clooney is the closest thing we’ve got to Ol’ Blue Eyes: an A-lister who knows he’s got it all, and isn’t afraid to enjoy it. Here are a few reasons why Clooney is today’s Sinatra.

1.  He owns a villa on Lake Como
Let’s face it: Clooney knows how to live. Maybe he learned it growing up in Kentucky, maybe he learned it while filming “Return of the Killer Tomatoes!” — it doesn’t matter — the ex-TV actor knows that there’s more to life than Hollywood and with some of his millions he purchased a historic villa on Italy’s beautiful Lake Como so he could live la dolce vita in the land where it was created. And as Sinatra once said: “You gotta love living — 'cause dying is a pain in the ass.”

2. He brought back Vegas
Even more than ladies and Jack Daniels, Sinatra loved Vegas. Hell, he practically invented the place, or at least, put it on the map along with his legendary Rat Pack. Clooney has resurrected Sin City, only instead of Peter Lawford, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr. and Joey Bishop following him around, he’s got his own crew of fun-loving stars, including Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Don Cheadle and the rest of the boys from the “Ocean’s” films. Speaking of which...

3. He turned “Ocean’s Eleven” into a franchise

First Person ‘Ocean’s’ look-alikes We got some great submissions from people who think they resemble ‘Ocean’s Thirteen’ crew. From fun group shots to dead ringers for George Clooney and Ellen Barkin.

To be honest, when I heard that Clooney was going to remake “Ocean’s Eleven,” I thought it was a disaster in the making. After all, the original was released in 1960, and wasn’t all that great of a film. But Clooney saw the potential. What’s more he enlisted guys he knew he could have fun filming it with: Pitt, Damon, Cheadle, Casey Affleck, Carl Reiner and, of course, Julia Roberts and then Catherine Zeta-Jones (in “Ocean’s Twelve”). And, whereas, Frank went on to make two pretty lame Rat Pack films (although I’ve always been partial to “Robin and the 7 Hoods” myself), Clooney has made two reasonably good sequels, particularly “Ocean’s Thirteen.”

4. He’s not afraid of a fight
Clooney reportedly punched out director David O. Russell while filming “Three Kings,” when the director became unbearably rude to a member of the crew. It’s just one more example of the big star who never forgets that he used to be a nobody. That’s something Sinatra would do. In fact, Sinatra had his fair share of fights — he even once punched out a reporter. And Sinatra would have completely approved of Clooney’s on-again, off-again battle against the paparazzi.

5. He’s politically active
People forget that in his day, Sinatra was a political kingmaker. According to legend, he used his reported Mob ties to line up labor union support for John F. Kennedy in key Democratic states like Illinois and West Virginia, tipping the election Kennedy’s way; then he organized JFK’s Inauguration Ball (his Rat Pack pal Peter Lawford was JFK’s brother-in-law). As he got older and more conservative, Sinatra switched parties and backed Ronald Reagan’s successful bid for the White House. Besides campaigning for his father Nick’s failed bid for congress, Clooney is involved with raising awareness about the ongoing genocide in Darfur. You go, George.

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