Local radio host Kevin Conway is going on a ghost hunt.
Conway and his wife, Gayla, are spending tonight in the Cal Neva Resort, Spa & Casino's bungalow No. 5 where they hope to see the ghost of Frank Sinatra.
Today is the 13th anniversary of Sinatra's death.
Sinatra, once part owner of Cal Neva, often stayed in bungalow No. 5 at the Lake Tahoe casino. It comes with a series of tunnels he used to get to the stage and to visit bungalow No. 3, often used by Marilyn Monroe.
"I do believe in ghosts but this is also just a fun trip. I'd be shocked if something happens," Conway says. "But, I've always wanted to stay in the bungalow ever since I heard it was available."
Some say that Sinatra has been a stranger in the night at the casino over the past 13 years. He died in Los Angeles, but tours given of the bungalow, tunnels and stage include audio and visual evidence of past Sinatra ghostly appearances.
Conway is a Sinatra fan and got the singer's autograph back in 1966 when he went on a family trip to the Dunes in Las Vegas. He turned that passion into the weekly "Sinatra and Co." radio show that aired on Reno Public Radio from 1993 to 2006.
Family matters brought Conway to Fresno in February. He currently hosts a jazz program that airs 6-9 a.m. Thursdays on KFSR (FM 90.7). Conway will begin hosting a two-hour Sinatra show in the near future, so he's taking a camera and a tape recorder on his overnight stay just in case Sinatra grants him an interview.
"I haven't really decided what I would ask him," Conway says. "I thought I would ask what he thinks of today's singers like Michael Bublé."
He might get Sinatra to ask Monroe to talk about the circumstances surrounding her death.
Tom Dressen, the comedian who opened for Sinatra at the end of his life, gave Conway some tips that may help attract Sinatra's ghost.
"He instructed that we put a pack of unfiltered cigarettes and a bottle of Jack Daniels on the dresser, and 'Frank will be there,' " Conway says.
This isn't the first Sinatra mystery for Conway. The autograph he got all those years ago has disappeared. Maybe that's another question he can ask the singer.
TV and movie critic Rick Bentley can be reached at rbentley@fresnobee.com or (559) 441-6355. Read his blog at fresnobeehive.com.
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