PODCAST · arts

Rocky Fortune - Single Episodes

by Old Time Radio

ROCKY FORTUNE Created in 1953 by writer George Lefferts and starring Frank Sinatra in the lead, Rocky Fortune followed the exploits of a marginally employed jack-of-all-trades Rocko Fortunato, or Rocky Fortune. Considered a second-rate show even when it aired, the series found Sinatra at the nadir of popularity after his 1940s crooning heights and just before his career was rekindled with his role in From Here to Eternity . The scripts, mostly by George Lefferts and Ernest Kinoy, often stretched the limits of believability, taking Fortune from jobs as a social director at a Catskills resort to transporting a truck of nitroglycerine across the country. Sinatra's cool, somewhat flippant persona brought the audience along for a fun ride and made it easier to overlook sometimes absurd situations. There was little continuity over the series' run. Despite not being able to keep a job for more than a single episode, Fortune always had the license, certification, or union card necessary for th