Frank Sinatra: Ol Blue Eyes’ Contact Lenses
Known best for his unparalleled vocal performances, Frank Sinatra was also known for his remarkable blue eyes. Little did his fans know that he was the first known celebrity to wear colored contact lenses.
An undated photo showing Sinatra with his new colored contact lenses.
Sinatra, brown-eyed by birth, began his musical career in the swing era and became largely successful in the early 1940s. It was immediately before his success when he met optometrist William Feinbloom, who coincidentally had experience in show business. Feinbloom suggested to Sinatra that he try some recently developed colored contact lenses to make himself visually memorable to his audiences. They chose a radiant blue.
His career soon took off after using the lenses and his success continued through the 40s but stalled during the early 1950s. He reemerged when he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in From Here to Eternity.
Only one other celebrity in history can attribute so much success to an aesthetic change as Frank Sinatra can. John Lennon of the Beatles underwent a more drastic change when his right eye began to fail and was eventually replaced with a glass eye.
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