DEAR SUN SPOTS: I am back again for some information. I would like the birth date, year and cause of death of Gene Autry, Roy Rogers, Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra. Thank you. — No Name, No Town

ANSWER: According to Autry.com, Gene was born Sept. 29, 1907, in Tioga, Texas, and died Oct. 2, 1998, at age 91, at his home in California. No cause of death was listed, but one can probably safely assume old age. He was married twice, but had no chidren.

Royrogers.com’s bio says he was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, on Nov. 5, 1911, as Leonard Slye. He died July 6, 1998, of congestive heart failure.

On Deanmartin.com it says he was born Dino Crocetti in Steubenville, Ohio, but does not list the year. Wikipedia comes to the rescue, listing his birth at June 7, 1917, and death as Dec. 25, 1995. A lung cancer victim, he died of acute respiratory failure from emphysema at his Beverly Hills home.

There is a Sinatra.com site, but it is heavy on glitz, pictures and promos and not so much on information, so Sun Spots again turned to Wikipedia, which says Francis Albert “Frank” Sinatra was born Dec. 12, 1915, and died May 14, 1998. The official cause of death was listed as complications from dementia, heart and kidney disease, and bladder cancer at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center with his wife, Barbara, by his side.

It seems Sinatra came by his rakish image naturally. The following was on Wikipedia:

“Sinatra was the only child of Italian immigrants … and was raised Catholic. He left high school without graduating, having attended only 47 days before being expelled because of his rowdy conduct. Sinatra’s father … served with the Hoboken Fire Department as a Captain. His mother, known as Dolly, was influential in the neighborhood and in local Democratic Party circles, but also ran an illegal abortion business from her home; she was arrested several times and convicted twice for this offense. During the Great Depression, Dolly nevertheless provided money to their son for outings with friends and expensive clothes.”

DEAR SUNSPOTS: I am sorry to bother you about this, but apparently I either recycled or burned in my wood stove the column that included a request from someone who wanted four-hole shirt buttons. I have a whole bag full to share with her if you can tell me what day the paper was (and I can buy it again at the office) or if you can give me her phone number.

Also, I must tell you that I had the “guy” (Tommy, I presume) come today to pick up a half-truckload of blue spruce boughs to help protect his homeless cats. This I read about also in your column (Sept. 14). Thank you so much for your community service! — Carol O. Bradford, steno@juno.com

ANSWER: The woman who wrote Sept. 21 didn’t offer a phone, just an address P.O. Box 56, Greene, ME 04236.

As for the boughs you generously donated, the picker-upper was probably Norm. Sun Spots doesn’t know who Tommy of Tommy’s Feral Feline Friends is. Maybe a cat? It’s a very common name for cats.

DEAR SUN SPOTS: I just want to say thank you to the Central Maine Power Co. men who were working on power lines in Lewiston on Sept.20. My husband took our dog out on our land in Lewiston and something spooked her and was missing for hours.

My husband asked the men that were working if they had seen her and they took the time to tell everyone over the radio to look for the dog and if they seen her that we were looking for her. Amazingly, she was spotted, but they were not able to catch her. They told my husband where she was and he went to get her. Again, thank you for all you do! — The Cyr’s, tcyr@kris-way.com

This column is for you, our readers. It is for your questions and comments. There are only two rules: You must write to the column and sign your name (we won’t use it if you ask us not to). Please include your phone number. Letters will not be returned or answered by mail, and telephone calls will not be accepted. Your letters will appear as quickly as space allows. Address them to Sun Spots, P.O. Box 4400, Lewiston, ME 04243-4400. Inquiries can also be e-mailed to sunspots@sunjournal.com.

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